![]() ![]() We don't define it by genre, just by what's going to sell. Has the idea of what qualifies as indie changed since the store opened? As far as boutique indie labels like Darla, we try to carry what we can. But again, what's an indie? ADA has all these indie labels, and they're WEA. Indie labels probably make up something like 30 to 40 percent of our stock. Would you call yourself an indie-focused store? What' s the balance of indie to other genres that you carry? If you see something get added to KEXP, where the week before you sold one copy, the next week you might sell 10. ![]() KEXP, Pitchfork, the big blogs like My Old Kentucky Blog, and NPR. You have to look at where people are getting info. What are the things that influence which new releases you decide to stock in the store? The retail margin for new CDs and new LPs is so small. Used vinyl is where you can really make money. There's only one distributor that takes vinyl back. The limited factor of vinyl creates this … almost panic. We've spoken with some stores who say they have trouble keeping vinyl in stock after the first week. I don't like giving numbers, but I can tell you that the first week it was out, the vinyl outsold CDs. It was the top seller in both of the last two weeks. Seattle's alt-weekly The Stranger once described Sonic Boom as "an archetypal indie-rock shop" and since this week's a big one for indie albums - new albums by Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons and Belle and Sebastian topline the store's list of new releases - I called Hughes to see how the store got to where it is today and how it defines "indie."Ĭan you describe the average Sonic Boom customer?Įach store is different, but I'd say our demographic is generally aged between 20 and 40 and they're probably 60 percent male.ĭeerhunter's Halcyon Digest. Rolling Stone recently named it one of the 25 best record stores in the U.S.A., and over the past decade it's become an essential piece of the Seattle music puzzle. Sonic Boom offers all of its full-time employees health insurance and a 401k. It's doing better than that, by some accounts. Sonic Boom has had its ups and downs (once comprised of three branches, the franchise dropped to two in 2008, and one location was unfortunately shuttered for two months in the middle of last year's Christmas season), but despite challenges, owner Jason Hughes says the store is surviving. Though it may just be a teenager, the store's decade-plus has overlapped with what's arguably the most difficult period in the history of attempting to get people to pay for recorded music. Two weeks ago, Sonic Boom Records in Seattle celebrated its 13th birthday. Filed Next To Belle and Sebastian: Sonic Boom's store in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. always on the lookout for new artists, limited-edition pressings, imports and unique items.” It’s a music lover’s Mecca in the Midwest.B. “But we take pride in stocking everything from, say, the new Beyoncé CD to a cassette by an up-and-coming local artist to a reissue of a mostly unknown African psychedelic rock band or an obscure techno 12-inch. “Our best sellers are primarily indie-centric titles on labels like Matador, Sub Pop, 4AD, Merge, etc.,” Reckless’ music buyer Matt Jencik told Bandcamp Daily in 2016. ![]() Its stores contain bins and bins of used vinyl with lived-in title cards, but it also makes it a point to highlight new music. The store, which originally had London roots, has a vibe so homey that its Wicker Park location inspired the look of the movie High Fidelity. “We always have something the really avid music buyer will want to buy.” - KORY GROWįor 30 years, Reckless Records has been the Windy City’s go-to indie spot for CDs, vinyl and DVDs currently, it has three locations open seven days a week in different neighborhoods. “The thing that makes the Fetus different from most stores is that we have a diverse customer base,” buyer Steve Pearson once told CMJ. Over the past 50 years, it’s become a local institution: One of the owners got a citation for displaying a caricature of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Two Virgins cover with Richard and Pat Nixon’s faces on them and an employee was once arrested for putting a “peace flag” in a window. The store opened in 1968 and has locations in Minneapolis and Duluth, and it stocks new and used CDs, DVDs and LPs, as well as other accouterments like books, toys, clothes and other accessories. Just a week before his death, he’d stopped in to buy a clutch of CDs in support of Record Store Day, according to MPR News. In fact, it’s a record store that is so cool, it was one of Prince’s favorite local shops. Whether you find the name Electric Fetus disgusting or trippy, you can’t help but wonder what goes on in a place called that. ![]()
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