HMV’s closing doesn’t surprise Ottawa music lovers, retailer: Ottawa music lovers and operators of a popular record store are sad, but not surprised, that Canada’s 102 Canadian HMV stores are slated to close…An Ontario court put the chain into receivership on Friday, ending the company’s 30-year history in Canada. HMV owes its major suppliers, including music labels and media studios, $56 million as of Dec 31. Stores will remain open for several weeks to sell off inventory, the company said. “I’m a great advocate for brick and mortar stores, but HMV was selling something most people don’t want,” said John Thompson, owner of The Record Centre on Wellington Street.
Shielded by vinyl: Halifax independent music stores not worried about HMV shutdown: It’s the same old song for Jimmy Donnelly. The owner of Taz Records in downtown Halifax has lived through the loss of an HMV store before. Just a few years ago, one shut down just a few blocks away on Spring Garden Road. With its final 102 stores in Canada set to close by the end of April, Donnelly said he’s not expecting big changes in his store. “They sell very different products. Our focus is very heavy on vinyl. We still do a lot of business in CDs as well, but not necessarily the type of things you’ll find at HMV,” he said.
Brendan Kelly: Why the demise of HMV Canada makes me feel sad: No, it’s not the day the music died or anything as dramatic as that. Music consumption is booming like never before. It’s just that we’re listening on streaming services. We’re not even really downloading, never mind buying those strange old-school things called CDs. I get it. I don’t have my head in the sand. Much of my listening these days is on Spotify. I even sometimes find myself streaming an album in the car even though I actually shelled out $15 at HMV to buy a physical copy. That happens when the aforementioned physical album is sitting forgotten on my desk at home. So, yeah, times have changed. Still, I’m sad to see another big step toward the end of bricks-and-mortar record stores.
Brown: Popular music store owner seeks to keep Midway lease: George’s Music Room, the iconic West Side record store that found a second life at Midway Airport, is losing its airport lease under a revamped concessions lineup that is drawing the ire of black aldermen. Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th), chairman of the City Council Black Caucus, said he wants the Emanuel administration to reconsider the decision to remove the store owned by George Daniels, long an important figure on the Chicago music scene. “I have a very big concern about that. George is an institution. We all know and love George. We don’t want to see George squeezed out of being an ambassador for Chicago,” Sawyer told me Friday.
NuWay record store marks opening: The Shoals Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting today for the grand opening of NuWay Vinyl at 206C Cox Creek Parkway. The event was at noon and includes remarks from NuWay owner Rob Roberts. NuWay offers new and used LPs from various genres and generations. The store also has a machine that cleans records.
Books and records are making a comeback in Bed-Stuy. A new store selling vinyl and novels actually printed on paper is opening in the neighborhood — years after both formats were unofficially declared dead. Halsey & Lewis, will start selling this February at 478A Halsey St. and Lewis Avenue. Co-owner Sonya Farrell, who also heads Gowanus eatery The Pines, wanted to share her love for vinyl and vintage objects.” target=”_blank”>New Store Helping Vinyl Records and Books Make a Comeback in Bed-Stuy: Books and records are making a comeback in Bed-Stuy. A new store selling vinyl and novels actually printed on paper is opening in the neighborhood — years after both formats were unofficially declared dead. Halsey & Lewis, will start selling this February at 478A Halsey St. and Lewis Avenue. Co-owner Sonya Farrell, who also heads Gowanus eatery The Pines, wanted to share her love for vinyl and vintage objects.
In Auburn, records still strike a strong chord: Vinyl is not dead in Auburn: Al Lauer, owner of Cherry Records since 1983, has seen the popularity of LP (long-play vinyl records) rise and fall, but never completely fade out. He continues to offer hundreds of records for sale in his Downtown shop. Stores like Target and Best Buy have begun selling turntables again, and some Placer High students have their own “vintage” collection of records. One thing that seems to draw music-lovers to LPs is the sound quality – something you just can’t get from Spotify.
New dance music record shop opens in Paris: A new record shop, DDD, has opened in Club Maté’s Paris location in the tenth arrondissement, RA reports. Its owner, Xavier Ehretsmann, was previously involved in the much-loved La Source record store, which closed last October. The new shop has stock of around eight thousand new and second-hand records, spanning the dance music spectrum. Located on 12 Boulevard Saint-Martin, DDD is open Mondays and Saturdays, from 1pm to 7pm.
P.E.I. entrepreneurs leading the charge in comeback of vinyl records: A new vinyl records pressing plant has opened in Charlottetown as four local entrepreneurs look to meet that growing demand. Rob Rice, Gideon Banahene, Dennis Ellsworth and Ghislaine Cormer have created Kaneshiii Printing Press Ltd., Atlantic Canada’s first vinyl pressing plant. “We’ve had a lot of people already reaching out from Quebec to Ontario to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland so we’re excited there is a record pressing plant opening in the Maritimes,’’ Rice told The Guardian. “I can’t believe this is actually happening (they tell us). In a lot of situations, we haven’t really had to sell ourselves. The fact that it is a Maritime thing, (people in the industry) want to be part of it.’’
