Spin Me Round Records' Stephanie Nagy: 'The World Just Needs More Love'

It’s hard to remember now, but “Brat summer” was never a given. To most of us long-term Angels, Charli xcx was our pop star: the musical MVP of the living room pregame, the star of gay guy music-videos-on-the-TV Friday. She was not, though, the kind of artist who could sell out Madison Square Garden or become a semi-main character in an American presidential election. But here we are, in Charli xcx’s America, and somehow, four months later, Brat summer has slipped into a long Brat fall.

Someone was prepared for all of this, though: Stephanie Nagy, the owner of Spin Me Round Records in Easton, PA and the charmingly goofy star of her store’s multiple social media accounts. Nagy first came across my feed dressed in head-to-toe green, preaching the powers of Brat. In one popular TikTok video, Nagy stands in front of a wall of Brat vinyls and pouts like Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. “It’s my Charli xcx! Why won't you give me my Charli xcx?” she wails, her hands moving up and down in exasperation. Soon after she posted the video, Brat was released and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, a wild feat for the previously low-key star. Nagy, it turns out, was the neon green canary in pop music’s coal mine.

Nagy’s all-out Brat content brought her legions of fans, including Charli herself. On a TikTok Live recorded on Brat’s release day, the pop star joined Nagy to sing her praises. “We really stan you and your content... massively,” Charli said in her signature British deadpan. Nagy beamed through the screen.

“I could have died,” recalls Nagy to PAPER. “It was absolutely amazing.” When talking about the album, she’s literally reverent. “Brat was holy... just holy,” she shares. “It was a completely different experience than anything else that I ever heard.”

Even though Charli and thousands of stans have jumped on Spin Me Round’s bandwagon while in the peak throes of early Brat-mania, they’ve since stayed on to check in on what Nagy has in-store. Every day she unboxes something new or pulls something from her vast collection on TikTok. And whether she’s showing off vinyls of Shakira, Melanie Martinez, or Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Nagy always has the same kind of giddy glee that makes you ready to give each record a spin.

“Artists get the opportunity to do what they love, right? And I love hearing their music and I love promoting their music, and I love trying to make them even bigger,” she tells PAPER. “We are all doing exactly what we love. And you know what? The world just needs more love.”

PAPER chatted with Nagy — the true CEO of Brat summer and fall — about all things Brat, the secret to running a record store in 2024 and how she conquered social media.

Hi — I see you're in the store!

Yes, in my iconic corner.

How long has the store been open?

We've been in this location since Black Friday, 2020, but we opened the first brick-and-mortar location in April, 2013.

So you've seen the record business change a lot?

We started off as a bookstore in Hackettstown, New Jersey, where Centenary University is located. I was like, “Why is there no bookstore? Let's open a bookstore!” Then an acquaintance passed, and his brother contacted us because we were wholesalers for over 20 years. They needed to raise money for the funeral. He wouldn't sell us the CDs or the books or the DVDs, but then he was like, “Oh, I got a barn, and we've got records in the barn.” So we started off with crates and crates and crates of used records.

Were you a music fan and collector prior to this?

Oh yeah — I threw myself on my dad's record collection in the '90s and said, “No, Dad, you can't sell them. They're mine.”

So when did the official switch from bookstore to record store happen?

We were a bookstore that just happened to have records. Then we opened the first actual record store in April of 2015, so we had two locations. And then in 2016 we opened a bigger store and just went down to one store and the books were in a corner. Now we have an 8,000-square-foot record store that is mostly records.

How were you approaching selling records at a time when Spotify and streaming were becoming so ubiquitous?

A turntable became the most commonly given Christmas present starting in 2015. We would collect used Billy Joel records all throughout the year and we'd have 150 to 200. As soon as December hit and Grandma heard that you bought little Johnny a record player, Grandma would be coming in to buy Billy Joel, because what's one album that's going to have at least four Top 10 hits? It's Billy Joel. So we can sell 300 Billy Joel records in a month. Plus, vinyl records are a tangible, physical product that you can buy to support your favorite artist. You're like, “Of course, I'm a Charli xcx fan. Look at my record collection.”

The store is in Easton, PA. Tell me a little bit about the region the store is in.

We're in eastern Pennsylvania in the Palmer Park Mall. I'm in the store all the time. We're right over the bridge [from New Jersey], right on the border. We're in the perfect spot, because we are an hour and a half from New York City and an hour and a half from Philly. We're right in the middle, but we're much calmer here than in most of Pennsylvania and most of New Jersey.

And people are coming in from the whole region to your store?

People love traveling an hour or two. It's a nice ride to come see me because I have everything.

Tell me a bit about how social media became such a central part of your business.

I dabbled a little bit with social media when we had a location in Hackettstown. But once we hit Phillipsburg, I felt that if I was pricing stuff and putting it out in the store and nobody saw it, then did it even happen? So we started off making videos on Facebook. And then on Instagram we started showing everything that was going out in the store. We then tried unboxing videos, and people seemed to really enjoy the unboxing videos. And then we evolved with TikTok and X. We're posting all over the place. People like knowing who they're buying from. And they’re seeing a person who's as excited about the music as they are.

I think something that people really appreciate about your content and you is your ecstatic love for music. You have a lot of love for all types of music. Maybe you're just an amazing salesperson or maybe that’s just you?

