Cambridge, UK | Vital vinyl: The 3 best record shops in Cambridge: Shopping for vinyl records? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top vinyl record outlets in Cambridge, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture next time you’re in the market for vinyl records. November is the top month of the year for consumer spending at retail and wholesale businesses across the Cambridge area, according to data on local business transactions from Womply, a provider of customer relationship management software and email automation for small businesses. The average amount spent per customer transaction at Cambridge-area retail and wholesale businesses grew to $89 for the metro area in November of last year, 5% higher than the average for the rest of the year. Hoodline offers data-driven analysis of local happenings and trends across cities. Links included in this article may earn Hoodline a commission on clicks and transactions.
Sydney, AU | Fish Fine Music to close at the end of the year: Classical music specialist record store Fish Fine Music has announced it will close forever on December 21. The Sydney store, which opened as The Record Collector in 1982, is the last remaining classical music specialist shop in the country, following the closure of Melbourne’s Thomas’ Music last year. Operated and owned by the same family as when it opened, the store moved to a larger space at Town Hall Square in 2016, after more than ten years in the Queen Victoria Building. “It has been a great pleasure to meet and serve so many like-minded, wonderful customers. As this is the end of an era, we look back on so many years of being part of what was such a vibrant industry,” said the store’s owner Paul Nemeth when he announced the closure. “Many will ask why we are closing and it is briefly that record companies continue monthly to delete hundreds of titles in favour of streaming. The difficulty this causes for us in getting regular and consistent supply, along with the vagaries of releases and distribution, have made retail just too difficult. As the last Classical retailer, shoplifting has reached such a level that we are unable to cover the losses on the margins we work under.”
Austin, TX | Austin Record Convention celebrates 38 years this weekend: Vinyl records have made a comeback in recent years as music lovers re-discover the sound that vinyl offers. Now, vinyl lovers can celebrate as the Austin Record Convention returns for the 38th year. “People like to have a piece of that history in their collection. When you put on a record you have a chance to sit with the music.” said Nathan Hanners, the organizer of the Austin Record Convention. “I think people just miss the feeling and miss the tactfulness of the record.” said Hanners. The convention started in 1981 and usually runs twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Vinyl’s have become so popular that they are on track to outsell CD’s for the first time in 33 years, according to the Rolling Stone. Over 300 dealers from across the US and Europe will converge at the Palmer Events Center in Austin to sell over a million records.
London, UK | New record shop, Hidden Sounds, has opened in London: “A multi-disciplinary platform for buying records, hosting workshops, and putting on concerts.” A new record shop, called Hidden Sounds, has opened in London’s Bethnal Green. “Hidden Sounds is not related to any particular genre or style of music, but its main focus is to offer something different and unique by exploring the potential of hidden sounds”, explain owners Alex and Francesco. So far, Hidden Sounds has hosted the likes of Donna Leake and Brilliant Corners’ Amit & Aneesh for in-store sets. Visit Hidden Sounds in person at 144 Cambridge Heath Road, E1 5QP, London.
Yamaha reveals new white variation of their MusicCast Vinyl 500 turntable: Yamaha has just revealed a white variation of their MusicCast Vinyl 500 turntable. The MusicCast Vinyl 500 is part of their current MusicCast audio network. This allows listeners to wirelessly control all compatible Yamaha products via a stand-alone app. Basically with this multi-room technology, you can share and listen to your record collection throughout the house. The MusicCast VINYL 500 features a straight tonearm for an open sound as well as a belt-drive motor to minimise noise caused by vibrations. The Alexa compatible turntable retails at $699.95 in white and will be available in early December. Check out the full specifications and head here to order the Yamaha MusicCast VINYL 500 in piano black.
Saranac Lake, NY | Why I love those little plastic rectangles: You know, those things teenagers in ’80s movies would make for each other as a sign of affection. Vinyl sounds great, but LPs are crazy expensive, and every time I hold one, it reminds me of handling my newborn nephew. I never dropped the kid or a record, but the anxious thought was always there. Plus, records and record players can take up a lot of space in the home while clearing out a lot of space in your wallet. And streaming is just hard to keep straight. I’ll put it on when I get in the shower, hear a bunch of great, new stuff and then immediately forget all that music because I don’t have it saved. In terms of sound quality and how much information they can hold, cassettes are inferior in nearly every way to records and digital files. But maybe that’s what I love about them. The scratchy sound is charming, and flipping from side A to side B still gives me a rush.
Pittsburgh, PA | Move to bigger venue means more of everything at Vintage Mixer: With vinyl record sales on the upswing, the Pittsburgh Vintage Mixer is a good place to get in on the trend and stock up on some retro platters. And it won’t be just LPs available on Nov. 9 at Nova Place in Pittsburgh’s North Side, says organizer Michael Lutz — Whistlin’ Willie will be there, too, with a Victrola and loads of 78-rpm pressings. Now, that’s vintage. As the name implies, the biannual event features vendors offering a vast array of vintage and antique goods, from kitschy to collectible. Founded in 2012 by Lutz, Bess Dunlevy and Jason Sumney, the event has continued to grow, necessitating a move to a larger venue. “We outgrew our former space (in the Lawrenceville Teamsters Hall),” Lutz says. “It became too crowded for our shoppers and for our vendors.” The move to Nova Place — the former Allegheny Center Mall — provides “three to four times more space,” he says, which will accommod
