UK | Q1 snapshot: Vinyl growth in double digits as major releases achieve significant physical sales: It’s been another significant week for physical music sales with a chart contest between Idles and Paloma Faith. Based on the Midweek Sales flash, combined physical sales for Idles’ Tangk (Partisan) and Paloma Faith’s The Glorification Of Sadness (RCA) were around 25,000. Crawlers are chasing a Top 10 finish with 4,515 sales by the end of Sunday (February 18). While Noah Kahan’s Stick Season album reached No.1 on Friday (February 16) with streaming making up the majority of consumption (59.5%), chart-topping albums so far this year by The Last Dinner Party, James Arthur, Green Day, D-Block Europe, Shed Seven and Lewis Capaldi have all been powered by physical sales. While streaming now accounts for the vast majority of the market, physical continues to dominate the top of the albums chart. Out of the 44 albums that debuted at No.1 in 2023, 86% of them had more than half their chart-eligible sales made up of physical sales.
Shibuya, JP | Tower Records Shibuya is expanding its vinyl record collection by about 50 percent: The popular music megastore in Shibuya is currently closed for renovations and will reopen at the end of February. Shibuya’s iconic Tower Records flagship store is currently undergoing a revamp, with a grand reopening set for February 29. Aside from reshuffling a few sections in the nine-storey building, the renovated store will see a notable expansion in its range of merchandise. This is especially true of the Tower Vinyl Shibuya section on the sixth floor, which will soon feature an additional 30,000 vinyl records in its inventory to meet the demand of nostalgic music aficionados (we are in our Eclectic Grandpa Era, after all). Post-renovation, this floor will boast roughly 100,000 records in total, 40,000 of which are either vintage or second-hand. In a bid to create Japan’s largest retail space dedicated to classical music, Tower Records will introduce an additional 7,000 classical music goods to its inventory.
Lowell, MA | Vinyl Destination, a staple of Mill No. 5, to close by end of February: A few months beyond its 10-year anniversary, Vinyl Destination will soon close its doors for the last time as father-son owners Dave and Dan Perry look to their next chapters in life. As he sat behind the cash register of his small store, with records for everything from The Grateful Dead to Bob Dylan still filling the shelves and the walls, Dave Perry, 67, recalled when a friend of his had approached him asking if he would be interested in starting a business to sell vinyl records out of a storefront in the new small business space being set up in Mill No. 5. “I was not really a business person at all, but I went to look at it,” said Dave Perry, a former longtime reporter for The Sun. “I had always sold records at record shows or record fairs, something I had been doing for about 30 years. Every couple months I would go and sell some stuff, and it would maybe pay my bills, but it was never serious at all.”
UK | Behind The Counter Aims To Profile Your Local Record Shop: Record shops are a key important of the music eco-system. Hubs for free-thinkers and devoted music fans, conversations in vinyl hubs have led fans to jack in their day jobs and pursue their passions – sometimes even opening shops of their very own. Behind The Counter aims to profile these souls. Returning for a new season, the documentary strand travels across the country, celebrating the people behind independent record shops. Constructed by Record Store Day, Classic Album Sundays and Bowers & Wilkins, Behind the Counter highlights the passion, and the sense of community, that keeps these shops moving forwards. The new season kicks off with the wonderfully titled Van Vinyl in Dorchester, before moving to Hey Joe Music and Coffee in Essex, and the mighty Tough Love in St Leonards on Sea.
Grand Rapids, MI | Grammotones brings music and merch to Heartside in Grand Rapids: Grammotones opened last week after being created by local musician, Brandon Copeland. Downtown Grand Rapids has a brand new storefront that’s bringing both merchandise and music to the Heartside neighborhood. Brandon Copeland is putting what he loves into his new store, Grammotones. He’s been a musician ever since high school, and plays six instruments. “This neighborhood, specifically Heartside was where, like, my creative journey started,” says Copeland. More than a decade ago, he played live shows across the street from where Grammotones now stands. Now, he’s using music to bring people back to his favorite part of town. “This side of Division, there’s not a lot of shops or storefronts that are open,” he says. That’s why he chose to open his own, getting people to Heartside, a part of Grand Rapids he describes as beautiful. “I want people to have fun,” says Copeland. “I want people to have fun in the shopping experience.”
