Business & Tech

Meet the Owner: Craig Wright of Innersleeve Records

Having worked in the music retail business since he was a teen, Wright opened an LP music store in Amagansett in May.

Craig Wright, a Springs resident and an avid music fan and record collector, saw his dream realized when he opened  in the Amagansett Square this past May. The store has rare jazz and blues records, lots of punk and alternative bands, many original Beatles and Rolling Stones LPs, and of course you'll find Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, and lots of "new arrivals" on the shelves. 

Wright got his start working at Long Island Sound in the 1980s, and went onto manage corporate retail music stores on the West Coast in the '90s. Later, he started an online business.

He recently answered some questions for Patch's series "Meet the Owner."

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Q: How did you get started in this business?

I worked as a teenager for Long Island Sound in East Hampton just as the industry was making the switch from LPs to CDs

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Q: What made you take a chance and open your own business?

I've had a successful online vinyl business for the last five years. I've seen the interest in vinyl trend upward during that time including more references in print, media, trade shows and the like.

Q: Why Amagansett?

I felt Amagansett was socially and culturally sophisticated enough to support a store like this. I also loved the "vibe" of the Square as well as the synergy with  and .

Q: What's the one thing you want people to know about your store that they might not realize? 

LPs sound better than CDs or downloads . . . hands down. The experience is overall more satisfying. It's sensory in more ways than just audible. It's tactile, visual, physical. The cover art / lyrics / inserts / etc. are more exciting and personal for the fan of the artist. Playing an LP encourages the listener to pay more attention to the music. iPods are generally used while doing something else, the music becomes background. In addition, albums were not meant to be "shuffled." Albums were composed and arranged in a certain order to be heard in that order.

Q: As a new business owner, what were the challenges you faced?

Long hours are my biggest challenge. I keep the store open 7 days and for the first half of the summer, I ran the store by myself.

Q: What's the biggest challenge you will face as an Amagansett shop owner? 

Seeing the population drop-off in the winter.

Q: What advice to you have for someone starting a business? Or what is the best piece of business advice that you have ever received?

Do something that you love! It doesn't feel like work when you have a passion for it.

Q: What are the future plans for your business?

Franchise!


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