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Small retailers buck an industry trend that has seen the closure of mainstream chains such as Zavvi and Borders At the Truck record store in Oxford’s student heartland, light streams in through huge, spotless windows, while customers lounge on hessian covered window seats, or listen to new music on a shiny CD player. It is as far from the stereotypical dusty old record shop as it is possible to imagine. “We wanted to create a hub for the local community, and for the local music culture – somewhere bright and welcoming,” said co-owner Robin Bennett. “Oxford has such a strong music scene but people who are into their music have nowhere to go unless shops like ours open.” The travails of the record industry are well known. Zavvi and Borders have disappeared while the last remaining chain, HMV, continues to struggle, issuing profit warnings and recently announcing that it would close 40 stores as music buyers migrate online. But Truck is evidence of what is perhaps a surprising trend: it is one of a dozen new independent record shops that have opened around Britain over the past year. Numbers of independent stores reached a low of 269 in 2009, but last year that had grown to 281, the first increase in a generation, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association. More than two thirds of them have joined forces with independent labels and artists for Record Store Day on Saturday, a 24-hour celebration of the independent music scene. Rare exclusives are on offer, from a Lady Gaga 12″ picture disc to a special 7″ vinyl single of Ozzy Osbourne’s Flying High Again, while stores throughout the UK will be hosting performances from bands such as Wild Beasts, Frightened Rabbit and Chilly Gonzales. Organiser Spencer Hickman described the event as a grassroots celebration of stores that are pulling through a difficult economic environment. “Record Store Day is everywhere now. There are performances in every part of the UK. It’s like an urban Glastonbury.” After years of decline, independent record shops had raised their game and found their niche in the music market, he added. “The fact that we have seen new stores opening this year shows that there are still music lovers who want to buy physical music from people who are just as enthusiastic as they are. There are lots of people who still want music as an art form not just a download.” Sipping a coffee in Truck, Bennett, who founded the local independent Truck festival in 1998 with his brother Joe, said modern stores had to provide something special. “Record shops have realised that you can’t carry on doing the same thing. You have to offer more – hold in-store gigs, offer coffee and stock incredible music,” he said. “You also have to have exceptional staff. We are trying not to be too elitist and just be a place where people feel welcome.” Customer Ally Jones admitted to buying his CDs on Amazon because “it’s just too cheap” but had come into the shop to browse its vinyl and comics. “You know they are going to know more than the lad in HMV, and you can buy something a bit different like an LP with great artwork.” Vinyl has provided an unlikely lifeline in the independent music market. Of the 232 exclusive releases as part of Record Store Day, 220 are on vinyl with just 10 on CD and two on cassette. Pointing out a Pet Sounds reissue he covets, Bennett said that 40% of Truck’s sales come from vinyl. “It’s insane,” said Bennett. “But they are beautiful things. Music fans love the artwork and the solidity of vinyl.” Other factors have given a boost to independent record stores, said Graham Jones, author of Last Shop Standing, a history of the rise and fall of the independent record shop. Record labels are giving independent shops better deals, while the price of CDs in supermarkets has increased, he said. Chancellor George Osborne has also vowed to tackle a loophole that allows Channel Island-based companies to avoid paying VAT on CDs and DVDs when they are ordered from the likes of Play.com and Amazon. “If that happens then record shops will no longer be playing at a 20% disadvantage, and that could make all the difference,” said Jones. Despite falling album sales – which dropped another 8% last year – independent music remains in robust health, with independent artists such as Adele dominating the charts, said Martin Mills, chairman of independent label Beggars Group. Mills, whose group is home to artists such as Thom Yorke and Jarvis Cocker, said it was easier for fans to find new music online. And unlike pop music sales, which are driven by singles, indie music fans were still loyal to the album. “Independent music is flourishing, because it is so much easier to discover new music, and album buying, including in digital form, is the way that those fans connect with the artists,” he said. “Album sales are increasingly skewing towards independent artists.” Independent stores are unlikely to reach levels seen in the 1980s, when there were more than 2,200 in the UK, but some record shop lovers, like Jones, are cautiously optimistic about the future. “When I wrote Last Shop Standing I thought I was writing the obituary for the independent record store,” he said. “It turns out that may have been premature.” Record Store Day Retail industry HMV Zavvi Borders Alexandra Topping guardian.co.uk