El Paso, TX | All That Music & Video store to double in size at Fountains at Farah in East El Paso: All That Music & Video, a haven for El Paso’s music lovers, will close temporarily while it doubles in size at The Fountains at Farah. Owner George Reynoso announced the current location will close Jan. 10 while it moves into a temporary location across from P.F. Chang’s. It will reopen there on Jan. 13 while the original store undergoes some reconstruction, including the removal of a wall. It will take about three months to complete. A larger space always was the plan, Reynoso said. “We look forward to the expansion, which will accommodate the deeper, curated inventory longtime fans have come to expect,” Reynoso said in a news release. “No one has been unaffected by the life-changing events of the last two years. We hope you agree that this 90-day inconvenience will make it all worthwhile. Thank you, El Paso, Juarez and Las Cruces for your patience and continued support.” The newly expanded storefront will reopen in April, just in time for Record Store Day on April 16.
Kensington, PA | New Kensington shop lets you build a record collection without breaking the bank: A.J. Rassau is a music archaeologist. Through Preserving, a record shop housed inside a former Presbyterian church in New Kensington, the 36-year-old is giving new life to thousands of vinyl albums, CDs and cassettes. He’s also reinvigorating the live performance scene by hosting concerts at Preserving Underground, a basement venue that can accommodate up to 300 people. Located at 1101 Fifth Ave., the store posts weekly hours every Sunday on social media and Google. The next show is on Friday, Jan. 7, with DiLisio, Wampum Dogs, Memory Front and Black Squirrel, Run! Rassau’s childhood obsession began when he won a Mighty Mighty Bosstones CD at Kennywood. Discs are still his favorite and he’s amassed a large collection of them, from international releases and box sets to demos and DIY swag from hardcore, punk and metal bands. While technology has put every song at our fingertips, Rassau thinks streaming services don’t offer the same kind of listening experience. At a record store, all of a fan’s senses come into play.
New Bedford, CT | Vinyl beats CDs: Local record stores report surge in sales predominantly by young adults: Young adults may not know about pagers, Palm Pilots, VHS tapes, disposable cameras or floppy disks, but they certainly know about vinyl records — which are making a striking comeback. “Since I opened, I’ve been increasingly selling more records year after year,” said John Pimentel, owner of Max J Records in Fairhaven. A survey conducted by Vinyl Restart says that since 2005, there has been a renewed interest in vinyl records with an 18.5% sales increase yearly. In the first half of 2021, 17 million albums were sold, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, an 86% jump from 2020. Pimentel worked in retail for 20 years and sold records online before opening his brick and mortar store in 2017, on Bridge Street. “When you stream music, and you hear it that way, and then you listen to it on a turntable, you definitely hear things that you don’t get from the compressed format,” he said.
Massillon, OH | Erie St. Vinyl record store finds footing in downtown Massillon: While they were stuck at home during the pandemic for the past two years, Sam and Thomas Heaton particularly enjoyed having their record collections to listen to with their family. “It was a real source of joy and peace,” Sam said. That experience – coupled with a lifelong love of records and music – led to Sam’s new record store, Erie St. Vinyl, which opened in October in downtown Massillon. The shop is located a couple of storefronts away from Thomas’ longtime downtown business Art Bomb Tattoos. Inside Erie St. Vinyl, you’ll find a selection of new music releases with an emphasis on independent labels and artists. Along the right side of the shop, bins of discounted used vinyl are available for digging through. “I want people to understand that it’s not just about coming in and finding what you’re looking for,” Sam said. “It’s the shopping experience itself, it’s the space.”
Tarrytown, NY | Marquee Records Is the Spot to Score Vinyl in Tarrytown Music Hall: Volunteer-run music shop Marquee Records slings CDs, LPs, and more from behind the blazing billboard of Tarrytown’s beloved music venue. Top five albums you found in the bargain bin – go. While physical medium music continues to become an increasingly niche commodity, used record stores are alive and well in Westchester County. Recently opened, Marquee Records adds a new wrinkly to the equation, combining donated wares, a veritable (KISS) army of volunteers, and a support-the-arts cause worthy of any John Hughes movie. Opened in November on the second floor of the Tarrytown Music Hall behind the electric glow of its eponymous marquee, the shop originally began as a pandemic record sale run by local musician Greg Jacquin to raise funds for the shuttered music hall. “I was trying to think of ways to raise some money, and I had been watching the explosion of popularity around vinyl records,” says Jacquin.
VN | The Top 5 Vinyl Stores in Vietnam: In our bustling everyday lives with a never ending string of new iphone releases, music enthusiasts are taking a trip down memory lane hunting for the nostalgia vinyl culture offers, creating a space for the comeback of analog music. Saigon and Ha Noi offer countless opportunities for music lovers to explore the many vinyl stores in Vietnam and their expansive collections. Tucked away in busy Saigon and Vietnam’s ancient capital, Ha Noi, vinyl stores have won the hearts of many locals. As younger generations join forces with older crowds seeking the nostalgic oasis vinyl culture offers, the playing field for music lovers spans unique offline and online stores, featuring records of any genre. Read on for our local guide to the best vinyl stores in Vietnam, each with its very own charm and story.
Detroit, MI | Flipside Records to relocate to Berkley after nearly 40 years in Clawson: “The building is pretty much unfinished on the inside,” he said of the Berkley location, adding that the move is the result of the landlord taking an offer from a new tenant. “It’s approximately the same size, we’re going to downsize some products. We’ve always concentrated on the music, the vinyl, the CDs, but I think we’ll be even expanding the selection of vinyl.” Flipside was founded in 1983 by Frank Fundaro and his son Todd, who runs the business today. DeVlieg said that while the store sells and re-sells all kinds of music, it’s a few key genres that buyers are most interested in. “Your classic rock, your current hip-hop stuff, a lot of independent label music,” he said. “We’re doing pretty good with the heavy metal. So those four categories are really what’s keeping us afloat.” Another thing that has kept Flipside going through the decades is the knowledgeable staff. “I think that’s a big part of it,” said DeVlieg. “We love the music as much as the people that come in here and buy it.”
UK cassette sales increased by 19% in 2021: 185,000 tapes were sold during the year. Cassette sales in the UK increased by 19% last year. According to official figures shared by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) this week, over 185,000 cassette tapes were sold in the UK in 2021, up almost 20,000 units from 2020 — which had already doubled in number from 2019 — and marking the highest recorded sales since 2003. Artists such as Streatham MC Dave, Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey were among the top 10 best-selling cassette albums in 2021. Additionally, the BPI reports that there were over 14 million CDs and 5.3 million vinyl LPs purchased in 2021, with vinyl LPs hitting a 30-year high, representing over a quarter of all purchases on physical format.
