From Texas Public Radio:
The evolution of how people consume music went from vinyl to digital platforms that provide access at our fingertips through streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music. Such change has seen some record stores vanish completely, but after 96 years vinyl still has a strong connection revolving around nostalgia that keeps audiophiles digging through the record bins.
Nonfamily heirloom
For Francois ‘Mike’ Robles, preserving vinyl is about living up to a legacy.
Robles is the owner of Pink Zeppelin Books & Records, a place known for the loud local shows that he hosts, but he didn’t grow up collecting music.
Robles inherited his father’s immense record collection dating back to the 1970s after he died from a heart attack in 2020. Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin are the iconic groups that make up most of the large collection, hence the name ‘Pink Zeppelin.’ His father’s collection helped Robles learn to appreciate physical media.
Francois ‘Mike’ Robles is the owner of Pink Zeppelin Books & Records. They also sell various snacks and drinks, such as Cheetos from Japan and Oreos from China.
Valentina Barerra-Ibarra / TPR
“When you have a physical album you get all the art that comes with it, plus you got the whole entire album. I feel like when you grab physical media, whether it’s a tape, CD or a record, each one has its own feel or vibe. You get a warm feeling, or you get a real crisp feeling.”
Robles also began to realize the value of some records. He would start adding more to his collection and selling some of them online.
Visiting many record stores in town, Robles stumbled upon one establishment on Culebra Road called ‘Imagine Books & Records.’ At the time, this place was open for 12 years and was known as the “Loudest bookstore in Texas,” hosting an estimated 80 sweaty audience members to mosh together in live punk shows inside the small bookstore.
Months later, Robles returned to the store to purchase more vinyl records, but they were gone.
Throughout the 21st century, physical media have made a comeback, only to fall off in demand. The roller coaster sales made a precipitous drop from $21.5 billion of revenue in 2001 to $3.7 billion in 2020.
Shelves inside Pink Zeppelin filled with all genres of books. An estimated 70-80% donated from families and college kids, also known as “the heart of Zeppelin,” according to Robles.
Valentina Barerra-Ibarra / TPR
“We felt like there was no real choice but to try to reestablish what they had already built.”
Three years later, Pink Zeppelin is still open and relocated to 1913 South Flores this past June. The book-and-record shop has become a pivotal place for hosting upcoming local San Antonio bands such as garage punk band SEX MEX and alternative funk band Street Lamp.
Hosting local music shows is a way to make Pink Zeppelin stand out, but Robles believes his relationship with the community is key to success.
“Your customers are everything, even if you just build a handful of those people who will come see you every week and are dedicated,” said Robles. “[Customers] can go anywhere and buy a record … but I like to come to you guys because of the atmosphere in the environment.”
Inherited care for customers
That same mindset goes for Southtown Vinyl. Community effort is crucial.
Every first Friday and second Saturday, Southtown Vinyl on South St. Mary’s hosts an outdoor social event with vendors, food, and live music.
Romeanthony Sol Perez, 22, is the creator of the community event Sol Tree. He stands in front of Southtown Vinyl, the shop his father manages.
Valentina Barrera-Ibarra / TPR
Sol Tree was created by Romeanthony Sol Perez in 2021 and the manager of Southtown Vinyl is his father Paul ‘DJ Chacho’ Perez.
Paul Perez has been a DJ in San Antonio since 1998. In the early ’00s, Paul led DJ camps at NISD, the San Antonio Youth Center and the YMCA where he contributed his time to mentoring young aspiring DJs.
Now 22 years later, his son Romeanthony is putting his stamp on the community by bringing people together.
“When we have [Sol Tree], people are buying and it brings awareness to the store,” said Paul Perez. “It’s not 100% about the sales. It’s about putting those people together who are like making music and doing shows and connecting some dots for them.”
After eight years of Perez managing Southtown Vinyl, he still enjoys spending his days digging through records people are selling to him.
“I never know what I’m gonna come across, what I’m gonna get, and I love being around records. So, yeah, I don’t really feel like I’m going to work. I’m gonna go listen to records for a long period of time all day.”
Veteran in the business
Paul Perez brings up how “making those connections in the community” helps Southtown Vinyl stay successful, but Ryan McKnight, owner of Brainwave Records, credits the price of the building they’re in.
Ryan McKnight, 38, is the owner of Brainwave Records. He’s been collecting and selling vinyl since he was 23 years old.
Samuel Rocha IV / TPR
“Yeah, cheap rent helps,” he said.
McKnight has sold vinyl for 15 years. When he first started, he would find records at thrift stores “when you could find good ones” and sell them on the largest online music marketplace, Discogs, as a side gig.
His large collection consisted of rock genres including krautrock and shoegaze. Such records would increase in price over the span of 30 years, including My Bloody Valentine’s second studio album “Loveless,” which is priced in his store at $300.
Last year there was a car accident on West Woodlawn and North Zarzamora, right outside Brainwave Records. One of the vehicles went straight towards the building around 3:00 a.m. damaging the glass window but barely touching the records.
“We must have did a really good job because one of them totally just remained intact, and the other one kind of barely broke,” said McKnight. “We got really lucky with that one. I mean, unlucky and lucky.”
For the love of music
For the first time in 20 years, there was an increase in physical market sales by 16% in 2021. Interest in vinyl contributed to 51% of the revenue growth.
Although streaming is still king currently at $19.3 billion in revenue, physical media is slowly crawling back to stability yet that isn’t the same for all record stores. Imagine Books & Records and Needle Noise are some recent music shops to have permanently shut down, but the owners know this isn’t a million-dollar business. They just enjoy coming to work.
Jayden Villasenor (left) and Chris Zamora (right) dig through the crates at Southtown Vinyl to find the next record to add to their young collection. They started collecting only months ago.
Samuel Rocha IV / TPR
“Well, it’s definitely a labor of love, you know, being it is a record store, it’s not a million-dollar investment, but it’s enough that it pays my bills, and it keeps the shop going,” said Robles.
He loves seeing people use Pink Zeppelin as a creative atmosphere for artists to express themselves.
Paul Perez realizes more stores opening up means more competition and that means more ways to stay profitable.
“Don’t expect a real quick payday. Like the story of the tortoise and the hare, just take it slow to the finish line,” said Paul Perez.
McKnight has always wanted to open his own record store, but he states, “It’s like a dream and nightmare, somewhere in between. It was a lot easier when I was selling online.”
Record stores staying open isn’t impossible during the age of digital media. Physical media sales have increased by over $1.4 billion in revenue since 2021, according to the IFPI Global Music Report.
As long as needles still hit the wax, Robles, Perez, and McKnight believe record stores will keep spinning.
