The beat goes on at Tracks

Nag Champa incense burns and the sound of Robert Thompson’s rock album resonates through the record store. A juxtaposition of IU gear and vinyl records line the walls of the now 22-year-old store, aptly named Tracks.

Tracks, located at 415 E. Kirkwood Ave., has seen a significant change in the past year. This difference is evident as customers walk through the glass doors — T-shirts and hoodies, as well as pajamas and shorts donning IU colors, are now sold at the store which previously only housed vinyl records, CDs, and audio equipment.

The changes have been a great improvement for the store’s sales, owner Andy Walter said.

“The T-shirts have really expanded our customer base, and we see a lot of new people coming in here buying records, as well,” he said. “Every business has to diversify somehow, and this was our way of doing that.”

Tracks was opened by Walter in 1972 at Purdue University and University of Notre Dame, but the only location that was a financial success was Bloomington, which opened in 1988.

“When I was in my 30’s I couldn’t find a job, so I got a job at a record store,” Walters said. “Then I moved to wholesale, and when I had enough money to open a store, I did it.”

The store’s clothing inventory, which came from excess Steve and Barry’s merchandise after its closing, brings a new aspect to the college experience for customers, store employee Haleigh Howe said.

“We still have over 20,000 CDs and 40,000 LPs,” Howe said. “But the majority of our sales comes from the fact that our clothing is so much cheaper than any other store in Bloomington.”

With the advent of increasing vinyl record sales, Tracks hasn’t lost much of its previous clientele from the transition. Customers can still browse for their favorite heavy metal album or purchase electronics and candy at the store.

“There has been an uptake in vinyl in the past three or four years,” said IU graduate student and employee Mike Lang. “We still have the best selection of music in Bloomington, and I believe we have the best metal selection in the Midwest.”

Walters commented on the fact that Tracks has something for everyone, saying that when IU students come in with their parents to buy college clothing, the parents are taken back to their younger years seeing the music selection.

“We have a lot of space still, and that’s great,” he said. “The addition of the clothing kind of turned off a few of our customers before, but I think it’s been a great change.”

The atmosphere of Tracks is still the same, and if anybody is a music hobbyist, Walters said they could never get bored at Tracks.

Lang said the store can be approached on many different levels. It takes the characteristics of a record store, clothing store or possibly a hybrid of the two.

“I like this place,” Walters said.  “Actually, I love this place; it’s totally awesome man,” Walters said.