Thanks for being part of this journey.

POP MUSIC Turns 3!

This year has been like no other and I have such gratitude for your continued support despite everything that has changed in our worlds. So many small businesses across Canada have had to make very tough decisions about their futures, ones they never could have anticipated. We recognize that we are the fortunate ones. and it's because of you.

In these times of uncertainty, fans really embraced what we have labelled 'comfort listening'. Investing into in their record collections like never before and choosing to stay inspired by listening to albums that bring them joy. It's a thrill to be part of this movement. Thanks for tagging us in all your posts so that we can witness your excitement.

Because of your support, we've grown our vinyl inventory by 40% this year. The storage space in our small 400 sq. ft retail store has gone through several overhauls just so that everything can fit. Many of you have witnessed some of this organized chaos on your store visits. It's all about levelling up and becoming a better record store that really does have the most popular albums.

Expanding our vinyl offer was driven by the vision to improve what we could show online. With that said, there's been a huge benefit of having more titles available in-house for our retail store customers. Fans have been so encouraging by responding to our efforts with purchases. Let's just knock down some walls so we can carry even more. All in good time!

When 2020 started, our desire to open a second location had shifted towards improving our online business. Our existing site at the time was hindered by limited functionality and brutal SEO (Google), so basically no one outside of the POP bubble saw it. By the time COVID hit though, that old site really saved our business though, as we pivoted instantly to a curb-side offer during the lockdown. The local community in particular, really stepped up to support this dream, motivating us to do the work to launch on our new host platform.

The new website launched in early July and I can't even tell you how much that month kicked my ass. This project had went on for so long, by the time the site was ready to go live, I wasn't prepared for this new workload. By mid-August many of the kinks were worked out - just in time to execute 3 Record Store Day events in a row. Your enthusiasm for those events still blows my mind.

Our growth this year has been a huge adjustment for me, as I can't be as hands on with everyone like I was before and it takes us a little bit longer to do things. I appreciate your patience throughout this transition and there's strategies in play to ensure we regain our ground on filling customer requests.

Many of you have met Kristy Radford, who joined POP just about a year ago. In her time with us, she has won over many hearts with her passion for music and I'm certain you've left with more records than you planned on buying. Her contributions to Pop Music have been invaluable to me this year, as I've been so consumed with the new website. She has stepped up in ways that go beyond what I couldn't have anticipated. Thank you for sharing with me your Kristy experiences.

Here's some fun things to check out:

We published our Best Selling Albums of 2020 (So Far) on our blog yesterday to celebrate what an incredible year it's been for vinyl releases. My goals is to share than I have been, so expect more posts in the future.

I was featured on the This Broken Mixtape podcast recently, hosted by Justin Lee who asks us about our Pop Music journey so far. It's an interesting listen for those curious about where this all started.

Thank you again for your continued passion about what we are doing. Your support inspires greatness and it's a total privilege that we still get to unlock those doors every day in this challenging COVID reality.
 
Make your own music, start your own dance.

- Derek.