Final Two Sam Goody Stores to Close: Ending a seven-decade run. After a seven-decade run as one of the nation’s premiere record store chains, Sam Goody has announced the closure of its final two brick-and-mortar locations. The stores are located at the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville, Ohio and the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon. According to WTRF, the Ohio location will close first, with its final date set for sometime in February 2025 — until then, prices will be reduced. No timeline has been given for the closure of the Oregon location. Founded shortly after the introduction of long-playing records, Sam Goody became a household name for discount vinyl sales in the ’50s, and a mainstay of malls across America and the United Kingdom in the ‘80s and ‘90s. In recent years, though, the brand’s popularity has waned, due to factors like digital music sales, streaming, mismanagement, and more.
Minneapolis, MN | What were the top sellers of 2024 at Minneapolis’ favorite record store? Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and other young pop stars sold well this year at the Electric Fetus alongside former customer Prince. Prince is still a hot seller at Minneapolis’ best-known record store, but in 2024 so were a lot of today’s hottest young pop acts. “Good Luck, Babe!” hitmaker Chappell Roan had the top-selling album of the year at the Electric Fetus, according to a newly issued year-end list from the 56-year-old record shop. …Other big sellers in 2024 at the expansive Minneapolis store were local pop-rock darlings Hippo Campus, Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, St. Vincent, Brigitte Calls Me Baby, Noah Kahan and up-and-comer Taylor Swift. Most of those names eschew the stereotype that kids these days only stream their music instead of buying it. “It’s encouraging to see so many younger music fans craving physical media in addition to streaming,” the Electric Fetus’ Jim Novak said.
Twin Falls, ID | Boise record shop opens pop-up in Twin Falls before the holidays: The pop-up store will be back in Twin Falls on December 21 from 12-5 p.m. at 125 Main Avenue West. For anyone in the Magic Valley looking to surprise their loved ones with the pure sound of a vinyl record this holiday season, you’re in luck. A Boise record shop has decided to set up a limited time only pop-up store in downtown Twin Falls. For the past six Saturdays, the Boise-based Modern Sounds Vinyl and Music has been setting up a small pop-up shop in downtown Twin Falls. If you’re still looking for the perfect gift for the music lover on your list, you still have one more Saturday to check it out. The Modern Sounds Vinyl and Music, Magic Valley pop-up store, will be back in Twin Falls on December 21st.
Salt Lake City, UT | Randy Stinson, the face of record stores in Utah, dies at age 83: Stinson spent his life sharing music with others, before and after he opened his cherished store in 1978. Randy Stinson, founder of the iconic Salt Lake City vinyl record shop named after him and remembered by his family as a “walking Rolodex of music,” died on Dec. 14, 2024, of natural causes at the age of 83. Randy opened Randy’s Record Shop in October 1978 and ran it for four decades before retiring in 2018, when his son Sam took over. The Travel Channel once named the shop as one of “eight must-visit American Record Stores” alongside other greats, like Amoeba Music in Los Angeles. …Connecting people with music, through the store or his own collection, was Randy’s favorite part of all of it. “Whatever culture that Randy brought to the city and the local community, it was just a place for music lovers…”
Cleveland, OH | Around Hear: Ultrasound Music Closing. Ultrasound Going Silent: Another landmark record store is closing its doors. After 15 years, Ultrasound Music (36495 Vine St., Willoughby,) will liquidate its metal-heavy stock and shutter its storefront in March. It’s the same old story: As digital music grows, CD sales are plummeting. “It’s time,” says owner Gary Pfleuger. “I’d sit around for a couple hours waiting for people to come in. EBay has kept my store afloat.” One day in 1984, Pfleuger bought Venom’s Possessed and Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All cassettes at Mentor’s Record Den. Soon, metal and punk were his job. He started working at Cleveland Heights’ Wax Stacks, then bought the business. …It became Northeast Ohio’s best source for hardcore, stoner rock and obscure metal. Underground stars like Death, Cannibal Corpse and Obituary made in-store appearances. In 2005, the store moved to Willoughby. In 2007, Revolver magazine named it one of the country’s top metal shops.
Blond:ish to release new vinyl LP made from used cooking oil: The record, made from biogenic waste, aims to promote a “circular economy.” Canadian DJ, producer, and activist BLOND:ISH has announced the release of her next album, ‘Never Walk Alone’, set to be cut on vinyl made from used cooking oil. The “state-of-the-art” bio material used to make the record is made entirely from biogenic waste such as recycled cooking oils and other raw materials, aiming to promote a “circular economy”.” Her next record, due to land on February 14, 2025, will be pressed onto vinyl via BioVinyl—a sustainable pressing plant using bio-based PVC. The album will be cut on blue-tinted vinyl, made from 100% recycled material with “acoustic and optical quality identical to conventional vinyl records”. “The material is 99.98% petroleum-free, and cuts 90% of the carbon dioxide emissions from the process,” reads a press release. “The long term goal for the plants that produce this material is to phase out PVC vinyl completely.”
Beijing, CN | Antony Blinken buys Taylor Swift album during Beijing record store visit: US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, was spotted buying a Taylor Swift album during an official visit to Beijing, as he took a detour between meetings. The purpose of the trip was to help ‘improve relations’ with China, however, Blinken decided to take himself on a cultural excursion while he was there. At the record store, he purchased Swift’s 2022 album ‘Midnights’ as well as music by Chinese artist, Dou Wei. “I’m a bit stuck in the 70s”, Blinken admitted when the shop owner asked what music he liked.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre Soundtrack Gets Its Very Own Vinyl For The First Time Ever: The soundtrack will also be available on cassette and CD from Waxwork Records. Fifty years after the release of the iconic slasher, the soundtrack to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is finally getting a physical release, so Leatherface fans can treasure it forever. The vinyl, CD, and cassette release comes courtesy of Waxwork Records, with plenty of goodies to celebrate a half-century of Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece. The soundtrack, which was co-composed by Hooper and sound designer Wayne Bell, is available for preorder in all three formats now, with cassettes in yellow, line green, or black retailing for $17 USD, CDs for $16 USD, and the vinyl record for $35. The vinyl release is pressed on hand-poured brown, orange, and yellow vinyl, with a brand new gatefold sleeve designed by Steve Reeves, and a twelve page booklet featuring production photography and liner notes.
Washington, DC | How Cuneiform Records has remained a label “in opposition” for the past 40 years: When Steve Feigenbaum started Cuneiform Records in 1984, he had no expectation that it would become his life’s work for 40 years to come. His mission was — and remains — a humble one, he said: to simply make the most interesting record label possible, without going bankrupt. Well, “interesting” may be an understatement. Over the course of its four decades in operation, Cuneiform and the mail-order service that Feigenbaum had started four years earlier, Wayside Music, have done much to connect people worldwide with artists on the bleeding edge of avant-garde and experimental music of various strains. …“You know, I think that right now we’re in an extremely good, fertile and supportive time,” Feigenbaum said of the D.C. music scene in particular.
