Buffalo Review - West Reporters
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| Black Dots Co-Owner Quinn Moore |
Remember that old stack of vinyl
records you left at your parents’ house 15 years ago? Or maybe the turntable
you saw at your grandparents’ house and wondered aloud “what is that thing?”
Well, you might want to head back and pick up those records, or ask your grandparents for one of their old record players.
Vinyl records are in something of a resurgence, even in the current digital age of streaming music on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. After seemingly being surpassed by 8-track tapes, CDs and cassettes, vinyl records are still being pressed and sold in record stores. The West Side is home to two record stores: Black Dots and Revolver Records.
Well, you might want to head back and pick up those records, or ask your grandparents for one of their old record players.
Vinyl records are in something of a resurgence, even in the current digital age of streaming music on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music. After seemingly being surpassed by 8-track tapes, CDs and cassettes, vinyl records are still being pressed and sold in record stores. The West Side is home to two record stores: Black Dots and Revolver Records.
Both Black Dots and Revolver Records
find themselves in budding neighborhoods of Buffalo. Black Dots is located on Grant
Street while one of Revolver Records stores is on Elmwood Avenue.
Black Dots co-owner Quinn Moore said
Black Dots was originally located at the corner of Lafayette Avenue and Grant Street
has been a really good place for the business to start. The store was
originally located at the corner of Lafayette Avenue and Grant Street before
moving into the more spacious location it occupies.
“There were little things starting to pop up
when we were starting like Sunday Skate Shop was
over there for a little bit and that was one thing where I was like ‘Whoa. The
ball is starting to roll’,” Moore said.
Philip Machemer, the owner
of Revolver Records, started selling records online and at record shows, as
well as weekly markets in the Elmwood Village. He then opened his first store on Hertel Avenue
before opening the other on Elmwood Avenue.
“Growing up, Elmwood was
always kind of the shopping and cultural hub of the city and I feel like even
with the renaissance that the city is going through, Elmwood is still kind of
the center of what is going on,” Machemer said.
Machemer, on collecting vinyl:
Jeff Allen is the
administrator of the Facebook group WNY Vinyl Collective. The WNY Vinyl
Collective is a group focusing on the record industry in Western New York, with
over 3,500 members.
Jeff Allen, administrator of
the Facebook group WNY Vinyl Collective, stated that local record stores play a
very important role in the vinyl industry. Allen said he sees the industry focusing
on the newer vinyl releases going forward.
“Local record stores are not
just a place to buy records, this is where we go to learn about music and meet
other people that have the same interests,” Allen said.
Both Revolver Records and
Black Dots have created ways to separate themselves from larger retailers who
sell vinyl records, such as Amazon. For Revolver Records, it is focusing on the
used record market among other things.
Although online shopping is
more convenient, Machemer considers record shops to be the best place to buy
used records. He also admits that it is hard to compete with Amazon prices for
new vinyl, but he has tried a few different things.
“There
are a lot of Indie exclusive releases for records on certain color vinyl and
certain releases that are only released at record shops. you can’t buy them online and you can’t buy them on Amazon so we
try to stock a lot of stuff like that,” Machemer said.
