What Is The Best Thing About Running A Record Store In 2025?

It’s a funny time to be a record store owner in Australia right now, but that hasn’t stopped many local stores from thriving and being pillars of their artistic communities.

Record store owners all across Australia recently opened up to The Music about the challenges of slinging wax for a living. Music aficionados expanded on the struggles of keeping up with new releases, as well as what the music the kids are rabid for, in an era where change is constant.

Store owners across all states, in particular, cited the rapidly rising cost of new vinyl as an issue for local distributors, as well as the effect that the spiralling cost-of-living crisis has had on patrons’ ability to purchase records consistently. Maintaining a financially viable business model in today's challenging economic environment is far from easy.

But these record store owners persist through precarious times due to a deep-seated Love Of The Game - and there is clearly still much joy to be had in stocking and selling those liquorice pizzas.

In conversation with The Music, these impassioned record store owners share the best thing about running a record store in 2025.

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A-Z Records (NSW)

The best thing about running a record store in 2025 is seeing the joy it brings to people. Music (particularly vinyl format) appeals to all generations. I also love the fact that the store brings people together to share the love of music. In this day and age of 'self-serve' and instant gratification, it's humbling to see how much a little record store means to a community. 

Beatdisc Records (NSW)

There's too many to name, but top of the list would be the thrill of being consumed by music every moment of the day; seeing a customer's face light up when they spot a record they love on the wall; re-homing otherwise long-lost collections of pre-owned records and CDs; watching younger generations discover the magic of owning their favourite piece of music; and most importantly being able to sell physical media as a viable way to pay the bills (which many didn't think possible by the year 2025).

Birdland Records (NSW)

The fact that people now actually value music again after years of expecting it for nothing. This is partly due to the resurgence of Vinyl LPs, but also due to the fact that the streaming services don't have everything; they delete titles from your playlists, and in the case of Spotify, heaps of their so-called jazz streams are actually by fake bands with fake bios.

We've seen an uptick in all the physical formats we carry - CDs, SACDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray Audio - which is thanks to all the streamers, as most of them have pretty bad audio, which is very apparent if you have a good hi-fi. As one of the few independent shops in Sydney CBD, we and the others are now destinations to visit, and if you can't get here in person, there's always the internet.

Beatdisc Records

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Bondi Records (NSW)

The fact that records still matter, maybe more than ever. Streaming’s fine for background mode, but vinyl gives people a way to actually listen. To connect. You see it on their faces when they walk in, it’s part nostalgia, part discovery.

What’s cool in 2025 is that it’s not just diehards anymore. Teenagers are buying their first physical music, whether that’s a Sabrina Carpenter LP or a Daft Punk reissue. Parents introducing their kids to Bowie. Collectors hunting coloured variants. You’re not just selling wax, you’re giving someone a moment. That’s a real privilege. And the best part is when someone messages to say a record made their day.

Crosstalk Records (NSW)

Eliza: We sell both new & used records, and personally, when we acquire a collection from someone, I feel genuinely honoured to be able to go through it. A record collection is like a time capsule; you can see the landmarks of someone's life. Sometimes things that aren’t vinyl make it into the box. Love notes, cards, photos, newspaper clippings, one time.. a pickle fork. I find it fascinating, and as someone who sometimes struggles with social connection, it’s an interesting loophole.

It all kind of goes towards the whole customer service thing. I like to help people, I want to make them happy, and I want them to remember their experience with me and at Crosstalk, and to come back again and again. In other retail, you don’t really get that. It’s all a faceless conglomerate. Running a small indie record store is certainly not that.

Josh: It’s my dream job. I wake up on a Saturday morning psyched that I might get to make someone’s day with music. It’s still hard as hell (especially in the current economic climate) and there are always jobs that we all dread doing (we’re all convinced that time ceases to exist when we enter the local Post Office), but we never stop having fun and geeking out over music. I’m lucky to be able to do this. 

Crosstalk Records

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Harbourside Records (NSW)

Being able to do what I love and am passionate about every day/night. 24/7 I'm either out sourcing records, networking, ordering restocks/finding new suppliers, cleaning records, sleeving new arrivals or packing orders, dealing with customer service. Ticking off a gem found in the wild for one of our loyal customers is always fun. I welcome my customers to send me their want lists, and I'm always out hunting for specific records for people!

