Vinyl business keeps spinning in Steinbach

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This article was published 26/12/2018 (1939 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Phil Wiens believes there are many reasons music lovers have started gravitating back to buying and collecting vinyl records, after so many years of buying and listening to digital downloads.

“I think a lot of people just got tired of buying digital files,” Wiens said. “When you buy a download, what do you have? You have nothing. There is no physical item there, you’re just buying air.”

The 57-year-old also believes there is something a music lover can get out of listening to a whole album that is different than listening to a file on their phone or computer.

“Listening to an album really allows you to listen to and discover songs, while with a download you can easily just switch to the next song after a couple seconds, and people often do,” Wiens said.

“And with records there is cover art and lyric sheets so you’re buying the music but you’re also buying everything else that comes along with it.”

And while many music fans have gotten back into collecting vinyl albums recently, it is something Wiens has been doing for decades.

“I’ve been collecting since I was a teenager and that never stopped,” Wiens said. “I have more than 1,000 records at home. It’s just always been something I’ve been interested in and it’s a hobby and a passion for me.”

Collecting records may be a personal hobby for Wiens, but he has now transformed that hobby into a career and a business, and Wiens says that so far business is good.

It was Valentine’s Day in 2015 when Wiens officially turned his hobby into a business, opening Vinyl Experience at 23 Brandt St.

The store boasts a collection of more than 4,000 used records for sale, while also selling items like turntables, stereo equipment, and music collectibles.

Wiens admits opening a new business after decades of working as a truck driver was a bit of a risk, but he also said 2015 seemed like the perfect time to take that chance.

“I’d noticed for the last five or six years that record sales had increased every year and by a fair amount,” he said. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so I started looking around for spots to open up and I found this place and it’s been perfect.”

Now more than two years into it, Wiens said the business has been a success, and he added he recently signed a lease agreement that will see him stick around for at least three more years at the location.

“It’s going really good especially in the last year and a bit,” Wiens said. “I’ve noticed a lot of new customers, a lot of people come in and say ‘hey I bought a turntable and want to get started,’ and it just goes from there.”

And after decades of driving a truck, Wiens said his business has given him the opportunity to combine a passion and a career.

“Driving a truck was something I liked but I wouldn’t say it was something I loved, but it payed the bills,” Wiens said. “But what I’m doing now is a dream come true.”

When he first opened, Wiens said he had no idea what kind of customers to expect, but he said he soon saw all ages of music lovers coming through the doors at Vinyl Experience.

“It’s a nostalgia thing for some of the older collectors, but I also have teenagers collecting,” he said. “I regularly see kids ages 16 to 18 in here.”

Wiens added he sees everything from “casual” to “hardcore” collectors come to the store, and said many customers come not just to shop, but also to chat about music.

Garth Friesen is one of Wiens’ regular customers and the 45-year-old Steinbach resident says he has been shopping at Vinyl Experience since first buying a record player three years ago. “Three years ago I was interested in collecting some music in vinyl format and I decided to check out Phil’s store,” Friesen said.

Friesen added that when he goes to the store he doesn’t simply buy what he wants and get out.

“There is an element of nostalgia going to the music store and thumbing through albums,” Friesen said. “There is also the feeling of discovery when finding a rare album or some unfamiliar artist that captures your ear.”

Friesen also said part of the allure of the business is Wiens’ music knowledge.

“Phil is really good at suggesting artists that might be new to me and we’ve developed a good friendship through our shared interest in music,” Friesen said. “I chat often with Phil about some of our shared music tastes, we trade stories about the history of albums, and often I will walk out of the store with a new album to listen to.”