New documentary, "Vinyl Nation," drops this weekend - with local connections

Vinly records outsold CDs last year for the first time in decades. (Courtesy of “Vinyl Nation.”)

Everyone loves a good comeback story. Vinyl records has one of the best right now.

Something people would have scoffed at in the 1990s is now reality – vinyl records are outselling compact discs in America. According to Forbes, last year Americans bought more than 73 million albums in some form. Of those, nearly 19 million were vinyl, an increase in sales from 2018 by 14%.

Conceived in 2007, national Record Store Day has been set for Saturday, April 18. Unfortunately, vinyl junkies won’t be able to gather at their local record stores to celebrate thanks to the coronavirus outbreak. But the alternative is to stay home and listen to your favorite albums with the sound blasting.

Another option for 2020 is to buy a download of a brand new documentary about the resurgence of vinyl, which will drop for streaming this weekend. “Vinyl Nation,” directed by Kevin Smokler and Christopher Boone, is described as “a deep dig into the crates of the vinyl record resurgence to discover what an old technology says about our relationship to music and each other in a divided time in America.”

Sales of the documentary’s screening will benefit local record stores across America, including Guestroom Records in Louisville. (Courtesy of “Vinyl Nation.”)

Originally slated for film festivals and theater releases, the pandemic prompted the filmmakers and the organizers of Record Store Day to go in another direction with the documentary and the annual day of vinyl recognition: A streaming release wherein independent record stores get to sell advance tickets for download. The cost is $10 (plus fees). Locally, Guestroom Records is the place to buy online. All proceeds go to the record stores.

Another Louisville-based business, Crosley Brands, is involved, as two representatives were interviewed for the documentary. Company president Keith Starr and marketing vice president Jason Menard spent time with the directors and film crew at Crosley last year. Menard tells Hello Louisville the shoot here involved four or five hours of interviews. Menard says he hasn’t seen the documentary yet himself, so he isn’t sure just how heavily involved Crosley will be.

“You know how that goes – it could be four hours of footage and it could end up being 20 seconds making the final cut,” Menard says. “I’m kind of nervous, to be honest.”

Crosley, of course, is a manufacturer of turntables, radios and other stereo equipment, best known for faux-vintage designs that are as much a home décor as a stereo. With the upturn in vinyl sales, Crosley also has seen an uptick, Menard says.

A big part of that has been getting store placement in places like Urban Outfitters, because it’s no longer just the aging hippie at a flea market or your uncle with his collection of old blues and jazz records who are buying vinyl these days.

“Most of the people buying Crosley turntables are new to vinyl,” he says, noting that Millennials and Gen Z are among the biggest markets for vinyl. “Hopefully, at least half of them are going into record stores to buy new vinyl.”

Here’s a link to purchase a streaming download of “Vinyl Nation” through Guestroom Records. You can watch the documentary’s trailer here.