Local stores celebration National Record Store Day as vinyl sales continue to climb

MISHAWAKA, Ind.--- Independent record stores across Michiana celebrated National Record Store Day with deals and sales throughout the weekend. This year, the observation comes as vinyl album sales continue to skyrocket.

"We never did stop selling records but it hadn’t been a big part of our business," said Doug Zimmerman, Owner of Orbit Music in Mishawaka. "For older people like me, it’s a nostalgia thing but for the younger kids its like the first time that they’ve actually held their music in their hand."

Music lovers like John Sholty say the growth in vinyl sales can be partially attributed to the better quality of sound a vinyl record can produce.

"It gives you sweeter sweets, better highs, better lows," said Sholty. "The whole spectrum of the sound, if you have the ear for it, vinyl provides while digital cuts things off."

According to Billboard, more than 40% of physical album sales in 2020 were on vinyl. That was a 46% increase from 2019.