Matador, 4AD, Domino Flee Distributor Amid Massive Vinyl Delays: Rough Trade, Saddle Creek, and more are also departing Warner’s Alternative Distribution Alliance amid widespread complaints about Direct Shot Distributing. Several indie record labels announced today that they’ve parted ways with Warner Music Group’s Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) and will be working with North Carolina distributor Redeye going forward, Billboard reports. Beggars Group—the collective of labels that includes 4AD, Matador, Rough Trade, Young Turks, and XL—are joined by Domino and Saddle Creek in the move. The labels made the change effective January 1. In April 2019, Warner moved all of its business—including physical product released by ADA indie labels—to the Indiana-based company Direct Shot Distributing. Record stores and retailers have complained about Direct Shot, saying shipments arrive after extensive delays or go missing entirely… “Historically, independent labels have always seen getting records into stores as the first business decision they need to make,” Beggars chairman Martin Mills said in a statement. “But now that physical is such a small and decreasing part of the majors’ business, for indies, to whom physical, and especially vinyl, is so much more important, to partner with the majors for distribution has become arguably anachronistic.”
Record Store Day announces 2020 event date: We’ve officially entered 2020, and our favorite day devoted solely to vinyl is almost here. Record Store Day took to social media today to unveil the 2020 date making us and fellow vinyl lovers all the more stoked for April. “Save the date,” the Record Store Day twitter account posted. “We’re having a party on April 18!” No other information has been released at this time. But if the exclusives are anything like 2019 then we certainly have a lot to anticipate….While each Record Store Day brings us an array of exclusive releases to choose from, last year’s event also presented an exclusive way to play them. Crosley Radio released another trendsetting record player at just three inches. The special edition record player can all be yours for just $70. According to Digital Trends, the record player can only spin vinyl that holds about four minutes of music at a time. (That’s a lot of flipping if you ask us.) Perfect for single tracks and only single tracks, Epitaph and Jack White’s record label, Third Man will be pressing special one-track discs specifically for the launch. Crosley also says that a steady stream of new music for the special turntable is to come from a Japanese vinyl manufacturer.
Edinburgh, UK | ‘Properly gutted’ – shoppers react to sad news HMV at Ocean Terminal will close this month: Those at the store are running an “everything must go” closing down sale before the shop closes for good on 25 January. News that HMV at the Ocean Terminal is set to shut down later this month hasn’t gone down well with shoppers in Leith. The music retailer announced this week that they’d be closing their last remaining Edinburgh store on 25 January. Staff are inviting people in to grab a bargain in the meantime, with an “everything must go” closing down sale now well underway. However news that the store would be no more caused some upset on social media, with several people, including those who run the @ScotsPostPunk Twitter account, saying it’s “the only reason to visit Ocean Terminal.” Mike Huntly posted: “Sorry to hear this, my first thought is for the staff and I hope they get new employment quickly. As a dinosaur that prefers the experience of going into a shop and buying my music/films rather than streaming, it’s getting harder to do. HMV Edinburgh will be missed.”
Bury, UK | ‘HMV is here to stay’ despite store closures says Bury manager: Bosses at a Bury record store have said they are still going strong and will be sticking around after rumours that the shop might be leaving town. Steve Toolan, manager at HMV Bury, took to social media on Saturday to reject fears that the music retailer could be on the verge of shutting. He also thanked loyal HMV customers for their support over a “difficult year”. Speaking to the Bury Times, Mr Toolan said he was disappointed following rumours that Bury’s was among the slew of stores mooted for closure and expected to shut up shop in the coming months. “It is in fact our store in Bury St Edmunds that will be closing,” he added. “Obviously, we feel really bad for the manager Simon and all his staff in that branch who are at risk of redundancy. “We would like to assure all our fantastic customers that we are very much open for business and intend to stick around in the Millgate for a lot longer yet.”
Phillipsburg, NJ | Record store owner taking Phillipsburg Mall’s closure in stride, will move to different mall: Tenants still left in the Philipsburg Mall got terrible news right before the holidays-it’s closing. But at least one of them is taking it in stride. The Philipsburg Mall is the latest mall to bite the dust. Stephanie Nagy, owner of Spin me Round Records in the mall, wasn’t surprised. “Unfortunately, other than me, mall traffic was declining,” Nagy said. She received the termination letter the day before Christmas. The store is moving to the Palmer Park Mall in Easton, only 15 minutes from its current location. For Nagy, a mall just feels right. “I grew up with Sam Goody in the Hackettstown Mall and it was just fun,” Nagy said. “They can bring their wife, their kids, there’s always stuff for them to do. They’re not just sitting on a bench saying ‘come on honey, are we done yet.'”
Chicago, IL | Lincoln Square’s New Record Store, Interstellar Space, Dedicated To Jazz, Rock And Rare Finds: “The music I’m most interested in is the kind that’s on the frontier,” owner Michael Gaertner said. Chicago DJ Michael Gaertner always wanted to open a record store. When he realized his vinyl collection had ballooned to over 5,000 records, he knew it was time. The self-described music “archeologist” opened Interstellar Space Used and Rare Records at 2022 W. Montrose Ave. on Dec. 28. Before the store, Gaertner was DJing at places like Reed’s Local, 3017 W. Belmont Ave., and documenting his finds from record stores, garage sales and more on his Vinyl Voyage Instagram account. “I was just a collector really. I kept posting and building a community on Instagram for about five years,” he said. “I always wanted to open a store, but I didn’t want to sell records online. So I was waiting for the right time to open a brick and mortar store.” Gaertner, a jazz fan, named his shop for John Coltrane’s 1974 manic, free jazz record.
Portland, OR | Winter is coming: Portland’s top seasonal spots for those who miss the sunshine: The shortest day of the year arrives Dec. 21, which means winter is about to take hold. Sure, the sun basically disappears for months and in most parts of the county it’s cold and dreary, but not everything is grim. Winter’s a time to appreciate family and friends and the cozy side of life. We’re here to help. Hoodline put together a list of winter solstice-related activities in Portland, from board games and entertainment to tanning, using Yelp data and our own methodology. Here’s to enjoying the indoors — or at least forgetting about the season for a while. There’s something about playing records in the winter, when the analog pops mix with crackles from the fireplace, that just equals cozy. Pay a visit to one of Portland’s most popular record shops to stock up on vinyl, both old and new.
UK | Cassette revival underway with younger people ‘nostalgic for something they never had.’ After the vinyl revival, artists are turning to cassette for a physical object fans can cherish. Young consumers born after the Walkman era are driving a surprise renaissance in sales of cassette tapes, according to one manufacturer of “obsolete” music formats. Karen Emanuel, founder of Key Production, told i that while the vinyl renaissance has been driven by a wide range of customers, cassettes are enjoying a revival courtesy of a generation that missed out on tapes the first time around. “Vinyl is all ages,” she told i. “It was older but now it’s come back there’s a whole new demographic. “Cassettes have been the younger demographic, who have nostalgia for something they’ve never had. “There’s a whole market of people finding things in second hand markets and stores.”
