The College-Age Vinyl Wave

‍

When customers walk into Black Plastic Records Oxford, the bell on the door rings, and suddenly, rock ‘n’ roll or punk rock music pours over them. The fresh hardwood floors are surrounded by teal blue walls adorned with various albums and shelves full of rolled up posters. An island sits in the center, displaying jewelry and stickers, all with the hopes of drawing people in. 

Despite the decorations and wearable items available for sale, the stacks of vinyl records arranged alphabetically within their genres pull everything together; Black Plastic offers everything from Iron Maiden to Taylor Swift. 

Although many customers come into the shop with an album already in mind, the long-haired man behind the counter wearing cozy black clothing often changes their minds. 

Steve Schmoll, owner of Black Plastic, has successfully pitched all kinds of music to people over the years. As a vinyl connoisseur in and out of the shop for 40-50 hours every week, Schmoll naturally shares his expertise.

“I always wanted to work at a record store when I was younger,” Schmoll said.

‍

“I’ve been listening to albums for as long as I can remember. Music is a healthy thing. It’s my lifestyle.”

Schmoll practically lived in record shops as a teenager, which led him to explore other music-related positions in his adult life, like working as a concert sound engineer and tour manager before getting into the record business.

Later in life, Schmoll decided to return to his roots and open a smaller, premiere Black Plastic in downtown Cincinnati. Eventually, the pandemic forced him to close it with four months still left on his lease. Without anybody at work nearby to generate foot traffic, Schmoll decided to move.

He relocated the shop to Oxford in November 2022 because Miami University was the only college campus he could think of without a record store. Today, Schmoll curates his inventory based on the interests of students, who gravitate toward indie rock, rap, punk and metal. 

‍

‍

Schmoll said half his buyers frequent the shop once a week, including junior music education major Mason Snyder.

Snyder continues to invest in his over $3,000 vinyl collection that he started as a 10-year-old. He meticulously cares for his beloved records, such as a fully functional 1920s “Hot Five and Hot Seven Sessions” by Louis Armstrong, which he inherited from his grandfather. 

Like Schmoll, Snyder grew up with vinyl around the house, so now, he makes it a part of his adulthood. He carries on the tradition by setting the mood with a record every time he hosts, and he always explains the context behind his pick.

“As a future music educator, I want to [teach] moments of music history,” Snyder said. “The experience vinyl creates and the reaction it evokes means the world to me.”

While Synder could make a decent amount of money by reselling his valuable vinyl collection, he pursues this physical form of music because of the nostalgia it produces. 

“There was a resurgence in vinyl playing in my age group that happened during COVID,” Snyder said. “The quality of the sound brought us back to a simpler time.”

Vinyl sales increased by 29% in 2020, producing $626 million in profit according to the Record Industry Association of America.

Schmoll agrees with Snyder’s take on the rising popularity of vinyl and has also noticed an increase in sales. He believes vinyl’s popularity partially stems from people’s desire to escape their daily digital workload.

“People that really like music want to own it and sit and listen to it,” Schmoll said. “It’s better than sitting on a screen all day.”

Despite the vintage appeal of vinyl, Schmoll designed Black Plastic to immerse the modern eye. He hopes to draw customers away from big-box retailers like Amazon and support in-person record shopping instead. One way he keeps customers’ attention is by expanding the available discography by surprise. 

While Schmoll enjoys many aspects of his job, he especially cherishes the unique conversations he strikes up at the register. 

“I just like helping out customers that are really into music,” Schmoll said. “Especially when they find something they didn’t think we would ever have.”

Schmoll posts a photo of almost everybody who exits the shop with a vinyl on Black Plastic’s Instagram. This includes groups of people like RedHawk Radio’s Music Committee members. The group hung out at the shop together before their meeting one day, chatting about what they dig and shuffling through every box of vinyls. 

Schmoll also updates the shop’s online profiles whenever he receives shipments. He loves to express Black Plastic’s personality through its social media.

Once, he published a clip of his friend’s pet opossum crawling across the vinyls. Schmoll coordinated the rodent’s hour-long appearance specifically for Instagram, and after answering multiple requests over the phone, he plans to schedule an in-store meet and greet with it soon. 

One newcomer to vinyl, senior environmental earth science and sustainability double major Charity Daly, discovered the page after the opossum video popped up on Instagram. This funny content enticed her to visit Black Plastic the week it launched in Oxford.

Daly currently rotates three records from Black Plastic — “Currents” by Tame Impala, “I Know I’m Funny Haha” by Faye Webster and “Titanic Rising” by Weyes Blood — which Schmoll tagged her holding on Instagram. Just like Snyder, Daly tries to snag a record every time she visits. Whenever she goes with her friends, she said they always ask themselves how they will be able to resist spending all their money at Black Plastic.

When Daly visits, she always strolls through the aisles looking at the different albums, some of which she recognizes, but many that she does not. When she encounters an unfamiliar but intriguing album, she snaps a picture of it to stream before she comes back to commit to the physical copy during her next check-in at Black Plastic.

Daly said the cover art on each album usually impacts her opinions and favorites most. However, even when she is not convinced enough by the record’s aesthetic to buy it, she becomes more tempted if she sees it on the shelf twice.

“If it’s there the next time, then it’s fate,” Daly said. “There can be rare finds there.”

Daly enjoys Black Plastic’s diverse vinyl selection. Snyder feels similarly and appreciates the shop’s aesthetic and social atmosphere. 

“One of the great things about the place is that the owner cares,” Snyder said. “I have good conversations with him and always leave having learned something worthwhile.”

For many Miami students, Black Plastic has become their musical home. Since Oxford added the record shop to its strip, both new customers and returning customers value the shop as the indie heart of their Miami experience. 

‍