Boost In Vinyl Sales Helps Universal Music Profits: A strong increase in the sale of vinyl records has led to a 17% upstart in profits for the Irish arm of Universal Music from last year. The current sales figure stands at €26.3 million, following this increase, which is “due to the significant resurgent growth in the popularity of vinyl records”, according to directors of the company. The directors have also put this resurgence down to a positive increase in subscribers to legal streaming music service. Artists such as U2 and Taylor Swift have also been credited the company’s roster of stars. The accounts have also shown a major increase in pretax profits to €607,818, following the increase in revenues. Back in September, Glasgow was named the UK’s vinyl collecting capital. The company have also revealed that they did not pay any dividend last year, having paid out €500,000 in 2020.
Ottawa, CA | Give it a spin: Music lovers rediscovering the joys of vinyl records: At least two Ottawa record shops can attest to the fact that vinyl records are once again making some noise in a predominantly digital industry. Not long ago, vinyl records were considered a relic of the past. However, there has been a surprising resurgence in their popularity in recent years, spurred on by special events such as the annual Record Store Day (RSD), first held in San Francisco on April 19, 2008. RSD celebrates everything about vinyl records, from album cover art to the actual music. The day also highlights special vinyl album releases that are only sold at RSD-participating record stores across North America – including some here in Ottawa. Traditionally held in April, the next RSD is Black Friday, Nov. 25. It promises to be the busiest day of the year for Ottawa’s ODDs & SODs Shoppe.
Vinyl’s much-hyped return to radio: …today, some people prefer listening to music on vinyl rather than on CD or other digital formats. Their reasons should have nothing to do with actual sound quality but more with the tactile characteristics of vinyl, visual aspects such as larger album artwork and the playback ritual. Others prefer listening to CDs for a different set of reasons. There is nothing wrong with preferring vinyl to CDs, MP3 and digital audio in general, as long as the preference is honestly stated on emotional terms, or is precisely quantified and tied to subjective experience, and not obscured with erroneous and sometimes pejorative technical appeals. …As for the “warmth” of vinyl, that can generally be ascribed to a less accurate bass sound. The difficulty of accurately translating bass lines to vinyl without making grooves too big means that engineers have to do a lot of processing to get it to work, which changes the tone of the bass in a way that, apparently, many people find aesthetically pleasing.
London, UK | Caia to host vinyl takeovers from Phonica Records and Horse Meat Disco: Settle in for dinner and a show. Caia, a restaurant and wine bar on Golbourne Road, London, has announced takeovers from Phonica Records and Horse Meat Disco in the coming weeks. The restaurant, which is home to Kuzma R turntables, an Isonoe 420 rotary mixer and Auditorium R-25 A speakers, designed by Living Voice founder Kevin Scott, will play host to vinyl takeovers from Phonica Records on November 19 and Horse Meat Disco’s Severino on December 2. Co-founder Rishabh Vir says, “there is an energy to this area that seems to be building with each passing week. People across the capital are beginning to realise how much creativity and potential Golborne Road and its surrounding streets have; these events, with some of the best DJs out there, are another step in cementing West London as one of London’s most exciting places culturally.”
Twin Falls, ID | Fall vinyl pop-up sale brings a variety of records to Twin Falls: Audiophiles are often scratching their heads when looking for vinyl around Twin Falls. That all changed for a few hours Thursday evening when Koto Brewing Company teamed up with Modern Sounds Vinyl and Music, as well as 1332 Records, to offer a fall vinyl pop-up sale. The record store owners brought moving boxes of vinyl for prospective buyers to browse through.
Los Angeles, CA | Billy Idol To Play At The Roxy Theatre And Amoeba Hollywood: The shows are set for November 9. Rock icon Billy Idol is set to return to his hometown of Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 9 to play a run of two intimate performances: an evening show at The Roxy Theatre with support from special guests Huddy and Willem Wolfe as well as an afternoon acoustic set at Amoeba Hollywood with his longtime collaborator, co-writer, and guitarist Steve Stevens. These dates celebrate the release of Idol’s latest project, The Cage EP, which is out now via Dark Horse Records. Tickets for The Roxy show go on sale Friday, November 4th with a password only accessible via Idol’s social media. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit cancer treatments for Mitzi Spallas, Idol’s hair and makeup artist for more than thirty years. To guarantee admission to the Amoeba Hollywood performance, fans will need to purchase a copy of The Cage EP on vinyl at the store on the date of the set.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever confirms vinyl soundtrack release: The record includes Rihanna, Stormzy, Tems and more. With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever just around the corner, it has been announced the upcoming Marvel outing will release its soundtrack on vinyl. The follow-up to Black Panther will see the characters grappling with the loss of King T’Challa, played by the late Chadwick Boseman. It is understood that a new hero will don T’Challa’s suit, with some fans thinking it could be his sister Shuri (Letitia Wright). Ryan Coogler’s film features two original songs from Rihanna, with the singer making her hotly-anticipated comeback after her hiatus. Last week, she released the video for ‘Lift Me Up’, featuring scenes from Wakanda Forever interspersed with shots of the artist singing on a beach. The Wakanda Forever soundtrack is set to include another song from Rihanna, ‘Born Again’, as well as more music from Stormzy, Burna Boy, and Tems.
