Mizzou Records changes location, promotes vinyl sound
The new store is easy to browse, if not particularly eye-catching.
Published Sept. 1, 2009
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Brandon Kramer, MU graduate and owner of Mizzou Records, promotes the new location of his business by distributing free records to students Monday at Speakers Circle. Mizzou Records is now located on the corner of Walnut and Tenth streets.
Brandon Kramer doesn't own an MP3 player, but as the owner of Mizzou Records, thousands of vinyl albums are at his fingertips. Plus, he prefers vinyl sound quality.
"Digital is quick and easy, portable and convenient, but it's a very poor product," he said. "Records and reel-to-reel, those are the two mediums for quality music and quality storage."
Kramer surrounded himself with those media when he and a partner bought Whizz Records about two years ago.
Whizz was reincarnated as Happy Time Media. Once the partner left, Kramer became the owner. He said the new shop is a miniaturized version of Whizz.
Kramer relocated his record shop to 1013 E. Walnut St. from 20 S. Ninth St. at the beginning of July.
While making the move, Kramer pared out 2,000 to 3,000 records, which left about 13,000 in the store.
"It doesn't sound like a lot," he said. "(The store is) not a lot smaller, I just left a bunch of garbage."
His sales floor is minimalist and functional. A few piles of 20 or 30 records are just inside the front door. Metal shelves are packed with plastic storage bins. Each bin houses hundreds of records. The bins let customers see the album spines so they don't have to dig through stacks of records.
"It looks awful, but the browsing ability is great," Kramer said.
His signage, too, is practical. He spelled "RECORDS" with black marker on six pieces of white business paper, and hung them in the window. The white walls are barren, but Kramer wants to solicit local artists and might post an ad on Craigslist to do so.
Behind the counter rests an assortment of hi-fidelity players, speakers and turntables. Kramer modeled his store around being one huge arrival bin. Customer requests are encouraged, but he'll stock new arrivals and vintage records, too.
Kramer is proud of his prices, which he said are 20 to 50 percent lower than the old store. Popular, mint condition copies won't exceed $15, he said.
Besides managing the store and lowering prices, Kramer is cross-promoting Cavetone Records, a Columbia-based, vinyl-only label which represents local artists like Monte Carlos and Diablo Blanco. Scott Walus, founder of the label, assigned Kramer to promote Cavetone artists. Kramer aspires to start a circuit for bands in other cities by planning with venues, stores and labels.
"We want to do whatever we can to engender a music community," Kramer said. "I urge any local artist to bring in CDs. I want to carry as much local music as possible."
Until then, Kramer will promote Mizzou Records to draw in customers. His latest idea is to hit the streets and hand out records — goofy and playable — on the MU campus.
"I need to do something physical to get people over here, to get people to actually stop and get a physical introduction to the store," he said.
Until two years ago, Kramer wasn't a record connoisseur. He was going through a record bin when he found "Animals," his favorite Pink Floyd album. The vinyl sound quality surpassed digital. By getting people through the door, Kramer can get people into vinyl.
"People who care about music quality are into vinyl," Kramer said. "I don't worry about competing with digital. I need to make an effort to get people into the (vinyl) market."