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Last Dinosaur Standing
Rob Roth and Vintage Vinyl stand loyal to music with the integrity of
Independent Record Stores
By: Sharon Chapman
Vintage Vinyl, one of New
Jersey's premier independent record stores, is celebrating its 25th
anniversary this year. Originally located in Irvington, New Jersey,
Vintage Vinyl relocated to its current Fords, New Jersey location in
1984. Vintage Vinyl's huge inventory not only includes a vast selection
of musical genres, but it also carries an eclectic array of books,
magazines and toys. And, of course, the store lives up to its name by
stocking vinyl records. Keeping up with current times, Vintage Vinyl
has expanded its customer base by processing Internet orders at
www.vvinyl.com . Owner Rob Roth sat down to talk about his experience as
an independent record retailer.
Tuned In (TI) - What can you tell us about Vintage Vinyl—how long has it been in existence?
Rob Roth of Vintage Vinyl (VV) - Twenty-five years. We're celebrating our 25th anniversary.
TI - And how long have you been with Vintage Vinyl?
VV – The whole time.
TI- What was it like starting up?
VV - It was a while ago. It was my area of interest. I had done a business plan for Vintage Vinyl while I was in college and my thesis was on marketing in the record industry. I decided to do my own thing.
TI - How has business changed over the last 25 years?
VV – It’s changed a lot. Well, one thing is that everything is digital now, while in the beginning it was analog vinyl. There were many record companies, now there are going to be three -- that's a big difference. There were many, many record stores, retail record stores, and now there are very few. Music was usually sold out of record stores and not in places that sell washers and dryers and refrigerators. That's a big change. If the label signed an artist they gave them two or three records to prove themselves, and now they have fifteen minutes, and they walk away.
TI
- How often does Vintage Vinyl have in-store performances?
VV - It depends on the time of the year, but a couple of times a week or so.
TI - What have the most memorable in-store performances been?
VV - For myself? Probably my favorite ones were Richard Thompson and The Jayhawks - that was a pretty big one for me. We've had bigger ones crowd wise. Sebastian Bach was a terrific in-store performance.
TI - How has the Internet changed your business?
VV - The Internet is a good source for research. When people want to find out about a new artist the Internet is helpful. As far as downloads, that's another story - I'm not sure about that.
TI - How much of your business these days is Internet-based?
VV - It becomes more important as it's accepted as a way of advertising and accepted as a way of selling music. But I don't sell downloads.
TI - Can customers order from Vintage Vinyl by
telephone?
VV - Oh sure.
TI- What are the advantages to the consumer in dealing with the independent record stores?
VV - There's a big advantage. You're dealing with people who enjoy the music and it's a community of people who enjoy music. You're not going to get any of that from chain stores. They're what we call big boxes--Walmart, Best Buy and Circuit City. They're not there to sell music. Music is something they use to hawk their washers and dryers or stereos.
TI - Are there any items that Vintage Vinyl carries that chain stores don't?
VV - Oh yes. We have a big catalog. They only sell about 5,000 titles in a store. We have 100,000 titles.
TI - What do you see in the future for independent record stores such as yours?
VV - I want to be the last dinosaur standing. This industry isn't growing; the industry is shrinking. But somewhere out there there's a buggy whip maker because someone needs buggy whips so I'm going to be the guy who's left.
Vintage Vinyl is located at 51 Lafayette Road, Fords, NJ 08836.
You can phone them at (732) 225-7717 or visit them online at http://www.vvinyl.com/.