Best Buy will cease selling CDs later this year. Meanwhile, Target is asking record labels to buy back any unsold inventory. A technologically obsolete medium that self-destructs over time? No wonder only 89 million CDs were purchased in all of 2017. Back in 2001, that number peaked at 800 million and many of those copies were sold by retail giants like Best Buy and Target. But as interest in physical discs has waned, so too has the amount of space these stores dedicate to such inventory. Soon enough, Best Buy will cease selling CDs altogether, while Target will ask record labels to front the costs, according to a new report from Billboard. Come June 1st, Best Buy will no longer offer CDs in its retail stores. Physical music is only generating around $40 million in annual revenue for the company and executives would rather dedicate the floor space to more lucrative items, Billboard notes. Best Buy will continue to sell vinyl for at least the next two years, but titles will now be merchandised with turntables.
On the Road Again: Heart of Vinyl Brings Your Favorite Records to Local Breweries: Murfreesboro record collectors haven’t had to travel far when looking to add to their collection. Antique and thrift shops, chain retailers and local record stores like Waxface Records, Media Rerun and the now-defunct Little Shop of Records have supplied the local community with music on vinyl. However, brick-and-mortar businesses are not the only places capitalizing on the continuing surge of vinyl sales. Last summer, Justin and Megan Frazier became part of a growing retail trend of “pop-up shops” when they hauled hundreds of records to various breweries and taprooms in the region.
A new record shop has opened in Sydney: Sydney promoters Something Else have opened up a new record shop, reports Resident Advisor. Located in New South Wales, Something Else Records will stock “the latest house, techno and varied electronica vinyl, as well as selected 2nd hand collections,” shares SE. The shop will also sell gear, including new and refurbished turntables, mixers, and headphones, as well as artwork. Something Else Records is open Thursday through Sunday – 488 King Street, 2042 Newtown, New South Wales. Head here for more info.
Cubao X vinyl sale draws younger crowd, more women: MANILA—Kagatan 26, the first of the quarterly vinyl record sales/swaps at Cubao X in the Araneta Commercial Center was held over the weekend with over a dozen sellers and re-sellers of records, compact discs, and cassettes converging in this bohemian and artistic enclave. According to event organizer DJ Arbie Won, the resurgence of vinyl domestically has shown no signs of stopping. “There are sellers and sales not only in the national capital region but also outside,” Wong noted. “And we’re also seeing a lot of younger people discover the magic of vinyl.” Like 25-year old writer Nic Angeles, who only began buying vinyl recently. “Previously, I was into compact discs and streaming. My first encounter was my parents’ collection – New Wave titles. My dad got a Smiths record and he played it and I fell in love not only with the music but the medium. It was a different experience,” she said.
Rare John Coltrane LP for Sale on eBay for $19,000: FACT reports today that a rare test pressing of the landmark 1965 John Coltrane LP A Love Supreme is now up for sale on eBay. The starting price? $19,000. A Love Supreme is widely lauded as a high water mark of the genre. The test pressing is in VG condition, exists in a generic sleeve, and has a Van Gelder Stamp on both sides of the vinyl. According a statement given to FACT from the eBay seller thesoundofblue, the record was originally purchased at Academy Records in New York for an undisclosed sum. “Someone also pointed out that where it says Coltrane it looks like his signature. I am not real sure about that. He usually signed his full name. No idea who Ken Coltrane is,” he added.