New York, NY | Nostalgic record bar Another Country opens in Union Square: Sip your way to a simpler time, before streaming, scrolling and posting. A retro cocktail lounge just opened near Union Square. Another Country, named for the 1962 James Baldwin novel, is now at 10 East 16th Street—the former home of the beloved Chat ’N Chew diner. The cozy lounge offers cocktails, small and large bites, and a cozy atmosphere to listen to vinyl, much of which is sourced from the owner’s personal collection with artists including Prince, Aretha Franklin and classical heroes, tunes to chat or dance to or both. “Growing up in the Southern Baptist tradition, I was always mesmerized when folks were moved by the Holy Ghost and would break into dancing. It’s no coincidence the Holy Ghost typically arrived when the choir was hitting on all cylinders— that’s the power of music,” said Timothy Jenkins, who co-owns the bar with his friend, Mark Connell. “Whether it’s Aretha’s ‘Amazing Grace’ or Bach’s ‘Sacred Cantatas’ or the funky grooves of the Universal Togetherness Band, music provokes thought and movement. If we’re lucky, one’s mind, booty, and spirit is touched…”
Burnley, UK | Burnley Record Fair returns to town: The biggest Burnley record fair to date returns to Burnley Market food hall this coming Saturday. Extra dealers are booked to attend this month’s fair with everything from bargain boxes to super rare records on display for collectors to buy, sell, swap or trade. Adrian Melling, one of the organisers behind the event, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for like-minded record vinyl fans to meet and chat over coffee at the food hall. Traders from Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds, Blackpool are amongst the experts bringing their boxes to Burnley this weekend. The vinyl explosion has gained momentum over the past few years and continues to grow year on year. Burnley is establishing itself as the prime East Lancs venue for the vinyl collector.” Burnley Record Fair runs from 9am until 4pm, and people are asked to bring along collectables for a free valuation.
AC/DC Announce 50th Anniversary Gold Vinyl Reissues: The band’s entire catalog will be pressed on limited edition gold vinyl along with colored vinyl variants. In celebration of five decades as a band, rock icons AC/DC are reissuing their entire catalog on limited edition vinyl. The new pressings will be on gold vinyl, with a special 50th anniversary logo. The band’s first nine albums are set for release on March 15. Each of these nine LPs comes with an album-specific 12″x12” print featuring new ‘AC/DC 50’ artwork, suitable for framing. The albums will be available individually, or as a 9 title bundle. All albums will be available for pre-order soon. Additionally, 50th anniversary colored vinyl variants are being released. So far, Highway to Hell and Back In Black are available for pre-order now. “We’re celebrating 50 years of rock and roll with the release of our entire catalog pressed on vibrant gold vinyl LPs,” the band said in a statement. “The first nine titles will be released March 15.”
Portishead Announces ‘Roseland NYC Live 25’ Vinyl Release: The special set will be released on April 26. One of the most renowned and acclaimed live albums of all time, Portishead’s Roseland NYC Live will receive an anniversary reissue, 25 years after its original release in November 1998. To be released on April 26, this newly remastered version has an expanded tracklisting to include “Undenied” and “Numb” from the concert film, as well as the full length performance of “Western Eyes,” which played in part over the credits of the film. “Sour Times” and “Roads” are also now the original Roseland versions (previously substituted on the album release with recordings from other performances). This anniversary edition was originally released on streaming services on the actual day of the records anniversary (November 2). It is now being made available as a limited edition double-LP set on solid red vinyl with gatefold sleeve, a double-sided fold out poster, and a re-creation of the guest “backstage” sticky pass used at the concert.
