Sydney’s oldest standing record store Lawsons Records is closing down, sigh. The secondhand shop opened in Pitt Street in the heart of Sydney’s CBD in 1968 and since then, has seen the rise and fall of record sales over the years.
The shop is closing due to unattainable rent prices, with long term owner Jerry Pasqual telling the ABC his rent went from $1,450 to $5,000 a week around seven years ago when the landlord changed.
Sydney’s oldest standing record store Lawsons Records is closing down due to unattainable rent. The Pitt Street store has been open since 1968.
According to the Australian Recording Industry Association ( ARIA), vinyl has made a comeback will high sales for the eighth year in a row, with 2018 reaching $21 million. Despite this vinyl revival, the market still wasn’t strong enough to keep them going.
Mr Pasqual, now 77 reflected on the success of his small business and the changes he has encountered telling the ABC: “The 1980s were the best for vinyl”
“By 1992 people really wanted CDs so that’s when we called St Vinnies — they brought three trucks and took all the records away.”
“Come 11 years later, everyone wants vinyls, so we had to start all over again,” he said.
The shop has been a music lover’s and vinyl collector’s paradise over the years, as well as selling many DVDs and CDs for people to lose themselves in. The store officially closes on the 27th April.
