UK | Revealed: The surprising problem which may have hampered HMV’s success in the past: HMV hit the headlines today after the company announced it will be opening its largest store in Birmingham – but an unearthed article has offered an explanation as to why this former family favourite has been so close to closure in the past. HMV has opened a 25,000 sq ft shop called HMV Vault in the midlands city, which it claims will be a “nirvana for music and film fans”. The store will sell vinyl, CDs and DVDs and offer a live performance area. The brand used to be the go-to place for music or film requests, but since the rise of the digital era and streaming services, the chain has gradually become less successful. Canadian businessman Doug Putman took over HMV UK in February this year, saving it from administration and rescuing 100 stores from closure and 1,600 staff from unemployment. He also acquired HMV Canada two years ago and merged it with the record store chain Sunrise Records.
Parkersburg, WV | Collectors show draws vinyl enthusiasts: The first Mid-Ohio Valley Record Collectors show, held in March, was a success. The second, held Sunday afternoon, appeared to be just as popular. More than 30 vendors, including some from our area, sold vinyl records, tapes, CD’s, and other music-related items. Other vendors came from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and other states. Similar shows have been held in nearby larger cities such as Columbus, Pittsburgh and Dayton, and have attracted local collectors. “It was a gamble to bring this kind of event to the Mid-Ohio Valley,” said Aaron Whited, one of the organizers, “because it’s something that had never happened before. But the event seems to get bigger and bigger every time we hold one of these. It kind of comes full circle bringing in these people we usually see at all the shows we usually travel to… It’s an amazing thing.”
With Streaming And Vinyl Growing — What About CDs? Between the still-growing music streaming services and the return of vinyl, the compact disc is in danger of disappearing. As the medium becomes more rare, some of those CDs stacked up on your bookshelf could actually be valuable. Most won’t, of course. For financial purposes, most are no more of an antique goldmine than cassette tapes. But there are a few rare CDs that still could fetch some serious coin. Is It The Real Slim Shady? Before you chuck them in the garbage, see if you have Eminem’s 1997 “Slim Shady EP” from 1997. Likely you don’t, because only 250 copies of it were sold, and only a few more than that made. The CD has sold online for more than $800, and on Amazon, it starts at nearly $6,000. Without shipping. According to a Michael Jackson memorabilia and collectors’ website, a withdrawn two-track Austrian version of the King of Pop’s “Smile” CD is one of the rarest and most sought Jackson memorabilia items, and could fetch $1,500. The site says watch out, though, because it’s also a frequently bootlegged item.
Dallas, TX | Twenty-two turntables memorialize black people slain by police in ‘American Monument.’ After pulling the plug on an earlier exhibition, Dallas artist Lauren Woods has found a new home for her work, a dark and deeply researched one. Last Sept. 16, Dallas artist Lauren Woods abruptly walked out of the reception for her multimedia installation American Monument at California State University Long Beach’s University Art Museum. After the firing of the museum’s art director, Kimberli Meyer, five days beforehand, Woods decided to put her show about police brutality and the killing of African-Americans on hold indefinitely, in an act of protest. A year later, however, her exhibit has resurfaced at the Beall Center for Art + Technology at the University of California, Irvine. Meyer was Woods’ chief collaborator on the exhibit in its original incarnation, and her dismissal, for which Cal State did not initially provide an explanation, led Woods to believe the university was attempting to kill American Monument. A statement released later by Cyrus Parker-Jeannette, who was dean of the university’s College of the Arts at the time, disputed this.
Austin, TX | Man Takes Care of Vinyl Records Better Than Himself: A 33-and-a-half-year-old Austin man has been observed to and openly admits to taking care of his vinyl records better than himself, Gomerblog reports. “These are my prized possessions,” said Lee Paulson, gesturing towards his wall of predominantly long-playing records, of which he estimates he owns approximately 4,000. The rest of his apartment is in shambles. “I have to watch over their health. If I don’t, who else will?” As part of their maintenance, Paulson carefully inspects and cleans every record he acquires. He puts each record in a special high-quality anti-static inner sleeve to minimize scratches. He puts each record in a special high-quality outer sleeve to keep the whole record in tact. He cleans and inspects records each and every day, making sure every single one of them is in tip-top shape. We won’t even go into the painstaking detail of maintenance of how he maintains his turntable, needle, and speaker system.
Saanich, BC | Island record show will indulge the audiophile lifestyle: Organizers expect dealers to bring about 20,000 records to Comox Valley event. Island music fans will have the chance to boost their collections later this month with the Inaugural Comox Valley Record Show. It’s happening on Sunday, Oct. 27, at the Comox Valley Curling Club in the upstairs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event represents the efforts of Keith Parry, the manager of the curling club, and Jack Tieleman and Dave Read, who have been organizing record shows in Nanaimo for several years. Parry, himself, still operates mail-order record sales from an enormous collection he has stored in Black Creek. “I’ll be selling records till I’m dead or have a big fire,” he says. The event is being hosted by the Black Dot, Scratch Records and CVGBs. All three organizers have deep ties to music. Parry is a musician and operated a store and label, Scratch, in Vancouver for years. Tieleman and Read run a shop, Black Dot, and an art space, White Room, though they add their Nanaimo operation is kind of semi-secret, only open at set times. Tieleman and Read have put out records through their respective labels Lance Rock and Noiseagonymayhem. Read also runs Vinyl Record Guru, a manufacturing company that specializes in vinyl records. The two started holding shows in Nanaimo that, even from the outset, were more popular than expected, and they have had to move shows to bigger venues.
Nova Scotia, CA | A family’s quest to find the right home for dad’s 8,000 country music records: Amanda Jackson is selling the collection it took her dad 6 decades to amass — but she won’t break it up. Amanda Jackson’s dad might have gotten carried away. What began as a Nova Scotia teenager’s modest library of 20 or so country music records grew over the next six decades to roughly 8,000. The family of the late Murray Deal was left with one question: what to do with their dad’s impressive collection? “It was his life. It was his passion,” Jackson told CBC’s Mainstreet. “What our goal is, is just to find somebody that maybe doesn’t have an equal passion for it like he did, but would certainly appreciate the collection and use it and listen to it.” It wasn’t easy to decide to sell the eclectic collection, which contains music from as early as the ’40s right up to the 2000s, Jackson said, noting her dad’s favourite artist was Hank Williams. The collection also includes artists such as Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash. Jackson is asking for $5,000 for the entire collection and isn’t willing to see it torn apart.
