Is Vinyl’s Comeback Here to Stay? In 2018, the once-forgotten format feels closer to the mainstream than it has in decades. …For all the ease of online shopping, the human interaction that’s involved with actually stepping into a brick-and-mortar record store is still a big part of vinyl’s appeal. Any metropolitan vinyl aficionado can rattle off a list of beloved institutions that have closed their doors in recent years. But nearly 400 record stores opened nationwide from 2012 to 2017, according to industry officials. “Almost every week I get an email from someone, saying, ‘Hey, I’m opening a store in a couple of months,’” says Carrie Colliton, a co-founder of Record Store Day.
Why the vinyl resurgence is great for bands: Despite music consumption largely shifting to digital, figures show that vinyl sales are on the up with an increase in the UK of more than 26% in last year. Belle and Sebastian’s Richard Colburn tells Sky News why it’s important for indie bands that vinyl makes a comeback. “It’s always been there bubbling away, but of late it’s really, really taken off, which is good, and I think part of the reason is often when you buy vinyl now it also has a digital download,” he says. “So people seem to be collecting vinyl, maybe without playing it so much, but it’s just a nice thing to have. “It’s great for us because bands like us also get to make artwork that works for vinyl, which is what you want.”
Red Deer’s Soundhouse closing its doors on Record Store Day: The owners of The Soundhouse want to shut down their store on a good note. Mike Williamson and Davin Kemshed have operated the music and record store in downtown Red Deer for eight years. In a Thursday Facebook post, they announced they plan to shut down the store on Record Store Day, April 21. The commercial realtors wanted to resurrect Records to the Rafters, which was operated for years by Bill Creighton where the Soundhouse is now located. Though they may no longer be able to put in the effort to keep the Soundhouse going, they are open to passing the torch as Creighton once did with them. They are interested in having discussions about continuing the store with new owners or selling off some of their inventory so someone else can get a head start on something similar.
Vinyl Vault is the latest record store to open inside a Toronto bar: The shop, which specializes in used and vintage pressings, has set up shop on the second floor of Sonic Bar & Cafe. …For the last seven years, Vinyl Vault has existed at the Dixie Outlet Mall’s Saturday and Sunday Fantastic Flea Market in Mississauga. Maurice, who’s worked at the store for the last three years, took over the shop after the former owner passed away in May. She’s been branching out with pop-up stores since then at farmers’ markets and live shows, and took over a pink shipping container for four days at Ontario Place for the Ontario 150 Art & Music Festival last summer. But this is Vinyl Vault’s first seven-day-a-week location. It will also continue at its original location on weekends.
Local blind man has copy of rare Beatles butcher cover album: “Don’t butcher the butcher cover album,” the saying goes. Good advice. This famously rare Beatles record could be worth some serious money. And one local man has a copy he can’t see. Peter Smith, now blind, bought it when he was a child living with his family in Puerto Rico for a spell…A mint-condition butcher album, with the original “first-state” image and encased in its plastic wrap, can fetch around $20,000. A super rare stereo version sold in 2016 for $125,000. Smith’s copy is worth much less, probably under $1,000, according to Aaron Levy, who runs The Vinyl Countdown. It’s a “third-state” copy because part of the trunk cover has been peeled away to reveal the butcher cover beneath. (A “second-state” copy has an intact trunk cover paste-over image.)
Washington, DC Record Swap hosted by Pagoda: Come hang out and talk music over coffee with Pagoda, as they host a Record Swap at District Space (3522 12TH ST NE) in Brookland on Sunday, January 28, 10AM-3PM. Bring vinyl that you’d like to swap with others, there’ll also be a bunch for trade from local shops like Ear Cave, and from the Pagoda staff’s personal collections. Or just bring your thirst for single origin coffee, to enjoy with food from Republic Kolache and Bluebird, as well as cider from Anxo. Pagoda is a coffee & goods company. Pagoda first set up shop in 2015 at the Mt Pleasant Farmers Market, then expanded to pop-ups in DC, including DC Design Week and SUNS Cinema, and is now pursuing space for a retail location. In addition to coffee, Pagoda is designing forthcoming workwear and goods made in the USA.
