Popular city record store Rise closes: A record shop closed for the final time yesterday after six years in Worcester city centre. The groove ended for the much-loved Rise store in the Crowngate Shopping Centre as loyal customers and vinyl addicts snapped up the remaining records. Manager Tom George was sad to be closing but was happy the store had met a natural end rather than shutting immediately overnight. “A lot of customers were sad but understanding,” he said. “It’s been a lot more positive than we thought it would be.” He singled out a Frank Turner launch party, which was attended by more than 200 people in 2015, as a memorable highlight during the life of the music store. The recent vinyl comeback mirrored a rise in sales for the store – but not enough to keep the business open, sadly.
Gallery of Sound in Hazle Twp. closes: The Gallery of Sound in Hazle Twp. closed its doors at the end of the business day Friday. Signs taped to the doors of the darkened store thanked customers for their 28 years of patronage and asked them to visit the Gallery of Sound location in Wilkes-Barre Twp. The store was part of the strip shopping center on Laurel Mall property. It sold compact discs, vinyl records, DVDs and other music-related merchandise. The departure leaves the greater Hazleton area without access to brick and mortar retailers dedicated solely to music. Gallery of Sound officials were mum on the closing late last week. “We’re not in a position to comment on that right now,” a person who answered the telephone at the Wilkes-Barre Twp. said.
Ames Man Keeps Record Players Running, Vinyl Spinning: Back before Pandora, Spotify, or YouTube Red, many people used record players to listen to music. The device was originally a phonograph and was first invented by Thomas Edison back in 1877. Later, it evolved during the 60s, 70s, and 80s before bowing out with the incoming digital CD players. For one Ames man, the record players never really went away. George Noble opened a record shop called Vintage Vinyl in the town of Jewell for about eight years to sell off remaining LPs as everyone was getting CDs. “I had a company come to me and rented a 2 x 2 space in my store to sell off records,” said Noble. “We were selling a lot of records for a while.” George moved on from records and record players for a few years while working for the post office full time. After retirement, though, his passion returned.
Trip down Musical Lane: Records store open in Hervey Bay: FTER collecting vinyl records and music memorabilia for decades, musician Ken Jarratt has moved his collection from his home to a shop. Cool Rock’n Records is now open at Queens Rd, Scarness, where feeling a sense of nostalgia is almost guaranteed when you walk in. Lining the walls are titles from the likes of ACDC, Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, next to Disney classics on VHS and Elvis figurines on the shelves. “I used to work in a second-hand shop in the 1980s which is where a lot of the items come from,” Mr Jarratt said. “When CDs came out, vinyl records became really cheap and I bought a lot.” The majority of sale items are from last century but Mr Jarratt said kids have been browsing the store too.
Joe’s Records to relocate from Marion mall: The Illinois Star Centre Mall remains open, but another one of its tenants is leaving. Last week, the Marion Republican reported that Sears will be closing in April. Today, it was learned via Facebook that Joe’s Records is moving. Co-owner Josh Stockinger confirmed news that the records store will relocate to the Marion Centre at 1301 Enterprise Way between Rural King and The Factory Connection, just off Illinois 13. Joe’s first opened at the mall in December of 2013 near Dillard’s. A little over a year ago, it moved closer to Bath and Body Works. “We have to be out of the Illinois Star Centre mall by the end of the month and the plan is to re-open at the new location by Feb. 1,” Stockinger said.
Record store helps Woodend couple relive the classic hits: The crackling sound of a record beginning to play and the fact most songs from the early 30s and 40s haven’t been digitalised, is what keeps Jessica Bielenberg and her husband Stanley wanting to add to their vinyl collection. The Woodend couple has about 100 records at home, and is quite proud of the uniqueness and randomness of the collection. “We have a record at home which is German beer party songs,” Mrs Bielenberg said. “We also have a record from the 70s which has music for a German dinner. It even has the recipes printed on the back so you can make your dinner match the music.” But it is her love of classic sounds from artists such as Glenn Miller, an American big band musician from the swing era, which fuels her love for vinyl.
The list of 2017’s top-selling vinyl albums shows the format isn’t just for trendy fans: Move over, hipsters: Data for 2017 suggests that vinyl isn’t just for those whose favorite line before telling someone their favorite band is, “Oh, yeah, you probably haven’t heard of them before.” According to the 2017 U.S. Music Consumption Report, compiled by the analytics company BuzzAngle, the year saw a growth in vinyl sales of 20 percent. Nielson’s year-end report called 2017’s vinyl sales an “all-time Nielsen-era high volume” since the company began tracking music sales in 1991. According to Nielsen, 14 percent of all physical album sales were vinyl, while BuzzAngle had it at 10 percent. And the top-purchased albums across the country? That may come as a surprise to those who think of vinyl buyers as avant-garde types.
