Getting the groove on with vinyl records

John Brown, who sells records at the corner of 40th and Walnut streets, hopes to make vinyl a big business. On a corner boasting chic eyewear, nudie magazines and falafel -- the entire range of street-vendor wares -- perhaps it isn't shocking that classic Isaac Hayes and Santana LPs are often among the sidewalk smorgasbord at 40th and Walnut streets. But although record vendor John Brown's mantras about supply and demand and his "marketing strategy" immediately distinguish him from the average street vendor, his story is even more atypical. Brown is, among other things, writing a book -- All About Records -- on the virtues of vinyl. He said he supplies several area record stores with LPs, and that he soon hopes to join the throngs of businesses on the World Wide Web. And, as in years past, he will be gracing the Philadelphia Free Library corner for a limited time only. Brown says his aim is "to bring music out to the people," but with a collection of what he claims are "roughly 2 million records," he can only offer a "dwindling sample" on the corner. The zany proprietor said he hopes not to be limited to the periphery of campus for long. "You can only liquidate X amount of goods in a space so large," he said, leaning against his vintage record-mobile yesterday afternoon. His long-term goal: to begin a used-music franchise. "I would like to sell used CDs as McDonald's sells hamburgers because there is an underground demand for vinyl -- both as collectibles and as a form of music," he said. And while Brown may not appear a budding CEO, the 40-something Philadelphia native said he did major in Economics, and scattered financial principles throughout his explanation of the vinyl business. "During the '70s with the oil shortage -- you know, with the Shah of Iran and all that," he said, "there was a shortage of petroleum, and not only did records move from wax to vinyl, but there was an increased demand for technological innovation, and you got CDs and tapes." Brown went on to explain why the "hypothesis" that LPs would become obsolete did not hold true. "It was a hypothesis -- something that is totally logical yet not necessarily correct," he said, "And if you look at it from a supply-demand perspective, the demand [for LPs] didn't diminish that much. But the supply was low." Dionne Warwick's Alfie, John Coltrane's Soultrane and The Who's My Generation are among Brown's eclectic collection, which will line the street until dark "for the next few weeks." The records -- most of which are prime selections, if slightly beat-up -- cost around $4 or $5 apiece, and Brown usually sets the scene with a little Wes Montgomery blaring from a stereo in his car. Formerly a musician himself, the gregarious Brown -- who claims to know "99.9" percent of the playlists from his records -- is happy to discuss music with his patrons. "At one point I had a combo, and we went into the studio to record a record, and for production, distribution, copying and cover art they gave us a huge figure -- and they wanted a percentage revenue above and beyond that," he told a sidewalk shopper. "It was that point I decided I wanted to have enough money to make my own music," he continued. Now a veteran in the vinyl business, Brown told another customer that jazz LPs have the most consistent demand because "best of" jazz CDs -- due to copyright laws -- often leave out the actual "best" tracks, creating a high demand for original albums. "Rhythm and blues? is also marketable, as is classic rock," he said. "But there is literally no demand for pop, because it is so common." As for Brown, his favorite record -- and the reason he loves it -- reveals a great deal about the character of the 40th Street entrepreneur. "If I could have one record, it would be What's Goin' On by Marvin Gaye," Brown said. "It's not standard Marvin Gaye, because he fought the distributors and took a gamble. Just like Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, they were sure of themselves and they also knew that they could make it marketable, and they took a gamble and that's why they were the great ones."

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