Rock, Rock, Rockaway- Waxing on L.A. Record Shopsâ Past and Present - LA Weekly - 1 Rock, Rock, Rockaway- Waxing on L.A. Record Shopsâ Past and Present Rockaway Records in Silver Lake (est. 1979) is the other pivotal place that brings back joyful music memories. A true example of music merchâs longevity, it is still going strong, after selling records and collectables in Los Angeles for more than four decades and counting. Seeing its bright yellow and black sign still aglow in the hills, even as its surroundings have changed so much, is heartening. Beyond Tower and mall shops of yore like Music Plus, The Warehouse or Sam Goody, todayâs independent record stores remain formative for a new generation and essential for elder musicheads â even with Spotify and Apple Musicâs current domination.LA Weekly had a couple of exclusive chats with Rockaway's owner Wayne Johnson recently â about the record market, online buyers, the COVID effect, and past and the present trends of the business. The biggest revelation: far from struggling in the wake of streamingâs takeover of the music industry, his business has made more money in the past few years than it ever did before, including the vinyl and CD heydays. Rockaway | Zootzle
