Inside the Minds Behind Indy’s Vinyl Culture
Words by Avery Martin; Photos by Lydia Norton
Record stores have long been cultural staples, places where sound reflects the thoughts, tastes, and emotions of the community around them. They support artists in a way that digital platforms simply can’t, grounding music in something tangible and shared.
The “resurgence” of physical media in our increasingly digital world may not be a resurgence at all. To explore that idea, I visited three record stores across Indianapolis to talk with the people behind these carefully curated collections. What I found was that many of them haven’t been reborn. They’ve been thriving for years, even decades.
Indy CD & Vinyl, Square Cat Vinyl, and LUNA music are just a few of the vinyl destinations around the city, each rooted in and supported by its own unique neighborhood community.
Across Indianapolis, record stores function as retail spaces, but they’re also places where people gather, discover, and feel a sense of belonging. That role has shaped how shop owners think about curation. For Patrick Burtch, co-owner of Square Cat Vinyl, that mindset means openness.
“We try to touch on a little bit of everything,” he says, observing that the shop’s philosophy has evolved “from being a bit snobbish to being a little bit more of a place where you can get a little bit of everything.”
Community sits at the center of that approach. Burtch sees record stores as uniquely positioned to foster connection.
“I think there are a few types of retail shops that build community, and I think record stores are one of them,” he says. “It just brings like-minded people together in a setting that feels like they belong and they can be themselves.”
Many owners framed their stores as a “third place,” a role that requires intentional connection. Andy Skinner, co-owner of Indy CD & Vinyl, emphasizes that point. “There has to be some kind of connection with the people who choose to spend their hard-earned dollars on the things that they are deeply passionate about.”
The audience record stores serve has also shifted over time. “The stereotypical record store customer … a decade ago … was like a middle-aged man … looking for very specific stuff,” Burtch recalls. “However, over the last ten years, I’ve noticed our customers have gotten more diverse in terms of age range. A lot more young people than when we first opened.” Neighborhoods matter too, especially in places with active music scenes, where stores reflect the sounds and energy around them.
Supporting local artists remains a constant across shops. At LUNA Music, Alex Johnson invites musicians directly into the retail space, encouraging them “to come in and bring their records, tapes, or CDs and get it sold in our store, on a consignment basis.”
At Indy CD & Vinyl, that support extends even further, into performance, documentation, and preservation. Skinner explains, “Someday, some anthropologist or sociologist is going to say, wow, what you guys had here in Indianapolis was amazing, but there’s just grainy social media clips that prove that it actually happened. So we started recording the bands, and then we started putting them out on limited-edition vinyl.”
The draw of physical media itself is part resistance, part ritual. Burtch frames it as pushback. “I think maybe it’s a little bit of a backlash against the digital age.” For Skinner, it comes down to ownership. “It’s tangible. You’re able to hold it and own it,” he says plainly. “You’re not inviting your friends over to see your MP3 collection.”
Vinyl also offers something digital can’t replicate, both sonically and historically. Johnson points to sound quality. “If you have an analog medium … it’s going to give you really good fidelity when you play it.” Skinner reminds us of longevity. “As long as you take care of it, 100 years from now, you’re going to be able to play it, and nobody’s going to take it from you.”
What people are buying continues to evolve. Several stores have seen demand shift heavily toward pop music. Skinner points to TikTok as a major influence. “TikTok is important,” he says. “It’s become the front door of the internet.” That influence has pushed albums like Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and Grace by Jeff Buckley back into circulation, something store owners are happy to see. “I’m for it,” Skinner adds. “Please come in and buy Grace on LP.”
When asked to represent their shops with a single artist or album, the answers spanned genres and generations, from King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard to Prince, Björk, The Sugarcubes, and Factory Records. Together, they reflect the same idea that guides their shelves: there’s room for everything. Or, as Skinner puts it best, “Our niche is to not be niche.”
