Re-establishing Record Stores in Toronto & Los Angeles
Loraine Gahol
Abstract:
This research brief analyzes the current presence of
vinyl record stores in and around the cities of Toronto,
Ontario, and Los Angeles, California. We had analyzed
about 40 different retailers in each city, with some
stores having more than one location. We had
specifically analyzed where these stores were located,
what types of records they had sold to their consumers,
how long they have been open, as well as how they had
marketed themselves through the language they used
online (in the case that they had a functioning website).
Through relating to ideas discussed by Eric Harvey,
David Hayes, and Paolo Magaudda, we hope to
discover whether or not the shift back to vinyl records
has affected the presence of record stores in these cities.
Key words: vinyl records, music consumption, record
store day, accessibility
Introduction
With streaming services making music much more
accessible, many listeners no longer feel the need to
own a physical disc for their music. Despite this, the
popularity of vinyl records has seemingly increased
within the past couple of years, keeping the market of
record stores alive. While Spotify and Apple Music are
on the rise, there is still a market of individuals that
prefer to have physical forms of their music, specifically
vinyl records. One of the main reasons of this preference
to vinyl records is that many listeners prefer the sound
and the experiences that vinyl records produce. While,
on the other hand, there are many listeners who prefer to
have more accessibility to their music; wanting new
singles and albums the minute they are released.
Through this research project, we analyzed the presence
of vinyl record stores in the cities of Toronto, Ontario,
and Los Angeles, California, in order to determine
whether or not this shift back to physical forms of music
had affected the presence of record stores in these cities.
Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
Background
The article “Digital Music Consumption Practices in the
age of Dematerialization” by Paolo Magaudda (2011)
constructs the theory of the “Circuit of Practice”. In this
theory, he emphasizes the framework of practice
through three criteria: meanings and representations,
material objects and forms of technology, and the act of
doing. Magaudda analyzes the process of performative
re-integration of vinyl records in musical consumption
practices through these three criteria, embedded with six
steps.
In “’Take Those Old Records off the Shelf’: Youth and
Music Consumption in the Postmodern Age”, David
Hayes (2006) analyzes the (re)emergence of vinyl as an
alternative form of music in the digital age (51). He does
this through interviewing youth consumers of music.
What he had concluded was that vinyl records created
much more of an experience when listening, in
comparison to CDs, or mp3s.
Moreover, in “Siding with Vinyl: Record Store Day and
the Branding of Independent Music”, Eric Harvey looks
into annual event Record Store Day which is devoted to
highlighting the role of these record stores in their
neighbourhoods, as well as a way to “re-energize the
financial success of and public opinion around
independent record retail in the face of primary threats:
digital competition and corporate consolidation” (586).
Methods
In order to conduct our research, we had to locate the
different stores that still existed in these cities. This was
done through a basic Google search: “Record stores in
Toronto/Los Angeles”. A code sheet was created to
identify the similarities and differences of each location
in both cities. We analyzed our list of locations through
six different categories: “Authenticity” recognized the
stores participating in Record Store Day 2018, “Years
Open”, “Operating Hours”, “Online Engagement”
noting whether or not the store had an online shopping
service on their websites, and “Key Words/Phrases”
identifying what type of language was used to market
to their customers. A number of our cases were
different locations of Urban Outfitters; A store
specializing in women and men’s fashion, home décor,
and music. These stores tend to carry new releases of
vinyl records, specifically the genres of mainstream
pop, rap, and R&B. While we had included these
locations in our initial list of record stores in both
Toronto and Los Angeles, we have chosen not to
consider it in our coding analysis due to the franchise
being more dedicated to their fashion sales.
Findings
Because one of the major aspects of record stores is to
sell collectible and rare finds, majority of the stores in
both Toronto and Los Angeles are dedicated to a buy
and sell strategy. For the retailers in Toronto, most of
the locations specialized in new and used records, with
only 8 retailers selling solely new records, and 10
selling solely used. A number of retailers also acted as
either cafes, or book stores. In Los Angeles, there was
an even split between stores that sold both new and
used, and solely used records. A number of locations
also acted as an event space for live performances.
Unlike Toronto, and other than Urban Outfitters, there
were no locations dedicated to selling solely new vinyl
records. As for the geographic locations of these
stores, the stores are located in areas that would gain
the most pedestrian traffic. Retailers in Toronto were
dispersed throughout the Downtown Core, with slight
clustering found on both Queen Street West, and
College Street, while in Los Angeles, clustering was
found in areas of close proximity to tourist sites, such
as Paramount Pictures Studios, and Madame
Tussaud’s Wax Museum.
In relation to our coding analysis, we had discovered
that only a number of our data were recognized
retailers that will be participating in Record Store Day
2018: 16 out of the 40 in Toronto, and 13 out of the 40
in Los Angeles. Stores in Toronto had varying amounts
of years that the retailers had been open. For example,
the oldest operating chain location is Kops Records
(1976), and a number of locations had just opened up
last year, like Pop Music. While in Los Angeles, most
Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
stores have been open since the late 80s/early 90s, with
only a few locations that have been opened in the past
10 years. For example, the oldest operating store being
Sounds of Music (1967), and the most recently opened
being Pop Obscure Records and Mediaworks Records
(both opened in 2016). Though, one of the downsides
to our Google results was that some information was
not completely up to date, as some of the locations we
had listed have closed down in recent years. This sort
of information was discovered through analyzing the
store’s website, blog, social media profiles, or even
news reports; whichever outlets were available to us.
Some differing aspects between the cities were found
in our analysis of “Online Engagement” and “Key
Words/Phrases”. More of the retailers in Los Angeles
had an associated online shopping service, in
comparison to the retailers in Toronto. This may be
due to the fact that retailers in Toronto are located in
areas that obtain the most pedestrian traffic. Moreover,
the marketing strategies of Toronto retailers were more
focused on marketing language that highlighted
neighbourhoods and relationships, while the ones in
Los Angeles more so highlighted the acts of buying
and selling.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Essentially, the presence of record stores is very much
dependent on the consumer market; The more people
consume these forms of music, the greater the need for
these types of retailers. Events like Record Store Day
that promote the idea of going to your local record
store allow for these retailers to obtain new, or loyal
returning customers. Though this may be more
difficult for some independent retailers who do not
have any sort of online presence to promote their store.
For further research, interviews with the staff of these
stores will give better insight as to how they continue
to prosper in a time where digital streaming is the more
preferred way to consume music, as well as asking if
the geographic location of their store matters in any
way. An interview with the customers of these stores,
as well as listeners who prefer the more digital forms
of music will also bring more opinions on why they
prefer to consume their music in these forms.
References
Harvey, Eric. (2017). Siding with vinyl: Record Store Day
and the Branding of Independent Music. International
Journal of Cultural Studies, 20(6), 585-602.

Hayes, David. (2006). “Take Those Old Records Off the

Shelf”: Youth and Music Consumption in the Postmodern
Age. Popular Music and Society, 29(1), 51-68.

Magaudda, Paolo. (2011). Digital Music Consumption

Practices in the Age of Dematerialization. Journal of
Consumer Culture, 11(1), 15-36.

Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada
Culture, Creativity, and Cities Capstone Course | Dept. of Sociology | University of Toronto – Scarborough
1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4 Canada