We here at Tone Deaf love nothing more than reporting on everything that is music, however sometimes there might be a little bit too much focus on just the artists, and the myriad of work that goes on behind closed doors is forgotten. Remember record stores? For many (including us) record stores have always been a place of education, worship, and community – so to celebrate these great spaces each fortnight we’re reaching out to shine a much deserved spotlight some of our favourite indie record stores .
We recently spoke with Nate Nott one of the owners of Melbourne music institution Polyester Records. Born in 1981, Polyester quickly became champions of all music local, independent, and quality having made the store a second home for many talented artists and their music.
In 2012 Polyester Records launched vinyl only label offshoot, last year they celebrated their 30th birthday, successfully crowd-funded a new live music space within their Fitzroy store, and have continued to be a ‘music visit’ Melbourne location for music fans far and wide. Nott graciously took some time to give us a snapshot of what it’s like to run a successful and respected independent record store today. For more info on Polyester visit www.polyesterrecords.com.
The Beginning
I started working a few shifts a week in 2003 and those shifts kept growing until the previous owners asked if myself and my business partner, Simon Karis would be interested in taking over. In 2003 it was very different, far more word of mouth in terms of finding out about new bands. Lots of taking a punt at ordering in records and finding out what they sounded like rather than having the access to everything online. In some ways it was far more exciting then and I still try to hold on to that element a bit. I don’t like having really early access to albums, I prefer to get into a record when everyone else is.
A Day In The Life Of Polyester
Involves lots and lots of researching and listening. It’s very important to us to keep all ears out for new music and a lot of that comes from engaging with our customers and finding out what they’re digging at the moment. There’s always lots of day to day things to keep on top of with web orders and just emailing – I try to consume as much coffee as possible.”
The Physical Format Lives On
Well it’s always on the knife point but I think staying true to what we do has been important. Always having faith that there will be a percentage of people that still want to own music in a physical format and that it means something to them. Those numbers of people may have dipped but they are still around and at the moment it’s enough to keep us going.
Personal Connection Is Vital
We really do hope people have a personal connection to the shop because it means a lot to us. I think we’ve worked pretty hard at trying to remove the idea of the arrogant record store clerk over the years as well as developing a good honest dialogue with customers. I think every one here hates the idea of putting the “sell” on a record so anything we ever recommend we really mean. By the same token we are more than happy to tell people that a record sucks if we think it does – we don’t want people to regret buying records and feel like this method develops a good level of trust.
Service is also very important to us not just as a brand but personally we just want to work with good people. We’re in a pretty fortunate position where lots of people want to work here so we’re lucky we get to pick some real solid employees who very rarely leave. I’d love to have all my friends working here but it’s a small operation so we keep it pretty tight.
Record Store Relationships
I really love the community that surrounds the shop, some days the most enjoyable thing is friends who work in music coming in for a chat. Some of the tightest relationships we have are with other record store owners which could be a surprise to some outsiders as they’d be perceived as competition in other industries but we love having chats and sharing ideas with the crew from Basement and Chris at Northside and even interstate stores like Red Eye and Jet Black Cat.
Aside from that we have great relationships with lots of promoters and record labels and also those personal relationships with local bands who bring in their albums to sell on consignment. I love that bands still operate on that D.I.Y level of just making an album and taking into shops themselves. It’s an important reason to why we are still here.
Some Of The Greatest Moments
I really enjoy every instore we have, mostly because we have them when I local band we like is releasing a new album and it’s a pleasure to be involved in that in some way. We had Nile Rodgers do a Q&A and book signing once which was a very cool moment and also last week when the Twerps played a show in our backyard. It was just once of those moments where you look around and there’s good people everywhere watching this awesome bands and you think ‘yeah, this is what we do it for’.
The Greatest Lesson
I still feel like I’m learning so much every week. Most importantly though its to not take anything for granted. I appreciate every person who chooses to buy records from us, its no secret that they could probably just buy records online and not bother to shop at their local record stores but they do it because they want to support us and feel that we are doing something worthwhile by being here.
What The Owners Would Be Doing If Not Polyester
I’m not too sure but it would have to be something within music. It’s all I’ve ever really thought about. I’d hope it would still be encouraging people to listen to and absorb albums with the attention and respect that they deserve. My main concern is that music is getting more and more disposable. Too much in this day and age people are into something for a week then it’s cast aside. You should have to sit down with a good record and give it your undivided attention. Think about the music on the album, think about what the musicians are doing and where they’re coming from and really get to know those records. That’s what I care most about and that’s what I want to continue to promote.
The Future Of record Stores?
I do still believe that there is a way for us to keep on surviving but it’s just taking more and more work. I think the idea of simply selling stock over a counter has all but died now, not just for us but retail in general. You have to try and be involved in as many aspects of your industry/community as possible even if those things aren’t about making money. It’s important to show people that you do care about what you’re doing.
The Coolest To Come Through Polyester’s Doors
With so many amazing reissue labels around the world now the amount of incredible new compilations or reissues of some of the weirdest music in the world is dropping into the shop almost weekly so that’s a real treat but to be honest it’s still new releases by local bands that I find the most interesting. We’re pretty blessed in this city to have such a healthy and diverse range of bands and I don’t think there’s anything cooler than that.