I just love all types of music. My dad was in a band for years. I remember I grew up in the VFW [Veterans of Foreign Wars] in New Milford, New Jersey. My dad played at the VFW at least once a month with his band. We moved to Hackettstown, and some of my best memories are coming downstairs and seeing my parents out on the deck, and my dad's playing guitar and there's a candle going and my mom's reading a book. There’s always been music in the house.

Unfortunately, I’m not particularly musically inclined. I was in the Color Guard in the marching band, and I took guitar class and dance classes, but I was just never a particularly musical person. I can't make the music, but I love hearing everyone else's music. And I love writing about music, because I went to school for English and creative writing. I love making videos about music and I love finding out all sorts of different facts about artists.

We're going to talk about Brat, but is there another record that came out, or an artist that crossed your radar, that just blew your mind in the past year?

Well, Brat was holy... just holy. It was a completely different experience than anything else that I ever heard. It was just amazing.

Did you know immediately that it would be your favorite album?

Immediately. [Before listening,] I didn’t want to hear any teasers. I didn’t want to know anything, because I wanted to listen to that full album. Everybody else had heard “Von dutch,” and I didn't even listen to the radio because I didn’t want it to be ruined for me. I wanted to listen to that whole thing in one shot. We had an early listening party [after being sent a link from Atlantic Records]. We weren't even through with the listening party, and I already had ordered my tickets for Madison Square Garden. It just completely blew my mind right from the start.

That’s so cool you got early access.

I believe I was the first person to have a Brat poster, because I had a Brat poster a couple months before Brat came out. I just couldn't wait. Everybody complained about that cover. I was like, “No! This is the Brat-est thing ever, right?” It is amazing how Charli sold so many copies of this album, and this is her most loved album, and there's no picture of her on the front. She's not half-naked. It’s just like, See what you can do?

Artists get the opportunity to do what they love, right? And I love hearing their music and I love promoting their music, and I love trying to make them even bigger. We are all doing exactly what we love. And you know what? The world just needs more love.

Tell me a little bit about connecting with Charli herself. What was that like? How did that come about?

That's my new claim to fame. Charli followed me back on TikTok. I was like, “Wow, this is awesome.” And then I was on TikTok Live and all of a sudden she pops up and says, “Accept me.” I couldn't believe it. It was a completely impromptu chat right on TikTok on release day. I could have died. It was absolutely amazing.

I think another reason why people love you online is you have the most fun, bold style. Have you always been such a fashionista?

People used to come in and be like, “Do you work here?” And I'd be like, “No, I own here.” I'd be wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a sweatshirt. I was like, You know what? I am going to be the best-dressed person in my store every day. So probably for the last eight years, I have worn a dress every day. I love putting on my tights and putting on my dress and putting on my boots and just going and making a million videos. Everybody knows who I am because they walk in, my hair's on top of my head, and I'm wearing a dress: that's her. I own two pairs of pants, and one of them I stole from my 20-year-old daughter.

Do you and your daughter connect on music?

I have three kids. My oldest is really into punk and metal. My oldest and my middle daughter both just went to see Fidlar. Right after my daughter and I went to see Charli xcx at Madison Square Garden, she went with my sister-in-law to go see Meghan Trainor at Madison Square Garden, so her musical taste is all over the place. And then my son loves 21 Pilots, Panic! at the Disco and Olivia Rodrigo. I get a little bit of everything. But when my son was a little kid, it was all Green Jelly’s “Three Little Pigs.”

What do your kids make of your social media stardom? Do they ever participate?

Yes, they participate a lot more on YouTube. The kids are always ready to film a video for me. One time, Brooke had too much sugar and I was making a video, and she just kept running back and forth. And I was like, “Are you surrounded by brats too?” Because she just kept running back and forth right in front of me. It was crazy. But my oldest tells me I use social media wrong.

I think it's working.

Right? Everyone’s enjoying it, so I think that's all that matters.

I think I have an idea of what your #1 album of the year is going to be, but are there any that are going to maybe crack your top five?

2020 was an amazing year for music, but I feel like 2024 is going to top it. I absolutely love 21 Pilots’ Clancy. I love Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine. I love Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet. There've been so many albums that I absolutely love this year other than Charli. I don't even know what I'm going to end up having as my other four. I don't even know if I'm going to be able to pick a top 10 or a top 20, because there's just been so many albums that have come out this year that I absolutely love. But Charli’s still on top, of course. And then the Brat remixes? It's like a completely different album with the same song titles, but it has completely different feelings and lyrics. It's just crazy.

You've really found success online and grown your business. What's the secret to running a record store in 2024 that you can impart?

If somebody else tells you, let me know. I think it's just a matter of doing what you love. We like to stay positive. We don't like to focus on anything negative. People are just drawn to positivity. So if you are excited to be there every day and you are happy, then the people are coming because you’re good vibes. I love when people come in from social media, because they’re like, “OMG! I watch you on social media.” I'm like, “Awesome. Where's my hug? Do you want to take a picture? What do you want to talk about?” It’s great.

Photography: Matthew Yoscary

Editor-in-chief: Justin Moran
Managing editor: Matt Wille
Editorial producer: Angelina Cantú
Story: Tobias Hess