Kirksville, MO | Wow, America’s oldest record store is in Kirksville, Missouri: When I first saw this, I did a double-take. But, I’ve discovered it really appears to be true. America’s oldest record store is in Kirksville, Missouri. Wow. I have to give Only In Your State some mad props for being right about this one. I admit I doubted them, but it appears their claim is correct. They named Rinehart’s Music and Video in Kirksville, Missouri as the oldest location of a record store. They’re not wrong. Their official Facebook page (and the Only In Your State article) says they opened as a record store in 1897. In those days, it was just phonographs, but technically that’s still a record. Remember that date. If you Google “oldest record store in America”, you’ll see many places that make that claim. Parade Magazine claimed it was George’s Song Shop in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Vinyl Lives agrees. It opened as a record store in 1932. That’s 35 years after Rinehart’s so they lose.
Chicago, IL | Farewell to Dave’s Records: Photos from the final day of the beloved Lincoln Park shop capture a sliver of the community that Dave Crain’s passion for vinyl drew together. In August 2009, I moved into a three-bedroom on Clark a few blocks north of Fullerton, with no clue about Lincoln Park’s cultural position in Chicago. I had grad-school classes in Evanston and the Loop, so the neighborhood seemed to make sense—it was more or less in between the two. …That December, I discovered the storefront windows of a nearby record shop. In an eclectic display of Christmas-themed album covers, I spotted a record by King Diamond, who was pictured in his trademark corpsepaint, thumbing his nose, sticking out his tongue, and cozying up to a reindeer with ribbons in its antlers. The disc was a 1985 12-inch called “No Presents for Christmas,” and the shop was Dave’s Records. Nothing else in the neighborhood spoke to me the way it did.
Nottingham, UK | Take a look around an 80s Nottingham record shop opened by Depeche Mode: Vinyl, cassettes, CDs – and a bunch of happy shoppers. The way we listen to music has changed so much as the decades have worn on. But that hasn’t stopped beloved old formats having a revival – vinyl sales are back in the millions, and last year cassette tapes enjoyed their best sales since 2003. If you’re hankering for a time without on-demand streaming, then take a look at the gallery below. HMV on Lister Gate opened in 1986, with a bunch of pretty special guests. Depeche Mode cut the ribbon with a gaggle of eager devotees. Plenty turned out to see one of the defining synthpop bands of the 80s with cameras, pens and albums in hand. Other photos show the HMV at Christmas, in full colour. They were busy days as people looked for last-minute gifts for loved ones—compilation album, anyone Take a look at the gallery below to explore HMV Lister Gate as it was in 1986. Let us know what you remember?
Norwich, UK | Norwich shops’ joy as demand for records continues to grow: City record shops have spoken of their joy after vinyl became the UK’s second most popular form of physical entertainment. More people bought vinyl records than Playstation and Xbox games in 2022 according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) with only Nintendo Switch games outselling wax. And Norwich’s many record shops say the industry has continued to grow since the vinyl revival started around 2008. Some store owners have even gone as far as to say the ever-increasing demand for records has kept them in business. Andy Tillett, who has run Press to Play, in St Benedicts Street, for more than 20 years, is one of those who says vinyl keeps his business running. He said: “I sell a lot of vinyl, it’s definitely a growth business. “I don’t know how they work out which formats are the most popular but vinyl has certainly kept us going.”
Camberwell, UK | Free live music every Saturday at Dash The Henge record store in Camberwell: The recently opened Dash The Henge store in Camberwell has already become a vital part of the local music scene, and the record shop is now offering free live performances at 5pm every Saturday. Kicking off the program tonight is Brixton Buzz fave Misty Miller, who’ll be performing from 5pm onwards. Here’s the full line up for the start of 2023.
Best record cover artwork of 2022 revealed: This year’s winning entry features a hyperreal painting that seeks to portray both stifled desires and “the possibility of soaring liberation.” Artist Simon Monk’s hyperreal painting for UK rock collective Black Country, New Road’s Ants From Up There album has been announced as the winner of the Best Art Vinyl Award 2022. For its 18th year, the competition received over 200 entries. A panel of artists, designers and music industry experts selected a shortlist of 50 covers, before the final three were chosen via a public vote. Monk is a UK-based contemporary artist interested in using painting to breathe new life into a cheap or otherwise unimportant object. His hyperreal style is achieved through layering translucent colours and using high-quality oils and alkyds (a polyester resin modified with fatty acids and other components). Black Country, New Road was drawn to Monk’s style for its nostalgic quality.
The most prized vinyl record in the world: Vinyl is back with a bang. In 2022, UK sales figures grew for the 15th consecutive year. This rapid growth sets the format up to become the pinnacle of physical record sales. And it’s big business internationally too. In the US, vinyl smashed through the $1 billion mark in 2021, and it continues to rise. Therefore, it’s no surprise that traders are looking to shoulder their niche in the market and hunt out the most prized records. The cultural takeover by streaming platforms has left the music industry in a precarious situation, but vinyl has helped soften the blow. On the one hand, it has allowed us all to have unlimited music at our fingertips and helped millions easily discover new artists. Unfortunately, the artists are paid inadequately per stream by the platforms. However, the growing trend of fans buying vinyl is helping to ensure artists make a fair living.
How Taylor Swift fans are helping drive up value of vinyl: Most sought-after discs are selling for hundreds or even thousands of pounds: A new generation of vinyl collectors is boosting the value of recent classic records by musicians such as Taylor Swift, Radiohead and The White Stripes. Some of the most sought-after discs are selling for hundreds or even thousands of pounds. Record sales are booming, with as many as 5.5 million albums bought last year. But it’s not just the old classics that command the top prices – the likes of The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. So-called Millennials and young people in Generation Z – anyone born between 1981 and 2012 – are embracing the vinyl craze that was once the domain of nostalgic music lovers. They are interested in new hits and recent classics as well as the old favourites. The top-selling vinyl record of the 21st Century is Midnights by the singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released last October and has so far sold more than 80,000 copies.
