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Nothing beats vinyl: Record sales seen growing

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Jon Carlos Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/business2/09/24/vinyl-1.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Astrovision in Ayala&#x27;s Greenbelt mall started selling vinyl records in 2013.<em> Jon Carlos Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - In a music retailer inside a posh Makati City mall, several Filipino music titles on vinyl format compete for space beside hundreds of the latest CD releases.</p><p>The store started to make space three years ago for these vinyl records, a format that has seen a resurgence driven by the young market, audiophiles, and millennials hungry for nostalgia.</p><p>Two to three copies of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) records are sold at this Astrovision branch everyday, store staff Gina Barin said.</p><p>One of the country&#x27;s biggest record labels, PolyEast Records, joined the craze in 2012 by releasing vinyl versions of Filipino classics in its catalog.</p><p>From the modest release of three titles to test the market, PolyEast now sells 25 OPM titles.</p><p>&quot;We released more the next years due to higher demand and good feedback from buyers,&quot; Richard Calderon, vinyl project director at PolyEast Records, told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>The records, pressed in Germany, were initially sold at P1,200 each, but import costs raised the price tag to P1,500, said Calderon.</p><p>PolyEast produces about 500 to 1,000 pieces of each title, depending on the artist&#x27;s popularity. There are plans to release more titles in the coming years, said Calderon.</p><p>&quot;There is growth in the vinyl market, but I see it as a slow growth. It&#x27;s a niche market,&quot; he said.</p><p>Currently, vinyl accounts for 10 percent of PolyEast&#x27;s overall sales. The number could grow to 20 percent if demand is sustained, Calderon said.</p><p>He believes the growth of vinyl depends on the continued patronage of the young market, and the availability of affordable turntables.</p><div><strong>LIFESTYLE BRAND</strong></div><p>These two factors are the bread and butter of Satchmi, a hip lifestyle brand founded by two businessmen in their 30s.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/business2/09/24/vinyl-3.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Edric Chua and Ronald Sy, co-owners of lifestyle brand Satchmi. <em>Jon Carlos Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Satchmi&#x27;s first product was a plug and play, entry-level vinyl player called Motorino. They introduced the player, together with a few vinyl re-issues, to bazaar-goers in Metro Manila in 2011.</p><p>The brand also sold imported records online and hosted &quot;vinyl day&quot; events featuring the country&#x27;s hottest artists to spur interest among the young crowd.</p><p>&quot;We were able to open this new market of young people and they were really interested,&quot; said one of the owners, Edric Chua.</p><p>Satchmi opened its first store in one of the biggest malls along EDSA in 2014. Aside from selling about 2,000 records, the store also offers turntables, film rolls, and coffee. A second store in Quezon City is set to open this year.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/business2/09/24/vinyl-4.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Satchmi&#x27;s first store in SM Megamall. <em>Jon Carlos Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>VINTAGE RECORDS</strong></div><p>While Satchmi&#x27;s records are all sealed and brand new, another quaint store on a more quiet side of the city is contributing to the growth of vinyl through secondhand records.</p><p>&quot;We try to specialize more on original pressings and vintage originals,&quot; said Arbie Won, the DJ-owner of Treskul Records and Cafe in Mandaluyong.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/business2/09/24/vinyl-5.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">DJ Arbie Won, the owner of Treskul Records and Cafe. <em>Jon Carlos Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Won also started his vinyl business online, selling records from his personal collection. Demand for more rare, vintage titles grew within months, prompting Won and his partners to convert a cramped second floor of an internet cafe into a record store.</p><p>As more records and turntables piled up in the store, Treskul moved to a bigger space next door in 2015.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/business2/09/24/vinyl-6.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Treskul Records and Cafe in Mandaluyong. <em>Jon Carlos Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Won&#x27;s shop now carries about 3,000 records from various genres to cater to a wide range of record buyers.</p><p>&quot;When we started, it used to be over 30, middle-aged buyers. Lately, we have customers as young as 8 to 10 years old, and high school kids who are into classic rock and jazz,&quot; he said.</p><div><strong>&#x27;CONNOISSEUR OF MUSIC&#x27;</strong></div><p>Digital formats such as streaming and MP3s are still the cheapest and most convenient way to listen to music, but vinyl will always have its own subculture, Satchmi&#x27;s Chua said.</p><p>&quot;Instead of the instant mami consumerism mindset, it&#x27;s more like you&#x27;re a connoisseur of music and you want to know more about the culture,&quot; he said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/business2/09/24/vinyl-7.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">An Of Monsters And Men vinyl plays inside Satchmi&#x27;s store. <em>Jon Carlos Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News</em></div></figcaption></figure></div><p>Won believes picking the more expensive vinyl over CD or MP3 is both an aesthetic decision and sound quality preference, with a hint of nostalgia.</p><p>&quot;Maybe music lovers missed the physical aspect of listening to a record. Playing a vinyl record is ritualistic because you&#x27;re forced to sit down and listen to it,&quot; Won said.</p><p>&quot;Nothing beats having music on vinyl.&quot;</p>

<p>In a music retailer inside a posh Makati City mall, several Filipino music titles on vinyl format compete for space beside hundreds of the latest CD releases.</p>

In a music retailer inside a posh Makati City mall, several Filipino music titles on vinyl format compete for space beside hundreds of the latest CD releases.

Nothing beats vinyl: Record sales seen growing

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Nothing beats vinyl: Record sales seen growing

Jon Carlos Rodriguez,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 24, 2016 01:58 PM PHT

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Updated September 24, 2016 06:39 PM PHT

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