Iconic Montreal record store up for sale after 25 years
![Beatnick Record store Beatnick Record store is up for sale after 25 years of business on St. Denis Street.](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2024/1/7/beatnick-record-store-1-6715187-1704662760696.jpg)
It is a fixture in Montreal's music scene and a top destination for vinyl seekers and those looking for a rare pressing or B-side.
Now, Beatnick Records is up for sale.
Owner Nick Catalano is selling the store on St. Denis Street that he's owned for 25 years, deciding that it's time for someone younger to man the fort.
"I don't want to close the place," he said. "I just want to pass on the torch, and I have to find somebody who has the same passion that I did to continue it."
He said it won't be easy to find someone with the same passion as Catalano has, but that he's willing to make sure the sale is right.
"There's no hurry for this," he said. "I'm just putting out feelers and seeing what happens."
The 72-year-old drummer and DJ opened the store in December of 1998 and said it has not always been easy to navigate city work crews for two-and-a-half decades.
"It's been under construction for probably half of those 25 years," he told CJAD 800 Radio. "Me and everybody else on the street."
He said his passion for music has not changed but he doesn't want to do the day-to-day grind.
"I'm not an accountant; I'm not a business guy. I'm a musician who had to open a record store to have a day job," he said. "Everything is due to passion, but I don't have any passion for numbers and that kind of thing, so that's what I want to get away from."
The time may be ripe to purchase a record store.
Vinyl sales have surged in recent years. A Luminate midyear report in 2023 showed that sales were up 21.7 per cent for the first half of the year, which continues a post-pandemic trend.
Taylor Swift is credited with helping drive U.K. vinyl sales to their highest since 1990.
Catalano said the consumer age demographic has gone down, with kids in their early and mid-teens looking to score new and classic discs for their collections.
"The bulk of it is young kids," he said. "They've discovered vinyl. They've discovered the hobby. They've discovered the pleasure of sitting around with a bunch of friends listening to records... The people that are into it are really passionate."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6979388.1722030190!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Celine Dion delivers stirring comeback performance at Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Against the rainy Paris night sky, Celine Dion staged the comeback of her career with a powerful performance from the Eiffel Tower to open the Olympic Games.
Jasper wildfire: 'Several weeks' before residents can return, premier says
Premier Danielle Smith said Friday afternoon in Hinton while weather conditions are cooler, the Jasper fire is still considered out of control and that Jasper residents can expect to be away from their homes 'for several weeks.'
Missing 3-year-old boy found dead in creek in Mississauga, Ont.: police
A three-year-old boy has been found dead a day after he went missing in a park in Mississauga, Ont., Peel police say.
Irish museum pulls Sinead O'Connor waxwork after just one day due to backlash
An Irish museum will withdraw a waxwork of singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor just one day after installing it, following a backlash from her family and the public, it told CNN in a statement on Friday.
Winnipeg senior's account overdrawn for $146,000 water bill
A Winnipeg senior is getting soaked with a six-figure water bill.
FBI says Trump was indeed struck by bullet during assassination attempt
Nearly two weeks after Donald Trump’s near assassination, the FBI confirmed Friday that it was indeed a bullet that struck the former president’s ear, moving to clear up conflicting accounts about what caused the former U.S. president’s injuries after a gunman opened fire at a Pennsylvania rally.
Driver charged after flashing high beams at approaching police
Orillia OPP arrested and charged a driver with impaired driving after flashing their high beams.
Turpel-Lafond won't sue CBC over Cree heritage report that took 'heavy toll': lawyer
The lawyer for a former judge whose claims to be Cree were questioned in a CBC investigation says his client is not considering legal action against the broadcaster after the Law Society of British Columbia this week backed her claims of Indigenous heritage.
Major Canadian bank experiences direct deposit outage on payday
Scotiabank says it has fixed a technical issue that impacted direct deposits on Friday morning.