Vinyl is back in vogue, and Dave Castleman, who owns Shady Dog Record & Disc Exchange in Berwyn, is thrilled, writes Hobart Rowland for the Main Line Today.
Castleman has devoted most of his life to records. He started working at Plastic Fantastic vinyl shop in 1976, eventually becoming vice president. He opened Shady Dog Record & Disc Exchange in Narberth with business partner Mike Notaro in 1993.
“We had vinyl even then,” said Castleman. “When we get the right stuff, the collectors have always been there.”
However, records eventually gave way first to cassettes, then CDs, pushing vinyl off store shelves. Many titles stopped releasing vinyl versions entirely.
But today, at Shady Dog’s Berwyn, it is vinyl that attracts people. The store offers a vast selection of both new and used records.
Interestingly, streaming services have played a major role in vinyl’s resurgence, with listeners seeking out physical records after discovering songs on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.
“So many younger people are downloading stuff, and the ones who are a little more serious about it are looking for the original hard copies of stuff,” said Castleman.
Read more about Shady Dog Record & Disc Exchange in the Main Line Today.