And, of course, the people you meet along the way from all ages and backgrounds with varied tastes. I love seeing what everyone has picked out to take home and the diversity in their selections. I have so many great stories and have made many friends along the way, buying and selling records. We have loyal customers who travel 3+ hours to visit our market stall, and hopefully that will continue once we're in our bricks and mortar store- Coming in July !

Hum (NSW)

Watching people getting excited about physical product again – vinyl has been back for a while, but it’s great to see CDs increasing. We are passionate about bringing people back to their local record shop – hanging out, getting up close and personal with artists/bands with our in-store signings and our Hum Live Sessions.

Hum

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Landspeed Records (ACT)

The best thing is seeing the resurgence of interest in physical music, now not just on vinyl but on CD, too. Ten to fifteen years ago, the outlook for record stores was pretty bleak, but now many are busier than they’ve ever been, and instead of seeing stores closing, we are seeing new ones opening up, which is amazing! Generally, though, the best thing is the people who come in through the door. You never know who you’ll meet. The weird and the wonderful. The famous (The PM is a customer) to the unknown. Every single one has a passion for music and some wisdom to impart.

Music Farmers (NSW)

I think the same thing that has always been at the heart of it is that you get to go to work, listen to records all day and talk to people about all sorts of music, but also their lives. We've always really focused on connecting with local music and arts communities and I have run a label the whole time I've done the shop, so seeing young artists come through as music fans, then seeing them form bands and helping them release records and in some cases become successful touring artists is also rewarding.

Music Farmers

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Rocky Road Records (NSW)

The customers and the records. We have amazing conversations with a broad range of people who are all at different points in their music loving / learning journeys - from young kids of 10 or 11, through to people in their 60s and 70s who've bought records, then CDs, then sold them all and are now back to buying vinyl! Getting to hang out with amazing records, play them for people and to be able to share the culture and history of a broad range of musical releases over decades is a privilege. 

Songland Records (ACT)

The opportunity to work with heritage acts whose music is still so popular today with physical product-loving customers, and the ability to work directly with their fans and our clientele.

The Mosh Pitt (NSW)

Well, it’s a great way to spend the day! Listening to music and buying music. The excitement of what may come through the door today is always fun. Talking to people about what they love about music, and why they love it. Learning about new music and artists, and discovering old music I wasn’t ready for before now. Having a chat with regulars and helping kids discover music and records. Also, the rock star hours are fantastic. Loving what you do for a living is the best job in the world!

The Mosh Pitt

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Utopia Records (NSW)

The same as it has always been, communicating with like-minded (and some not-so-like-minded) music lovers from five to 85 years old, who have a fascination and passion for the artists we sell. You can have a completely different upbringing and life experience from someone else, but the common love of music binds you together.

At our store, it is not uncommon at all to look out into the racks and see a guy covered in tatts dressed like something out of MAD MAX II conversing with a school girl in uniform and a sixty-year-old businessman in a suit about their shared love for the new ZENITH PASSAGE album or how great BOSTON were. Things that shouldn't make sense make sense here...

BnD Music Factory (VIC)

Definitely being your own boss and listening to whatever records I want to play! I love seeing young people come into the store buying vinyl, like I did when I was their age! 

BnD Music Factory

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Desert Highways (VIC)

The sense of community and friendship. We have the best customers and a really supportive community, and we have worked hard to build on it. We love how diverse it is and that they all feel comfortable to come in and hang. It was really important when opening the store to include a stage and run gigs instore every 1-2 weeks on Saturday afternoons, free and all ages, and love that anyone can attend, parents can bring their kids, teenagers can come in and see live music they usually wouldn't be able to. Reservoir is an awesome place to be.

Dutch Vinyl (VIC)

It’s definitely our customers and the people we work with—they make every day here unique and rewarding. And every day really is different. One of the most interesting parts of the job is buying secondhand collections from people who walk in. We get to meet all kinds of music lovers, and everyone has their own story to tell about the records they’ve collected over the years.

