Schoolkids Records

Schoolkids Records is a retail indie record store based in the "Triangle" region of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Founded in 1974, Schoolkids is one of the longest running music retail stores in the country and at one point had as many as 7 stores throughout the eastern North Carolina region (Raleigh (2), Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Greenville) and one in Athens, Georgia. As of 2009 the main flagship store in Raleigh, NC (Across from NC State University) was the sole location still in business. In October 2013, the store announced it would relocate to the Mission Valley Shopping Center to make way for a destination hotel that was causing the eviction of several local businesses along Hillsborough Street. The new location would still allow the business to operate close to the university, while expanding space for live music performances and the ability to sell craft beers.

The store has often been located close to College and University campus and focuses mostly on selling Alternative, Independent and College music, selling both Vinyl and CDs, with the trend largely going back to more and more Vinyl by 2012. Schoolkids has been widely known as the main record store for almost 40 years (until the other locations closed) around schools such as: North Carolina State University, The University of North Carolina, Duke University, East Carolina University and The University of Georgia.

The store has often been the destination and shopping preference for many local and national bands in this area, many of whom either worked at the store or started selling their first albums or 7" singles at the store on consignment. Artists to get their start selling records at Schoolkids include: Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown, Superchunk, Archers of Loaf, Ben Folds, The Connells, Polvo, Athenaeum, Squirrel Nut Zippers and many others. The store was also one of the first retail outlets to sell No Depression Magazine and to work with labels such as Merge Records, Mammoth Records and Yep Roc Records.

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