MADISON, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- At a time when Wisconsinites are looking for an escape, Strictly Discs in Madison is hitting a high note.
“Music has never been more popular than it is right now and it's very accessible,” says Angie Roloff, owner of Strictly Discs.
Music is especially popular during the pandemic as people are longing for connection.
Music holds a different weigh for everyone. For some, it's all in the family.
“(Music is) everything. When I got out of the army, I became a mason just to support my music habit,” says customer Mike Winget.
Winglet loves music so much, he named his 11-year-old son, “Lyric.”
"I’m here for my son today, trying to find some stuff to give him some culture instead of him listening to the stuff on the radio," says Winget.
“Music is a whole world of rhythm,” says Lyric Winget.
“It's therapeutic; it’s enjoyable and it's still a small ticket item while many of us may be cutting back on more extravagant things, we still might be able to justify a record that brings us joy,” says Roloff.
A joy that in Roloff’s case after 26 years is still going strong.
“My husband and I met in the store I came in to buy an album in 1994, ” she says.
“We are moving into our 29th year,” says Roloff.
After leaving a sales job in bioengineering Ron, her husband decided to pursue his passion for music and opened Madison-based independent music store, Strictly Discs in 1988.
Roloff says most who have been in the independent music store business have stores that have gotten fairly good at pivoting over the years. So, despite COVID-19 postponing…Record day, an industry tradition since 2008, Strictly Discs is maneuvering around it.
“It started with the goal of keeping independent record stores from closing or going out of business at a time independent music stores were closing at alarming rates. So, the industry as a whole decided, 'Let's create a day that celebrates the culture around independent record stores and brings people in and get them excited about releases they can only get locally on that day.'"
This year Record Day will span three non-consecutive days over three months. The first one begins on August 29th.
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