Sometimes it’s a collection that’s been passed down through the family, or maybe someone is clearing out after a big life change. Each record comes with memories of concerts, road trips, late nights, or special moments. Hearing these stories and seeing how people’s lives are connected to their music is one of the best things about what we do. It reminds us that records are more than just vinyl—they’re part of people’s lives, and that’s what makes it special. 

Dutch Vinyl

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Footscray Records (VIC)

The customers, the music recommendations, the in-store gigs, the parties, the first time you hear something you really like. 

Licorice Pie (VIC)

Meeting the extraordinary customers and musicians that make it all possible. 

Licorice Pie

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Oh Jean Records (VIC)

Getting to introduce new vinyl collectors to this addictive world. I love when we are the first ever vinyl purchase in-store! Also, with everyone's access to the internet, we get more obscure and worldwide requests, which keeps the store stock varied and exciting. We have a varied demographic now, also, which is a great change from years past. As records become the norm, we see people stopping by to check out the latest releases or find something new, and they don't have to be a collector.

Rare Records (VIC)

The camaraderie, the people I've met through the store have been amazing! Some lifelong friends, just some of the most loyal customers you could ever ask for. My small team are like my own family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Also introducing customers to bands or artists they have never heard of and then have them come back next time, gloating about how much they loved that album or artist that you recommended, that is a great feeling.

Rathdowne Records (VIC)

As society becomes increasingly atomised, a record shop is still a community bastion. As apparently everything is digitised and available at the touch of a finger, records and physical media demonstrate that clearly, many prefer the tangible, the hunt, the discovery, ownership and collecting as a form of personal and shared passion and expression.

I get to witness this joy daily, and there are certainly records I have that are not available digitised. In what other job can you get up every day and select whatever music you want and listen to it all day long? It's fantastic seeing so many younger than myself discover this passion.

Rathdowne Records

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Rock Steady Records (VIC)

People and the exchanges that lead to a new discovery or a renewed appreciation of a perhaps neglected gem. Working with local labels and artists.

Sonic Rendezvous (VIC)

The gratification of meeting new people, making people happy, being part of a community, stocking amazing records, and having a shop that's more like a Man Cave and fun place to hang out, as opposed to just a sterile place of work that exists purely for the sake of making a living. 

Sound Merch (VIC)

Seeing our happy team turn up to work every day with big smiles on their faces.

Soundmerch

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Wah Wah Records (VIC)

First and foremost, listening to vinyl all day, being surrounded by vinyl all day, talking about vinyl all day…well, most of the time. Being introduced to new music by people and hopefully introducing people to new music — the very cool relationship you share, turning each other on to music, nothing better really.

Beatniks Records (QLD)

If we can have two 'things', it would be the music and the people.  As we mentioned before, our store has become such a community of like-minded people. Customers dropping in at all times of the day to catch up, have a chat, see the latest release or at least discuss it. We enjoy all the stories, people sharing their insight, their recommendations, and their memories. Stories of family members who had 'this and that' in their collections.

There's also nothing like playing someone a recommendation and seeing the look on their face as if to say 'this is exactly what I was looking for' or 'how have I never heard of this before'. We love being across the new releases coming through and then the oddball secondhand records that come through in collections that we have never seen before!

#Beatnik Records

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Glitter Records (QLD)

We’ve never had better tools for understanding the past. About two months ago, one of the exhibitors from Studio Brunswick — our local art gallery in California Lane— started chatting with me about her parents' old music collection. I went to her house to take a look. As you’d expect, there were some musicals and the usual fare, but before we left, she showed me something else. 

Her parents had lived in Asia after the Second World War, and beside the main collection were a handful of Chinese and Hong Kong releases. She was surprised I’d even consider them part of the collection. But I told her — no, this is exactly the kind of thing I hope to find. The labels were printed entirely in unfamiliar Chinese characters, mysterious and beautifully designed, with a 1940s and 1950s silver screen Hollywood feel, but in a different cultural context. 

Hideous Records (QLD)

Making people happy! Our goal is to offer a diverse selection of music genres, ensuring that there is something for everyone. We are the sole independent record store specialising in new vinyl located north of Brisbane and south of the Sunshine Coast. We provide music lovers residing on the northside of Brisbane with an alternative to travelling to the city or purchasing from large retail chains. It is encouraging to see all generations reengaging with physical music formats and appreciating both classic and contemporary releases.

