It’s a format that has gone in and out of style over its long history.

Some people swear by it, others enjoy the crisp sound they produce, and some have never listened to their tracks before. But, as records are having their day in the sun again, Okanagan record store owners are enjoying the boosted interest.

Kelvin Forgo, owner of Vernon’s Record City, said it has proven to be more than a trend, but the future of the medium remains unknown.

“I think it’s going to be around for a while. I don’t know at this pace, because boy there’s a lot of records being sold now. I don’t know if it’s going to stay like that or if people will start to realize there’s a little bit of work to playing around with a record,” Forgo said. “I think it’s going to continue. I don’t know if it’s going to continue at quite this pace.”

Andy Moorhouse, owner of Dogwood Records in Vernon, agreed.

“I’ll always be a collector. It might die down, it probably will die down. It might just fluctuate. I really don’t know. I’m not really worried about it either,” Moorhouse laughed. “I kind of would like it to die out because maybe records would get cheaper. That would be nice, because then I can buy more, just as a personal collector I mean. I guess it wouldn’t be any good for my store, but that’s fine.”

Dogwood, which has been open for just over a year, sees a broad demographic range, Moorhouse said, noting that most of his clientele are regulars.

Both Moorhouse and Forgo agreed that nostalgia is a major contributing factor to vinyl’s popularity.

However, while the format is seeing a resurgence, it doesn’t make business easy.

Milkcrate Records, an iconic record store in Kelowna, closed its doors at the end of September.

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