Love and Vinyl: At Spektrum Muzik, a new marriage but also an anniversary

Kirsten Phillips walked into a Wichita record store seven years ago not expecting to find anything aside from some records that she could buy for her vinyl collection.

She ended up finding not only some new records, but also her husband, business-partner-to-be and future workplace.

Phillips is now the full-time manager of Spektrum Muzik, which she runs alongside her husband, Adam Phillips, the store’s owner and founder.

The couple got married this past January and are also getting ready to celebrate another important milestone in their lives in August — the 10-year anniversary of the store on 905 W. Douglas.

“We’re getting ready to have a party and celebration,” Kirsten said, sitting next to Adam. “To him [Adam], it’s so shocking that it’s 10 years. It feels like from when you started, not that you didn’t think it would do well, but he would have never guessed that this is where we would be, especially married.”

Adam’s store is nearing this milestone at a time when vinyl records have surged in popularity after virtually dying out in the 1980s.

Vinyl LP sales jumped by more than 50% in 2021, and exceeded digital and CD album sales, according to Statista data from Nielsen Music, Billboard and MRC.

The format’s increase in popularity is part of the reason for the store’s success, Adam said. Throughout the years, he said he has seen vinyl records shift from being collectible to functional.

“As far as why it’s popular, I think all music is popular,” Adam said. “Vinyl tends to be just, I think the packaging and the image, something tangible, especially in a digital and a streaming world, it’s nice to have something physical that you truly love. I think a lot of people have seen that.”

A Wichita resident for most of his life, Adam is a musician himself and has played in local bands.

He opened the store just as vinyl records were starting to make a resurgence — but his wife said that wasn’t the sole reason he opened it in 2012.

“The reason that he started was just to create something new — not just to jump on a trend,” Kirsten said. “Especially now, it’s obvious that it’s popular. I think that’s why he did so well, is because it was truly from that place of just music lover, vinyl lover and needing to make that happen.”

To Adam, the most rewarding part of the job is connecting “somebody with a record that they end up loving or changes their life. Records have supported me in a mental health way that I can’t really define. Music is the language that speaks the unspoken.”

Kirsten graduated from Wichita State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She left all of her jobs to work full-time at Spektrum and has been running the store alongside Adam for more than a year.

Kirsten said she measures the success of the store not by metrics, but by personal connections.

“It’s all about those personal connections — otherwise we would not do this, because it isn’t a millionaire job,” she said. “We could easily go make maybe more elsewhere, but it’s truly for the passion and the love of music, and just seeing new people everyday discovering something for the first time. That is truly what keeps us going.”

One of the couple’s favorite memories is a customer proposal that took place in the store. The store employees queued music to play for their customer while he proposed.

As with anything, running the business has not come without challenges for the young entrepreneurs. At times, it’s difficult not to carry work-related questions, comments and issues in the home, they said.

Although they have some part-time employees, they are the only full-time employees. Sometimes the two take overnight camping trips just to unwind and distract themselves from work.

Inflation has also presented challenges for the business. Whereas the average retail cost of a record was around $20 when Adam first opened the store, Kirsten said it’s now almost always at $40.

The business owners are always trading and buying vinyl records to support the business.

“People may think, ‘They’re making a killing,’ but our cost is just so high on that, that’s really, really tough when you want to bring new releases, new vinyl, but it’s just very expensive,” Kirsten said.

Adam said, “Locally, the community has been great and very supportive.”

The couple has also partnered with local businesses on multiple occasions. For example, Spektrum Muzik has teamed up with Local Roasters Coffee to make and sell its own branded coffee.

“The store being open this long kind of speaks for itself,” Kirsten said. “It just is super encouraging when people do come back time and time again or it’s super encouraging when there’s new people that are finding us.”

The record store will celebrate its 10-year anniversary with a party in the store on Aug. 6. The store will collaborate with five local artists to create new logos and artwork that they will turn into merchandise for purchase that day, such as stickers, T-shirts, bags and more.

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“This would be my first business venture as an entrepreneur,” Adam said. “To see it be successful is rewarding, especially the ten year mark. Most people just aim for three years.

“My wife — that’s definitely something I didn’t plan or expect.”