Inside Harbourside Records in Warilla. Photo: Supplied.
Jacob Zammit grew up on CDs and MP3s, but that hasn’t stopped him from diving headfirst into the vinyl revival — and now, he’s opening his first Illawarra record store.
After six months of selling online and at markets, Harbourside Records is spinning into a permanent space in Warilla in July, proving there’s still a market for crate-digging and musical nostalgia.
“I’m probably not what you’d expect – I’m a 90s kid, so I grew up on CDs and later moved into the MP3/downloading era,” Jacob said.
“I was a collector of CDs. My parents weren’t record collectors either, really. There were some in the cupboard left from the 80s, but it wasn’t a thing in our house.”
He said his interest in vinyl record collecting came later in life as his music knowledge broadened, admitting he “grew obsessed”.
“I started buying all of my favourite records that meant something to me – on vinyl – writing lists and spreadsheets of records to add to the collection and ticking them off one by one,” he said.
“I have a few thousand myself now in the personal collection, which I listen to daily and it’s an ever-growing collection.”
He said during the past few years, his personal collection had ballooned.
“I started buying more and more large collections, which started taking up a lot of the garage, spare room and into the bedrooms. Somewhat like a hoarder,” he said, laughing.
Jacob said changes in his life, work and health led him to try online selling as a hobby, starting with eBay and Discogs to offload surplus records and duplicates from his personal collection.
Six months ago, he decided to do the markets at Kiama, never anticipating the demand it would create.
“We have regulars that travel from Sydney and beyond for our market stall every month,” he said.
“I created a website and now have taken the next jump into a retail store.
“It’s a bit of a risk and there is an unknown element with cost of living struggles felt by all, including us.
“Most stores are closing down currently. Most stores are going to an online-only model, but I’ve decided to go the other way.”
Harbourside Records at the Kiama Seaside Markets. Photo: Supplied.
He said the reason for choosing Warilla stemmed from visiting Windang every weekend from Sydney during his childhood.
“I’ve been a music lover/nerd my entire life and have been visiting the area since I was seven years old,” he said.
“I love the area; it always felt like home for me.
“Recently I made the move down to Shellharbour and noticed that south of Wollongong there isn’t a record store or anywhere for us nerds to congregate.
“There are so many music lovers in this part of the Illawarra.”
He said the success of the market stall, and repeated questions by customers as to whether he had a shop, solidified the idea to open a storefront.
“I just thought, why not take a risk. It’s what I love to do,” he said.
“Even though the online store is a success, there’s something missing with an online store experience – for the customer and me as the business owner.
“With music records in particular being a physical medium, I think it’s even more important.
“You can’t beat an actual in-person crate dig. A website just can’t give that feeling.”
He said he sold a 50/50 split of new and used records across all genres and to all demographics, admitting there was “no record store elitism”.
“I plan for my store to be welcoming to every customer, with a section for every taste – from modern pop to obscure jazz, death metal to hip hop,” he said.
Jacob said his market stalls even attracted parents and their children who came in and talked about records together, often sharing what records they had “back in the day”.
“A lot of people seem to be buying back their 70s and 80s collections after disposing of them in the CD boom of the 90s,” he said.
“There’s people like myself that are buying their old CD collection, on vinyl.
“Then there’s new releases … though you’d be surprised with the amount of young teenagers buying The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Rolling Stones. I love seeing it.”
Learn more about Harbourside Records or follow on Facebook for an announcement on the official opening day in July. The store is located upstairs at 4/4 George St, Warilla.
