Fort Wayne, IN | Former Wildwood Liquors now home to record store: Everything old is new again–the old Wildwood Liquors store near downtown Fort Wayne is now home to Welcome Back Records and Deadstock Vintage. The new business held a grand opening celebration Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 3019 Broadway. You can find both vintage clothing and vinyl at the store, with vinyl offerings from Morrison Agen, former owner of Neat Neat Neat Records and Music. Agen says he both buys and sells records, CDs, music-related books, and various types of music gear. Morrison offers vinyl of all genres and features work from local musicians, like Jonah Leatherman and Namen Namen. Morrison, a longtime resident of the ‘07 community, said he’s happy to be working in the area again. “We’re just thrilled to be part of the growing business community in the ‘07, this neighborhood could really use a store like ours and we just love the area,” he said. “I’ve been here for 25 years, and I’m just happy to be back working with all my old customers and getting new customers in.”
Oshkosh, WI | The Exclusive Company Remains a Media Hub in Oshkosh: The Exclusive Company is a chain of record stores located in Wisconsin, specializing in a variety of different physical media ranging from horror movies to jazz records. Media enthusiasts will be sure to find something they like due to the wide array of genres in movies and music present at The Exclusive Company. The location at 318 N Main St. in Oshkosh also has an area in the back of the store where they sell stereos, speakers and various recording equipment. The Exclusive Company offers 99-cent record bins, Record Store Day exclusives, eccentric pins, sunglasses and other accessories. Near the front of the store, various boxsets are displayed like Nirvana’s “Nevermind” super deluxe CD set and “Width of a Circle” by David Bowie. The store used to be located farther down on Main Street, but the founder, Mr. G., switched building locations in 2005. Ian Schneider, an Exclusive Company employee, said the store changed locations to fill a vacant spot and expand the record store’s storage.
Scranton, PA | Vinyl vanishing from Scranton: It’s an end of an era for Embassy Vinyl, Scranton’s only record store for the past 15 years. Embassy Vinyl on Adams Avenue in Scranton has been a music collector’s dream since 2006. And the fact that it’s going out of business is leaving owner R.J. Harrington playing the blues. “I knew when I started this business, it wasn’t going to be something like ‘alright, I’m buying that yacht soon.’ It’s a business that you have because you like it, and you hope you can sustain it while it sustains you a little.” Harrington says. Now, Harrington is closing the store due to health issues and higher rent. But he says he appreciates the community of music lovers who came here over the years. “There’s once in a while you see something weird, and you buy it just to listen to it. It may not be worth anything, but it’s worth my time,” said Harrington. Harrington’s genuine love for music carried over in his business plans.
Tucson, AZ | Record shops in Tucson are gaining popularity as vinyl sales rise nationally: Vinyl is on the rise again and Generation Z is one of the main forces behind its revival. In 2021, the Recording Industry Association of America reported a “remarkable resurgence” of vinyl sales for their mid-year report. According to RIAA, revenue from vinyl grew 94% from 2020 and had been steadily rising for a few years prior. Artists like Jack White and Arctic Monkeys dominated vinyl sales in 2014, a year that marked a record high in vinyl sales since 1993, according to the Nielsen Music U.S. Report. According to Billboard’s annual report, in 2021, Adele’s album “30” was the best-selling record in America. Here in Tucson, the rise of vinyl popularity has impacted local industry a lot. Jake Sullivan and Kellen Fortier, co-owners of Wooden Tooth Records on Seventh Street, have been running the shop since 2015. They are located near Tucson Magnet High School and the University of Arizona, so it is not uncommon for them to see students pop in from time to time.
Cleveland, OH | Shepard Records To Open on Saturday with Live Music: Akron’s Time Traveler Records record shop has been around since 1980. Now, it’s launching its first ever sister location in Cleveland at 9212 Madison Ave. with a soft opening on Saturday featuring live music by Plastic Wild Flowers (FKA Wings 2), Dallas Drake and Saralila Rose. Time Traveler’s “Doc Brown” is Scott Shepard, who’ll have a hand in the new operation, but Shepard Records, as it had been dubbed, will be its “own thing” and is owned and managed by Shepard’s daughter, 27 year-old Emma Shepard. Shepard grew up in Akron before moving to Cleveland about six years ago. Shepard Records will not have their full inventory out for the soft opening but will certainly display enough to browse for a Valentine’s Day gift for the music lover in your life.
Bolton, UK | Bolton’s X-Records signs up Star and Garter to launch upcoming bands: AN independent record shop is on track to relaunch its own record label – while signing up a local pub to put bands centre stage. Bolton’s X-Records in Bridge Street is bringing back its 80s record label, with local singer Edweena Banger first to be signed up. Owner of the record shop, Steve Meekings said: “I have been going to the Star and Garter, or what it was, since I was a young boy, at just 15. “I even got banned at that age and they told me to come back at 16.” Steve said he recognises that X-Records needs to appeal to more people as as footfall is not as high as it once was. He said: “We need to expand and needed a bigger venue than just using the shop to host all of our special events. “The room at the Star and Garter is perfect for us and what we want to do going forward, and that place is amazing and has been there for ages.” First launched in 1986, the X-Record label sold albums with the band Dirty Tryx. Steve hopes the relaunch will help reintroduce vinyl records and punk rock artists back into the Bolton music scene.
Harrisonburg, VA | How Blue Sprocket Pressing put Virginia on the vinyl map: Central Virginia has been an incubator of music and culture amidst the Blue Ridge Mountains for decades – look no further than the success of veterans like Dave Matthews Band, the breadth of lo-fi poetry from Stephen Malkmus and David Berman, the deep tradition of bluegrass, or the rise of a new generation of indie stalwarts like Lucy Dacus. Charlottesville, Richmond and the Shenandoah Valley boast no shortage of recording studios and treasured venues, but it’s a vinyl manufacturing operation in Harrisonburg that’s put Virginia’ s music scene on the map in a whole new way: WNRN in Central Virginia met with Chris Jackson, the founder of Blue Sprocket Pressing, to learn how a local, independent plant achieves international success while still serving its community.
Middlesbrough, UK | Pressing Forward: New Vinyl Plant Promises To Support Local And Independent Acts: Press-On Vinyl is a new record-pressing plant which has opened in Middlesbrough in the northeast of England to address the growing issue of vinyl demand massively outstripping supply capabilities. It has launched with a commitment to prioritise local artists looking to get their records released on vinyl as well as serving the wider independent label community. “We want everyone to have the same access, no matter if you’re having runs of 300 or 3,000, everyone gets a good lead time,” Press-On’s owner David Todd told Mixmag. “We’ll be doing short runs starting at 100. We’re passionate about that — grassroots and emerging artists and labels are just as important to the industry as everyone else. Relieving capacity issues is a major thing and a major change and we can enact that straight away.” Vinyl sales have been growing strongly in recent years, with the BPI reporting that UK sales of vinyl in 2021 were up 8% on 2020. This the fourteenth consecutive year of growth for the format.
