CHRONICLE 16-17 ISSUE 08

14 The Chronicle January 24 - 30, 2017 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca
Entertainment
Streaming can't
detune Oshawa
music store
Tyler Hodgkinson
The Chronicle
Online music services such as
Apple Music, Tidal, and Spotify
have cemented their legitimacy as
hubs for catalogues, but this can
also be said for longstanding Oshawa
music store Wilson & Lee.
According to co-owner Bill Wilson,
the downtown shop, which is
currently celebrating 95 years in
business, isn’t greatly affected by
the rise of streaming services because
they bring in a “different
kind of customer.” (Wilson & Lee
Some people
love to have
a tangible
experience.
Jared Williams
The Chronicle
is also owned and operated by his
younger brother, Dave.)
“[People who download] are a
portion of people we didn’t really
have to begin with,” the 77-year old
says. “We have a lot of customers
looking for vinyl records.”
In a report published last year,
Nielsen says the amount of streams
in Canada has risen to 18.6 billion
in 2016 from 10.5 billion in 2015.
The study takes into effect both
video and audio streams. Nielsen
also reports physical album sales
are down 16 per cent, however,
vinyl LPs sales have risen 39 per
cent.
According to Official Charts, the
late David Bowie’s Blackstar was the
best-selling vinyl of 2016, with Amy
Winehouse’s Back to Black and the
soundtrack to the Guardians of the
Galaxy film in second and third,
respectively.
Wilson believes the resurgence of
vinyl is a direct result of consumers’
need for something physical.
“Some people love to have a tangible
experience,” Wilson says.
“I remember buying records,
showing them to my friends, arguing
about what certain lyrics did or
didn’t mean.”
Nowadays, some music fans
Bill Wilson, co-owner of Wilson & Lee music store in Oshawa.
collect vinyl because it may sound
better when played through an
optimal system, while others love
to grab everything their favourite
artists release.
Albums by The Beatles, Elvis
Presley, and Taylor Swift are big
sellers at the store, Wilson says.
New vinyl is often priced between
$20 and $45, however, it depends
on the popularity and availability
of the product. Additionally, used
vinyl bins are often rummaged
about by customers, as buying preowned
records is a cheaper solution
for the mass collector type.
The store began bringing in used
vinyl after a customer offered to
sell his collection before throwing
it away.
“It was either me or the dump,
so I gave him a fair, reasonable
amount and we put them on sale.
I didn’t know what was going to
Photograph by Tyler Hodgkinson
happen, so I priced them, threw
them up, and people started to
buy them,” says Wilson. “It sort of
dawned on me that this is something
I may want to expand a bit.”
Wilson & Lee has continued to
“flip” records ever since.
Vinyl alone does not keep the
storein business. In fact, its main
source of business is instruments,
but it also sells movies, CDs, and
notation books.
Wilson & Lee music store celebrates 95 years
It’s fair to say the music scene in
Oshawa has seen some highs and
lows since the days when then-bar
bands like Rush and Triumph were
opening acts.
But one constant on the scene
has been music store Wilson & Lee,
which has earned itself a reputation
as a quality establishment since
opening its doors in 1922.
Original owners William Wilson
and his sister in-law Mary Lee
opened up the store in his house
on Albert Street in Oshawa. Aside
from being able to purchase music
there, Wilson also taught piano lessons
at the shop.
After William Wilson died in
1943, Lee and other immediate
family members minded the store
selling instruments and records.
When Bill Wilson II returned
from serving in the Second World
War in 1946, he accepted the
tradition of buying into the family
business.
“After the war there was a shortage
in almost everything so that
certainly made it easier to find
work [for those looking at the
time],” Bill said.
It was also then that General
Motors was at its peak employment
for the city.
A piano being moved into long-standing Oshawa music store Wilson & Lee.
By 1953 the store had moved and
re-opened in its current location on
Simcoe Street, just north of Bond
Street.
Bill Wilson III started work at
the store when he was 14-years-old.
He says he wasn’t even completely
aware of how much he enjoyed
the music business until he began
working at the store.
“I just found that I loved this
stuff. I found when I got in here I
had an affinity for knowing what
people liked and what they wanted.”
By 1967 Bill was joined my his
Photograph provided by Wilson & Lee
younger brother David working at
the store.
“I was sitting at a table when I
was 14 years old and my father said,
‘Get your suit on, you’re going to
work!’ I have never had a Saturday
off after that,” Bill’s brother and
co-owner David Wilson said.
I just found
that I loved
this stuff.
“I enjoyed being here, I enjoyed
being social, I enjoyed looking after
people.”
It wasn’t until 1989 that the two
brothers bought the family business
and took over ownership.
It was then vinyl sales were at
their peak from the local disc jockeys
(DJ) buying up single records in
attempt to keep their record collections
contemporary and relevant.
“Thirty years ago there was a
pretty good bar scene going, there
was lots of places for young musicians
to play – not so much anymore,”
Bill Wilson said. “For us the
DJ was a saviour in the 70’s and
80’s because we used to have up
to 60 guys come in on a regular
basis.”