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Even though music is more accessible than ever digitally, the music industry has seen a rise in the popularity of the vinyl record in the past decade or so, and organizations like the Peach City Community Radio Society are here to respond to the growing demand.

The vinyl resurgence has many aspects to it whether it’s from the capitalist perspective, the audio purist perspective or simply the charm records hold. Vinyl sales are increasing every year, and according to a Luminate report, they have been for the past 17 years.

Dave Del Rizzon with the Peach City Community Radio Society said the increase in popularity has been noticeable at their annual Okanagan Vinyl Festival.

“We’re always impressed at how many young people... come to the vinyl fest and are walking around with Led Zeppelin albums under their arm, kind of like people did in the late 70s.”

Rizzon said younger people might be interested in vinyl because of its undeniable charm.

“Vinyl has a cache to it: it’s warm and inviting, and people like to collect things, vinyl is bigger and it’s this tangible thing that you have to care for," he said.

Not only are record sales increasing but the prices of albums are too, likely the result of supply and demand. The more people want vinyl the more expensive it will be as long as people keep buying it.

“We’re seeing a lot of companies buying the production and distribution rights that were popular in the day and re-pressing them today and we’re seeing a lot of new artists pressing vinyl rather than making CDs, the reality is, there’s money to be made there and it will continue being a trend as long as that is the case,” Rizzon said.

For those who wish to save money or those who are die-hard record collectors looking for rare gems, the place to be this upcoming weekend is the 10th annual Okanagan Vinyl Festival.

“A lot of vendors will have dollar bins and some vendors will have $200 pieces, but I will say if you came to the festival with $50 in your pocket you could probably buy yourself a good little stack of albums to start a collection off," he said.

This year the festival will be held at the Okanagan College's Penticton campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24. The entry fee is $3 but if you want to get into the event at 9 a.m. it'll cost you $5. Parking in the college's parking lot is free.

The Peach City Community Radio Society is a fully independent, volunteer-run broadcasting station that runs 24 hours a day and is based in Penticton.

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