When vinyl lovers Jack Tieleman and Dave Read decided to organize a record show, they assumed the hardest part would be finding interested sellers.
“I thought we would have a hard enough of a time getting vendors,” said Tieleman.
Instead of struggling to attract vendors, the exact opposite happened.
“The vendors [tables] sold out within a week,” Tieleman said. “I’ve got a wait list.”
On Sunday (April 26) more than a dozen such vendors will gather at Royal Canadian Legion Branch 10 in Harewood for the first annual Nanaimo Record Show.
“We have people from Victoria, Ladysmith and Powell River,” Tieleman said. “It is very exciting time and there is such an interest in vinyl records and related stuff.”
Among the vendors at the show are Nanaimo’s Fascinating Rhythm, the China Steps Emporium, Lance Rock Records and the Vinyl Record Guru.
There will also be a few vendors from out of town, including Roxy Records of Powell River and Victoria’s Supreme Echo.
Event organizers Tieleman and Read have both been involved with vinyl records for years. Read is the owner of the Vinyl Record Guru, a vinyl press company, while Tieleman is the owner of Lance Rock Records and the former owner of Black Ball, a record store that was on Fitzwilliam Street during the 1990s and 2000s.
With the resurgence of vinyl record sales, Tieleman and Read figured it was time for Nanaimo to have a vinyl show for the first time in years.
“When we saw the interest in records and record conventions we thought why not do one in here,” Tieleman said.
Despite the increasing amount of options to purchase and download music, vinyl record sales have skyrocketed in the past eight years.
According to Statista, an American statistical website, vinyl sales in the United States rose from roughly one million in 2007 to six million in 2013.
You will find more statistics at Statista
“There is demand for records that we have not seen for a long time,” Tieleman said.
Tieleman said the last time Nanaimo had a record show was about 20 years ago, when vinyl was almost dead and only three vendors showed up.
“Vinyl has survived the purges of the 1990s when the major record labels tried to get rid of them and tried to go to CDs and cassettes.”
According to Nielsen, a global information and insight company, more than 400,000 vinyl records were sold in Canada between December 2013 and December 2014.
Paul Tuch, director of Canadian operations for Nielsen’s entertainment division, said vinyl record sales for 2015 are on the rise.
“In Canada for the 16 weeks of the year, vinyl albums are up 57 per cent over the same period as 2014,” he said.
Tuch explained that one of the reasons for the increase of vinyl sales is that more people are looking for better sound quality.
“I think that there are people … who like the analog sound more than the digital sound. Especially now that so much music is consumed through MP3 devices or other devices and through small headphones that aren’t exactly the best quality in the world,” Tuch said. “People who want the best experience feel that they can get it through vinyl.”
Tieleman believes another reason for the increase is due to the sense of ownership that comes with vinyl records.
“With records, they are a piece of art for one thing,” Tieleman said. “They need care. No one has ever scratched an MP3.”
Tieleman, who has been to plenty of other record shows in recent years, said it is not just older people buying vinyl records, but younger people as well.
“There are guys shopping with their dads or gals shopping with their dads and that sort of thing,” Tieleman said. “It is a fun thing to collect. Not only is it a collectable thing but it is practical thing where you can listen to it.”
In fact, many modern artists, such as Taylor Swift, are releasing albums on vinyl, which according to Tuch is part of the reason for the continuing rise in sales.
“The availably of more new releases and more classic releases has definitely helped the popularity increase,” Tuch said.“There are more new releases that are coming out on vinyl.”
Tieleman is already planning the second annual Nanaimo Record Show and said vinyl is beginning to speak to people once again.
“When the needle hits the dead wax and then hits the song you have a little bit of a crackle before and it is that anticipation and it obviously speaks to people because we see people buying records all the time,” Tieleman said.
The first annual Nanaimo Record Show takes place on Sunday (April 26).
For more information, please visit www.nanaimorecordshow.com or www.on.fb.me/1QkJ7dx.arts@nanaimobulletin.comFollow @npescod on Twitter