In 1995, Steve Baron sat at his desk job in the University of Kentucky’s media relations department, but his mind was elsewhere. He was dreaming of something more, something hands on, something entrepreneurial.
He had a vision that soon blossomed into a small shop on South Broadway Street named CD Central. A shop filled to the brim with towering stacks of vinyls and winding rows of CDs covering the shop’s creaky wooden floor.
Baron peers through the shop window, watching customers walk by while a smooth melody echoes throughout the shop, beginning at the small record player sitting in the corner.
The rows of CDs are home to many local artists in Lexington. Baron said it’s necessary for him to keep the business at the local level.
“I think it’s important that as part of the community, we help support these artists who don’t have the million dollar advertising budgets from a major label,” Baron said.
Lexington has an ever-growing music scene with new artists constantly playing at local bars, such as the Green Lantern, according to Baron.
These artists have a home at CD Central, and over 30 years of business Baron said he has seen many of these small artists with nothing but a dream transform into massive names who regularly receive millions of views.
Baron remembers when Tyler Childers and his band The Food Stamps first walked through the doors of CD Central, begging to sell their first CD. After becoming famous, Childers still visits the shop anytime he is in town.
“There’s plenty of artists that don’t get to that level, but we still think it’s important to carry their music and give artists a chance to get their music out there and in the hands of people who appreciate it,” Baron said.
However, Baron said that the difficult part of staying connected to the local music scene in Lexington is fighting major corporations who view music as a product rather than an art form.
“I don’t like the idea that we have to compete against big box retailers like the Walmarts and Targets of the world who also want to sell records, but they have no commitment to the music,” Baron said.
Baron said records are a personal expression of the artist, so the shop tries to value the music instead of the income it could bring.
According to Baron, many large distributors only carry big-name artists such as Taylor Swift and Chappell Roan because they prioritize the artist with the highest-grossing sales.
While CD Central carries these artist’s music, the shop also provides a wide variety of local artists that can only be found within the shop’s four walls, Baron said.
“We also try to carry all the independent artists, who are not household names, who are not getting played on the radio,” Baron said. “Seeking them out on the internet sometimes is the only way you can hear them or you come to the record store and pick up their release.”
Baron said customers can walk into a Walmart searching for a new CD, but they’ll always come up short if they even try to ask an employee for a recommendation. However, Baron said that when you ask any employee at CD Central, they genuinely understand music and can introduce the customer to something completely new.
“You’re not going to be able to dig deep into their (Walmart) catalog because they’re only going to carry the most recent album. We try to go much deeper than that and carry the artists you won’t find in the big box stores,” Baron said.
Keeping CD Central within Lexington’s local economy is how Baron said he has been able to give back to the city and keep the business afloat.
According to Baron, many of the products purchased at CD Central can be directly linked to local shops all around the city, from music to T-shirts and stickers.
“Everybody getting paid here lives in Lexington and patronizes other Lexington businesses,” Baron said. “If we have to have some artwork done for some poster or something, we work with a local artist to design it.
Now approaching the shop’s 30th anniversary, Baron said he feels fortunate he made the life-changing jump from media relations to opening his shop, which he has dreamed of for a long time.
He never believed he could take this risk, Baron said most small shops fail within the first five years, but he worked day and night to ensure CD Central was not one of them and enjoyed every minute.
“For anybody, anytime you can be in a business where you really enjoy going to work, you are really lucky to be in that line of work. So, personally, it’s been a great thing and I’m glad I did it. I’m glad I’m still doing it,” Baron said.
