How To Open A Record Store In The Era Of Music Streaming

Gary Abugan and Brandon Edward Hocura, the crate-diggers behind a new Toronto record store Invisible City Editions, know vinyl isn’t the biggest profit-driver in 2016. Reports suggest the vinyl resurgence is over, and announced closures of popular record stores, like New York City’s Other Music and Amoeba Music in L.A., have become major headlines.

But they believe record stores are crucial to local music communities, and hope that rejecting nostalgia to create a distinct listening experience (supplemented, of course, with an online shop) will be the key to their long-term success.

The Invisible City Editions shop is located in a quiet, industrial area of downtown Toronto, away from bustling shops and crowded sidewalks. If there hadn’t been a photocopied sign on the door at 165 Geary Avenue, I might have wandered into a neighboring auto-repair garage or hydroponics shop.

Source: The FADER