Making and Selling Music, for the Record

If you think listening to records is for grandpa, think again. Mark Rainey, owner, founder and head honcho of , is usually found at the store, where he will gladly debate musical tastes with customers in a friendly manner or discuss issues with struggling musicians with great compassion.

He talked to Patch about how vinyl records have continued to survive as an integral part of the modern music industry, right here in Fountain Valley.

Fountain Valley Patch: What inspired you to start this business?

Mark Rainey: TKO Records started as an independent punk record label in 1997, in San Francisco. By 2004, we had moved to Orange County and were running operations out of an office and warehouse space. As time passed, our landlord kept raising the rent on us. Eventually, it got to the point where we realized that we could afford a retail space for roughly the same amount that we were paying monthly. Also, right around this time, we had people wandering into the office off the street, hoping we were a record store and complaining to us about all the local record stores that had gone out of business. Putting these two factors together, opening our own store was a no-brainer.  Looking back now, I can't believe that we waited as long as we did. 

Since we opened in 2007, the store has become the main focus of our business. We've transformed from a record label that opened a store to a record store that has an in-house label. In the face of the turbulent times that the music industry is currently facing, the store has been our saving grace. On a personal level, I find it very ironic; as a teenager, years before I ever conceived of starting a record label, I dreamed of owning my own record store. Now everything has come full circle.

Patch: How has the local community responded to your business?

Rainey: The reaction has been great! We've been open for nearly three years now, and we've got a great bunch of regulars who keep us on our toes with their diverse musical tastes and record collecting needs. We have also been honored to have people visiting from as far away as Canada, the UK, Europe and Japan, who make a point of coming by to do some shopping while they're in Southern California.

Patch: What makes audio quality of vinyl records better or worse than other media?

Rainey: I just think that vinyl sounds better. Vinyl/analog has a warmth and richness of tone that you don't get on the digital formats. Once a recording gets compressed and condensed onto a digital format, it's been reduced to data, essentially a series of ones and zeroes. That's fine for listening while you're on the go, but given the choice I always prefer vinyl.

Patch: Why do people still buy vinyl records?

Rainey: Sentimentality, collectibility and audio quality all figure into vinyl's appeal--but there's more to it than that. For our customers, listening to a vinyl record is an entirely different experience to listening to the other formats. A vinyl record is a substantial, tangible piece of art that commands your full attention. A true music lover will take the time to sit down and drop the needle on a new piece of vinyl,  and sit and listen, absorbing everything that comes out of the speakers as they study the artwork and information contained in the packaging. Compare that to the way recorded music is experienced by the average person via a CD or MP3 file: as background noise, or at best a mere distraction while going about their day.

Patch: Which music genres and bands are most popular at your store in terms of vinyl records (specific names of bands and genres)?

Rainey: We carry all types of music, but the most popular genre for our store is punk.

Patch: Is there a new generation of vinyl record listeners blooming, and who are they?

Rainey: In the big picture, vinyl is still very much a specialty market. But there is definitely a new generation of vinyl lovers on the scene. They're the next breed of music enthusiasts, looking for the listening experience that vinyl records provide.

Patch: Do you think putting music on vinyl records can boost exposure for new artists, or is it just a niche market for old musicians?

Rainey: There are scores of new artists and independent labels pressing new titles on vinyl, and the major labels have followed suit, pressing new titles and back-catalog items on vinyl as well. But yes, I would agree that this is definitely catering to a niche market.

Patch: What is the future of vinyl records?

Rainey: Vinyl is here to stay. CDs eventually lose their memory and fail, MP3 files can get corrupted, hard drives crash, but vinyl is forever.