Media veteran Gabriel Coan’s next venture is a new record shop in Fairmount

The store has been 20 years in the making since Coan first began ideating a business plan, and the career change is welcome after years of chasing the next media trend. The former media executive has often worked to move organizations from analog to digital formats, but he says record stores are spaces of discovery and connection through music.

“This is really about my love of context and storytelling. Not only is it the right timing for the shop where a business model is understood, but it's also a thriving market. Young people are interested, just as much as geeky collectors might be,” he says.

Tangible art, real community

Despite the ease and accessibility of digital music, vinyl record sales have steadily grown in the US, with nearly half of sales attributed to indie stores, Billboard reported in 2023. This trend toward nostalgia is uplifting for Coan, as he fondly remembers the record store he frequented as a kid.

Coan envisions building a community around his store, specifically for young people to have a safe, affordable space to explore music and build relationships.

“The name of the store is Records Forever. It's [a] real, tangible work of art that you hold in your hand and you experience with your eyes, your ears—you feel it, the vibrations around you. To me, that is just such an exciting thing that I want people to experience,” he says.

Records Forever joins a thriving retail district along Fairmount Avenue, which includes a used bookstore, cafes, restaurants, and boutiques. Coan and his wife, Tracey Colla, live in the neighborhood.

“I hope to be nothing but a positive contribution to a wonderful community that already exists,” Coan says.

A relationship with shoppers

The store's organization extends Coan’s intentionality and love of storytelling. Instead of being alphabetized by artist or album title, the records are arranged by style, genre, and scene time.

“There are some genres that just lend themselves to being organized, displayed, and have their story told across time—reggae, for instance, and how it evolved in the mid and late 60s through the 70s and 80s and changed in shape and form as a sound and as a culture,” he says.

You can find Records Forever on Instagram, but online sales aren’t in the store’s future, says Coan, who wants to keep things old-school and face-to-face: “I want to establish a relationship with the shoppers.”

The space is bright, colorful, and comfortable. Shoppers can test their finds on a record player in an alcove that feels like stepping back in time.

“We always talk about in media when you're developing a new show or program or a new column or something, [that] we want this person to be a trusted friend,” Coan says.

In-person discovery

There’s something for everyone at the store, from Taylor Swift and Clairo to the Spinners, Charlie Parker, Bob Marley, and the Beatles.

“I love learning about new music, new artists, and new kinds of music from around the world. I love that kind of stuff, and this is the kind of thing I'm trying to create here in person in Philadelphia,” Coan says.

Storytelling skills are valuable, which is why Coan keeps a foot in the door of media by way of consulting, but mostly, he will pour all he’s learned into his business.

“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” says a smiling Coan at the till.

If you have records (and cassettes) that need a new home, Records Forever is buying. Record players will also be available for purchase.