The vinyl section at Tramp’s music and books (Submitted Photo/Jed Forsman)

By Derek Craddock

RECORD STORE DAY

More young people in P.A. embracing vinyl records

Apr 20, 2024 | 3:44 PM

It was once the only way to listen to your favourite musicians and while tastes have changed over the decades, vinyl is still popular.

With Saturday being National Record Store Day, Prince Albert’s only brick and mortar record store is celebrating the occasion and the resurgence of records.

Jed Forsman is Store Manager of Tramp’s Music and Books in downtown P.A. The store has been in the community since 1986.

Forsman said that the store’s collection includes hundreds of pre-owned classic vinyl, they only recently started bringing in records by current artists like Billie Eilish and Britney Spears.

Speaking to paNOW, Forsman said owning vinyl has become more of a hobby for collectors than anything.

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“They go see the concert and they want to get the cool vinyl cover because it’s almost like a piece of art.”

He added he has seen more young people enter the store looking for the best classic and current vinyl.

“Seeing them come in, being excited to grab a record is mind-blowing,” he said.

While digital music services like Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music still dominate the industry, vinyl has made a resurgence in recent years.

According to Statistics Canada, “other formats” of music like vinyl records were the fastest selling music format from 2019 to 2021.

In that time frame, sales rose to almost $68 million, three times higher than eight years earlier.

Forsman said Tramp’s stood strong in the early years of the pandemic because people were stuck at home and needed books, music, and other forms of entertainment.

Despite the digital age bringing all types of music to people’s hands, Forsman acknowledged there’s nothing like the feel and sound of vinyl.

“With that acoustic crackling and the cool sounds that are only picked up on vinyl that you can’t get on a digital media source.”

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com