Music

Urban Outfitters says its now the biggest seller of vinyl in the world

by Tyler Munro

The criticisms against Urban Outfitters write themselves. Insensitive, offensive shirts? Check. Countless instances of them ripping off lesser known artists? Bingo. Selling vinyls on the cheap, only to ship them in a fucking plastic bag? Yep.

That last one, that’s important. Because while the company continues to struggle, it’s quickly prioritized music, and while we’re hesitant to join the white noise wails of “derp derp hipsters love music derp Crosleys rule,” it’s a smart market to corner. We’ve long covered the vinyl resurgence, and by grabbing rare colour variants, exclusive represses and surprisingly competitive prices, Urban Outfitters is really carving out a niche for themselves. One that’s so big in fact, that they’re now boasting to be the world’s biggest record seller.

Of course there’s a catch; they’ve given themselves the label based on their unique inventory system, which, thanks to agreements with hundreds of vendors allows them to sell records they don’t actually stock. We don’t want to say you shouldn’t buy records from Urban Outfitters—though if you’re in Canada, you probably can’t online anyways—but definitely get shipping insurance if you do. Solid prices don’t matter when your dope ass Arcade Fire record shows up bent to shit. [h/t Buzzfeed]