Vinyl record sales are soaring.
According to Nielsen SoundScan, music fans bought 3.9 million vinyl records in 2011 -- the most in two decades. It's also 36 percent more than in 2010, when the previous record of 2.8 million was sold.
It's great news for A&R Records in Dallas, which now presses nearly 3,000 vinyl records per day.
"I've been in this since '74, and I'm still doing it, so I think it'll be here for a while longer," owner Stan Getz said.
Only a few years ago, the machines at A&R Records on Riverfront Boulevard ran just two days per week. Now, they sometimes run six or seven days.
"This younger generation coming up -- they're really, really getting into it because, you know, it's brand-new to them," Getz said. "CDs are like old school, and a vinyl record is a whole new world."
Just five years ago, Getz only had one full-time employee. Now he has two, with two other part-timers who pitch in when needed.
"You actually buy a record and you have the jacket and the artwork and vinyl sounds great," owner Stan Getz said. "It's the real thing."
Some vinyl records come with free CDs or cards for free digital downloads.
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"We're getting a lot of kids -- they have a garage band that put out records, put out a record and sell it off the stage when they're playing gigs," Getz said.
But A&R makes records for some big names, including Beyoncé.
"They're getting into gatefold jackets, and they have full color inserts and posters," Getz said. "It's just like back in the '70s, when it was the real thing."
