A vinyl shop in Douglas is capping the price of its products amidst a general increase in the price of records.

Sound Records, which is based in Wellington Street, Douglas, is ran by keen record-lovers Ed Oldham and Jack Doyle, and offers a range of products such as vinyl, vintage clothes, record players and guitar equipment.

Jack explained that the shop, which has been based in Wellington Street for three years now, is capping its prices to ‘mitigate the impact’ on its customers.

He said: ‘The price of everything in life is going up now, isn’t it?

‘The vinyl market isn’t any different to others - rising manufacturing and distribution costs has seen the price of records go up, which has impacted the sale price.

‘We’ve committed to cap the impact of the rising costs on our customers by guaranteeing the lowest possible price. This is just our way of trying to make it so it’s not unacceptable or unreasonable.

‘We’re always getting new people in the shop, and if at first view they see a record priced at over £40, they might be put off. We’ve seen at the start of the shop when records were priced at roughly £20 or £25, and I think our aim is to keep it below that £40 mark where possible.’

Ed added that the war between Russia and Ukraine was a factor in the increasing vinyl prices worldwide due to the increasing price of oil.

He said: ‘All the prices shot up all of a sudden because vinyl is a byproduct of the petrochemical industry. We were finding that we were having to pay a price for a record that we used to be able to charge people.

‘Things have settled down a bit since then, but I would say that the increasing popularity of records in the last 10 to 15 years has also played its part.’

The popularity of the vinyl scene on the island led to Jack and Ed moving from their basement shop on the corner of Duke Street to this more noticeable location in 2021.

The pair hoped for a more community-based and social feel in the new shop, which has recently been achieved through recorded ‘Sound Sessions’ from local artists and bands (most recently ‘Terence George and the Shakies’).

Jack said: ‘It's getting busier and busier, and we actually outgrew the little shop as it was getting so full and people actually used to turn away as they couldn't get in.

‘We're still here and people keep coming back. I think what keeps us here is returning customers and regulars, and that's what is really important.’

‘It’s a business, but it’s also a community as well’, Ed added.

‘We've become friends with people that come in here regularly. People we first meet as teenagers go through high school and university and still come back to the shop. You're seeing people grow up as well, which is really kind of strange.’

Sound Records has recently launched a new website, which you can check out by visiting https://www.soundrecords.im/