There’s one in every major music market. A record store that makes all the local artists, DJs, vinyl-enthusiasts, and music-lovers alike, feel at home. Record stores are more than just a place to listen to and purchase music. They’re a form of community, a catalyst for growth and exploration, and a safe-haven for artists that need a space to discover, learn, and hone their craft.
In Seattle, we have Selector Records, our city’s only underground dance music brick and mortar record shop. Selector is loved by many local DJs and is run by Sherman Crawford, a longtime vinyl collector, DJ, and music expert. Selector is a small shop, but it has a big heart. We have gone there multiple times when they’ve had a small booth setup and we jammed out with other friends and artists. We have built a family around this shop.
We’ve talked to DJs and producers in other cities, states, and countries about their thoughts on the in-person record shop. Many go there for hours to rummage through the libraries of vinyl and see what catches their ear, but the one common thread that keeps coming up is that they really love that it’s a place of belonging. That they can talk to other artists to see what’s going on for events, they can ask questions about different techniques, and just hang out. Pop-up events at these little shops are a great way to integrate in the local music community and learn about what people are playing, and what makes them tick.
We all need to do our part in keeping the record shop alive. In the last decade, we’ve seen a massive decline in the need for brick and mortar locations for basically everything, and it’s honestly sad. We need to understand the reasons behind the shops we do still have and make sure we support them so they can survive. Sure, it’s great that we have mountains of online shops for music, but that’s no way to enable growth and cultivate a future. There's certainly no way to create community and culture digitally the way we can in-person. Our musical creators need a home. After all, there’s no place like home. For Seattle, there’s no place like Selector.
