Calling all record collectors! The Pittsburgh Record Convention is November 19th at the West View Banquet Hall! The national trade show is a record lover’s dream come true. The event is 10am-4pm and has free admission!
Holding physical art in your hands is still the best. You won’t find a shortage of records at the convention. What you’ll get is “quality local and national vendors selling all forms of rock & roll, including: 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, metal, psyche, garage, r&b, soul, jazz, doo-wop, etc.” Aside from LP’s, you’ll have everything from 45’s and CD’s to cassettes and memorabilia.
In the age of streaming, there are still artists that can sell physical music. Taylor Swift’s new album, Midnights, has sold 575,000 vinyl LPs, becoming the year’s best selling vinyl. Not to mention that Midnights has sold 395,000 CD’s as well. It’s her best selling album since 2017’s Reputation. I had to mention CD’s (yes they exist!) because I still love buying them and it’s exciting to place a new band’s disc in the CD tray. Nostalgia rules!
Yes, streaming is really cool and easy to obtain music, discovering new acts, rekindling past favorite songs (that catchy song from 2005 is one click away!). But there is still something tangible and pure about holding the artwork and having it on your shelf. In recent years the vinyl trend has taken off. Vinyl sales have been climbing since 2006. According to Variety.com, “vinyl sales soared 22% in the first half of 2022.” According to Statista.com, there were 41.7 million vinyls sold in 2021.
The convention offers a chance to buy music from an independent retailer, rather than the major corporate stores that have now placed vinyls on their shelves. Music stores are pretty rare these days. This is a chance to experience that type of atmosphere, with all kinds of rare finds. The best thing about going into a place that sold music was how you could find something that caught your eye–you bought it and weren’t even planning to do so! It was magic! You’ll get a chance to have that feeling again at the convention.
This family friendly event has free onsite parking and an onsite ATM!
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.