Local Businesses Benefit From Skyrocketing Sales Of Vinyl Records

BOSTON (CBS) - More and more music lovers are reaching back to the past and buying vinyl records. Sales of the classic disks are up more than 50% from last year.

Gordon McDonald of Allston poured through the stacks of records at "In Your Ear" in Brighton, even though he was born after many of them were released. "For some music, I think vinyl enhances the listening experience. Scientifically, there's definitely a difference between a digital and an analog sound," said McDonald.

Vinyl has made comebacks before, according to "In Your Ear" manager Reed Lappin, but this time feels different.

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"A lot of people are listening to everything on dinky little headphones and running around. So you know, some people are trying to get back to listening to something of a better quality."

If more people are buying vinyl, then that just about guarantees turntable sales will go up as well. That's where a couple of friends from Lexington High School, Class of 2007, come in. They founded UTurn Audio, a company in Woburn that makes customized turntables.

Bob Hertig, the 26-year-old CEO of UTurn Audio, says they can't keep up with demand. They expect to double, and possibly triple, their sales this coming year.

"When we started on the business there was a feeling like, should we really embark on this if it is really a fad? And luckily since we started the business, it's been a bigger year after a bigger year in vinyl growth, so it's truly amazing. We were in the right place at the right time," said Hertig.

UTurn is up to 14 employees and they want to hire more.

Now, as major artists like Taylor Swift release their albums in vinyl, UTurn's CFO Ben Carter feels better than ever about the company's future. For him, it's always been about the music. "Being able to come here and make an impact the way that people experience music every day; it's great."