UK | Love Record Stores campaign to return in September: Last year’s event generated over £1 million in revenue for independent record stores across the UK. The Love Record Stores campaign is returning for a second year in September following last year’s hugely successful fundraising drive for independent record stores across the UK. Over £1 million in sales was taken during the inaugural Love Record Stores Day in June 2020, with the initiative being launched to support record stores who, like many other businesses, have faced difficult trading conditions throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Love Record Stores 2021 will be held on September 4, its organisers have confirmed today (March 11). It’s hoped that given the UK government’s recent announcement of its ‘roadmap’ out of coronavirus lockdown – which could see a total lifting of restrictions by June 21 at the very earliest – music fans will be able to visit and support their local or favourite record stores in-person for this year’s fundraising even
San Marcos, TX | Sundance Records Announces Return, Sets Pop-Up Shop At Local Bar: Sundance Records will make a return to San Marcos. Tomas Escalante, friend of Sundance Records’ late owner Bobby Barnard, announced the record shop’s comeback in a recently released YouTube video. “We’re going to bring this sign back to where it belongs to San Marcos, Texas with the opening of Sundance Record Lagoon,” Escalante said while picking up the Sundance Record’s sign. “We’ll be seeing you soon.” The store will open in June 2021 at 241 N. LBJ St. To mark the return of the record store, which closed in 2012, a pop-up shop opened Tuesday night at Zelicks Ice House. The pop-up sold merchandise from the store such as vintage records, posters, San Marcos memorabilia, and featured live DJ sets.
UK | Turntable talk: How the vinyl boom is continuing during lockdown three: It’s official: the vinyl revival is here to stay in 2021. While the pandemic has clearly hurt CD sales in the last year as HMV and record shops were forced to close, multiple lockdowns have not reduced vinyl sales. Far from it: according to exclusive Official Charts Company data, vinyl album sales for the year to date (chart week nine) stand at 748,077 units, an increase of 7.8% compared to the same period last year. The growth has continued in tandem with digital consumption – year-to-date audio streams hit 20.7 billion last week (up 5.4% year-on-year). Looking back to the momentum in 2020, Q4 vinyl sales were up 25% year-on-year. The annual increase for 2020 was 11.5% (4.8 million units) amid an overall physical decline of 24.6% to 21.1m units. According to major label execs interviewed for our 2020 analysis feature in the all-new monthly Music Week, the continued growth in vinyl last year suggests an increase in the number of people now playing LPs.
15 Stylish Vinyl Record Storage Cabinets We Love: Whether you’re someone who’s been collecting records since childhood or only recently began the hobby thanks to the great vinyl comeback, one thing LP lovers learn quickly is that adequate storage is a necessity. From shelving that turns your favorite albums into art to those classic wooden crates every vinyl lover has had at one point or another, there are many record storage solutions out there. As for our favorite way to keep music organized, it’s hard to beat a chic storage cabinet — and thanks to vinyl’s resurgence in popularity, there’s more variety than ever before. We scoured our favorite shops to find you the best vinyl record storage cabinets around and found 15 pieces you’re sure to love as much as we do. Doubling as both a music lover’s dream display stand and an eye-catching piece of furniture that’ll elicit tons of oohs and aahs, our favorite picks are just below.
Inventor of Compact Cassettes, which spawned countless mixtapes, dies at 94: The man who invented cassette tapes in 1963, which spawned the recording of countless mixtapes for music lovers, has died at age 94. Lou Ottens, while working with the Dutch company Royal Philips, came up with the idea of the Compact Cassette — a convenient analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. “We are very sad to have to inform you that Lou passed away peacefully on Saturday, 6 March 2021,” daughter Arine Ottens told WTOP. While vinyl records contained prerecorded music, the cassette tape enabled users to record their favorite songs from records or their radios onto the tape contained in the small plastic container, which measured 4 by 2.5 by 0.5 inches. Long before digital playlists and streaming, music aficionados lovingly crafted strings of songs, with a short pause between them, commonly called a mixtape.
Helsinki, FI | Pressing of traditional vinyl records returns to Finland – domestic consumption has boosted demand – Taloussanomat: In Finland, the growth of vinyl was 20–30 per cent last year. The Helsinki-based company, founded at the beginning of the year, is starting to produce traditional vinyl records, which have revived in popularity. Helsinki Record Press will start manufacturing vinyl records at Vallila Konepaja’s old power plant during the rest of the year. The factory will be erected in the 120-year-old power plant building at Vallila Konepaja. A long-term lease agreement has been signed with Vallila Ratapiha for the space. The founder, owner and CEO of the sheet metal press is a DJ and producer Lupu Pitkänen. In the United States in particular, sales of vinyl records are growing. According to record companies and the recording industry interest group RIIA, vinyl sales grew by about 30 percent last year. Part of the reason was the plight of live music caused by corona restrictions, but the development has continued for a long time.