Hideous Records

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Relove Vinyl (QLD)

Being able to cater to people of all ages and tastes. Due to the surge of popularity in Vinyl over the past decade, so much more is pressed and is available to the public – anything from Bluey to Anthrax is on wax now. 

Vinyl attracts a diverse and friendly crowd, and we are always discovering new artists just from conversations with our customers, which helps us to continue to learn and grow in our own space. Having been in the industry for 10 years now, it’s been great to watch records explode in popularity and see the next generation discovering vinyl for the first time. 

Rockaway Records (QLD)

There’s something genuinely exciting about how vinyl continues to thrive. It’s not just nostalgia anymore — younger music lovers are discovering the joy of owning a physical album, start to finish. You get people in their twenties buying The Clash alongside their first turntable, and it sparks conversations across generations. There’s also been a resurgence in in-store culture: people want to browse, dig, talk, and listening events are really back with a force. Running a record store in 2025 means being a cultural hub again — and that’s something we never take for granted.

Rockaway Records

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Rocking Horse Records (QLD)

We're fortunate enough to be part of a long tradition of trading in the physical media aspect of music. It's a great privilege to be able to keep up to date on all the latest new releases, as well as learning about old and obscure gems. It's not a position we take lightly... tho' it is fun!

The ongoing resurgence in vinyl (& CDs!) has luckily afforded us a whole new clientele. Meeting new and old friends that share similar interests and raving about a favourite record together... It's a very nice thing to be a part of. It's also great to see such a diverse range of music fans loving records!

Spin & Groove (QLD)

I get great joy spreading the love of music on vinyl to music lovers, meeting people who share the same passions, expanding my music knowledge and also passing on that knowledge to customers, being a part of the independent record store community, putting on live music, sourcing used vinyl that may be rare and getting them back to sellable condition with my ultrasonic cleaner, having the ability to buy stock from all over the world including Australia, UK, USA, Japan, New Zealand with multiple suppliers and labels, I also get to sell merch, audio products, books, CD's, cassettes, the renewed love for vinyl in recent years has been exciting to be a part of.

Spin & Groove

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Wax Espresso (QLD)

I’m a collector before a seller, so it’s still about obtaining records I’ve never seen before, let alone heard or owned before, but my collection is now at a one in, one out stage. I love the fact that nobody needs to buy music anymore, but we are still able to sell music to people. It really shows that there are still music fans out there.

When people spend time in the shop, I enjoy sharing anecdotes from my touring life and my Knowledge of music with people, young and old. I also organise the Sunshine Coast Record Fairs 4 times a year, and there’s a great sense of community at these events with stall-holders and collectors coming out of the woodwork. 

Midland Records (WA)

There’s a lot rewarding about running a record store, but the best part is absolutely the excitement you see in customers when they score that record they’ve been hunting for forever. Whether it’s a brand new reissue or a secondhand copy of a long out of print record, the first ever time an album has been on vinyl, that niche underrated album in their favourite artists’ discography none of the big shops bother touching, a weird release they’d never thought would be stocked at a brick-and-mortar store in a million years, even just their first ever record purchase… there’s a million different reasons and being an integral part of making it happen is the best feeling in the world! It’s especially nice when customers let us know - compliments are always greatly appreciated and are what keep us striving for more.

Midland Records

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Clarity Records (SA)

All the amazing people we meet and talk to on a daily basis. All of these people make the day interesting and fun, and without them, we wouldn't be able to do what we do. We are forever grateful for everyone's support. We love keeping in touch with new music, discovering all sorts of gems we wouldn't have come across otherwise.

We love the thrill of exciting secondhand purchases and adding to our own record collections.

Avenue Records (TAS)

You get to gather pretty much every cross-section of society in one place where they can all mutually share in something they love. I can’t think of many other workplaces that can so positively link the hardline snob chasing that Japanese pressing of Genesis “before they were popular” and the can’t-resist-a-squeal Taylor Swift fifteen-year-old; we love creating an atmosphere for everyone. We listen to music all day, try and be upset doing that…

We are situated right next door to a popular hotel and cafe, so it is always fun having people, bands, and sporting teams visit the shop from interstate or overseas. We also love working for ourselves and being able to invest our own creativity into the business for others to enjoy.