SCOTS have turned to their turntables for solace during lockdown, according to the owner of a Scottish record label and retail chain.
Assai Records boss Keith Ingram has shops in Dundee and Edinburgh, and has tuned in to a “significant” rise in online sales through Amazon marketplace since movement restrictions were introduced in March.
Ingram’s shops may be closed, but his company has continued to fulfill online orders and has been dispatching records throughout the country and further afield.
He said: “Around 70% of our customers are online.
“We ship a lot of our stock to Europe – mainly Italy, France and Germany – as well as the United States.
“However, we’ve noticed a significant increase in Scottish customers.
“A big reason for the spike is the fact that many of us have much more time at home to enjoy music.
“I’m a firm believer that music can bring huge benefits for mental health and can be a source of companionship and normality for those who are more isolated.”
Keith Ingram with band stmartiins before lockdown
During lockdown, radio station BBC 6 Music and the organisers of “Record Store Day” have encouraged people to “Fill the Gap” in their collections to support independent record stores.
Assai, which employs 17 people, also has its own record label and has continued to support Scottish acts during the lockdown.
Ingram said: “We have helped with two recent releases, which entered the Scottish top 100 album charts.
“Stmartiins is a young Dundee-based band that reached number 14 in the charts, and we reissued an archive release from another band, The Swiss Family Orbison, released in 1997 on CD.
“We issued this record on vinyl for the first time on 1 May and it reached number 11 in the Scottish album charts.”
Keith Ingram with the reissued album by The Swiss Family Orbison
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