Wax Galaxy Records, located at 124 N. Wayne St., is quickly approaching its one-year anniversary after bringing a wide variety of music, physical media, and record keeping equipment to the area.
Since opening, Wax Galaxy has made changes and improvements to its layout and inventory, offering more products and providing more ways to shop. Wax Galaxy Owner Mike Turner stated the goal is to create relationships with customers, both in the college and local scene.
“It's been really great. We have a solid group of regulars who are in each week, and new folks are finding us all the time. Getting the word out has been a bit slow, but it’s grown at a sustainable rate,” said Turner.
Turner stated that one of his favorite parts about the store is getting to know people who come in each week. Despite the college crowd looking a little different each semester, Turner enjoys being able to discuss music with his customers.
“Musical discovery should be both from the shop to the customer and from the customer to the shop if you want a growing music community,” said Turner.
More than half of Wax Galaxy Records’ sales fall under rock and indie genres, with the other half being a combination of all other genres. The biggest artists from the community include, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Outkast, Radiohead, and Jeff Buckley.
Turner also actively advocates for the collection of physical media. According to the store’s sales, CDs have also become more popular with younger generations in the area, while older generations prefer vinyl.
“We plan to start to do some workshops for basic how-to on collecting, maybe a zine-making course,” said Turner.
“Moving forward, we are going to set up a bulletin board to help local musicians connect to start their own bands, as well as a store account on the music streaming service Quboz,” said Turner.
“We are also looking to put on some shows, maybe DJ gigs, listening parties, and build a more connected music scene.”