One-stop, east-end shop to stock up on vinyl pop
Music store finds winning niche proudly rooted in mainstream
By definition, indie record stores sell indie titles. So it’s oddly innovative of Derek Antonio, at his newly opened store Pop Music on Gerrard St. E. near Broadview Ave., to focus on mainstream vinyl. “These are the ones that sell,” Antonio says. He should know: He was the general manager of the flagship Yonge St. HMV store for six years (and assistant general manager for two years before that).
So he proudly displays Amy Winehouse, the Tragically Hip and Beyoncé. He has a few less mainstream records tucked here and there, too, but in this 400-square-foot space, he has what he calls a “curated collection.”
It’s rather a long way from the 26,000 sq. ft. he used to manage on Yonge.
Antonio loved music from a young age; his dad had to co-sign his record-of-the-month subscription when he was 9, and he collected a good heap of vinyl from that.
As an adult, he worked in retail and managed his first store at age 25. He worked at Banana Republic for about a decade, but always wanted to sell music. The opportunity finally came with an opening at HMV.
“I missed the heyday,” the 39-yearold admits of joining the chain about nine years ago, when digital was already on the rise. “I got involved at a time that required resilience.”
He made the HMV store a destination by selling merchandise such as T-shirts, offering deals and increasing the store’s stock of vinyl.
Antonio stayed with it “up until the very end,” when the store closed last spring.
Ready to go out on his own and not done with music, he decided on his new concept. He would avoid used records and stick to popular artists. Meanwhile, this east-ender knew there were few vinyl stores in his neighbourhood, and they differed from what he was aiming to do.
He opened in November on this emerging strip of Gerrard that has considerable foot traffic — the streetcar stops just steps from his door. He opened with 800 titles and hopes to build up to 1,000.
While his wall displays promote the likes of Sam Smith, Led Zeppelin and Bjork, customers can also put in orders for indie acts, and Antonio can get those discs in, often within a few days. (For neighbours tired of trekking west to hunt down their new favourite bands, this is a major draw.)
Antonio keeps his prices as low as he can, charging about $18 to $35 for LPs.
He also sells turntables by Ion and Audio-Technica. The front of the shop is well stocked with T-shirts promoting familiar names such as the Clash and Justin Bieber.
Antonio has also stocked up on rock mugs and key chains, plus record-cleaning gizmos. He’s thought of it all, and manages to fill his small store without it looking crammed. If this is what mainstream vinyl sales look like after the heyday, it seems like a pretty good deal.