Tokyo, JP | The tenth floor of Shinjuku’s Tower Records store will specialize in vinyl from the end of March. A new record store called Tower Vinyl Shinjuku is set to open inside of Tokyo’s flagship Tower Records store. From March 21st, the tenth floor of Tower Records will stock more than 70,000 vinyl records. 30,000 of those will be new inventory, including new releases, reissues and limited edition items from both Japanese and Western artists. The other 40,000 records are secondhand, a collection that ranges in style but will have an emphasis on soul and rock. The new space’s interior is covered in glass and features a large vintage speaker for an enhanced shopping experience. There will also be in-store events and vinyl pop-up shops in the future.
Paris, FR | 10 of the best independent record shops in Paris: As a major music exhibition opens in Paris, a local DJ uncovers these treasure troves for collectors, offering new recordings, rare gems and, in some cases, live events too. Paris has a vibrant secondhand record scene, with stores all over the city stocking rare vinyl of everything from Ghanaian Highlife to calypso, classic chansons françaises – Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens, Serge Gainsbourg – plus electronic music and techno. With a new exhibition, Music Migrations (palais-portedoree.fr, until 5 January 2020), dedicated to the multicultural influences that transformed the Paris and London music scenes from the 1960s to the 80s, this is a good time to discover the top disquaires unearthed by local DJ and record dealer, Gwen Jamois.
NY, FL | VP Records Retail Locations Now Official Record Store Day Locations: On Saturday April 13th, VP Records will celebrate Record Store Day 2019 with VP Record’s annual Sound System Showcase at its retail locations in Jamaica, Queens and Miramar, Florida. This year, both VP Records retail stores have received the distinct designation as official Record Store Day Locations. To commemorate the annual celebration of vinyl culture, the free event is a day for fans and consumers to experience authentic Jamaican Sound Systems while being able to purchase classic, new and exclusive titles. For the first time, the event will be streamed on the VP Records YouTube channel and archived for future viewing.
UK | Beatles ‘Love Me Do’ demo worth £20,000 handed to a charity shop by unwitting owner who gave the ‘not for sale’ vinyl to British Heart Foundation: A rare Beatles record thought to be worth £20,000 has been put up for auction – after its owner unwittingly donated it to a charity shop. British Heart Foundation staff were shocked to uncover the 7in demo of The Beatles’ first single Love Me Do, which had been placed in a carrier bag with 25 other vinyls and given to the store in Midhurst, West Sussex. The record features a misspelling of Paul McCartney’s name, with the words ‘Lennon–McArtney’ appearing on the label instead. The words ‘Demonstration Record’ and ‘Not For Sale’ are also on the label. Around 250 of the demos were pressed by Parlophone Records and sent to the BBC for radio airplay when the Fab Four were virtually unknown.
Greensburg, IN | Millennials don’t collect … really? …There are still a few categories of collecting where we seeing an interest from this age group. Sentimental purchases such as toys, comic books and sports cards that they recognize from their early teens are popular. Vintage albums from the 1960s and ‘70s are also in growing demand. Of special interest are those with unusual cover graphics or the rare ones that still have their original poster inside. Vinyl is an excellent archival medium which makes records from this era, that have not been exposed to the elements, sound as good in 2019 as they did in 1969! As demand for vinyl grows, we are also seeing an upward surge in the sale of vintage turntables. Note, while new turntables and speakers are readily available, you will find that a reconditioned table from the 1970s will not only cost less, it will also give you a sound that is just not replicated by the newer models.
New York, NY | Rebuilding the ARC: America’s Largest Music Collection Needs Your Help. New York’s Archive of Contemporary Music houses over 3 million recordings – but its future in a city of sky-high rent is in jeopardy: The day the music died is a lie. Music never dies. It’s the one thing our minds protect at all costs. If only our wallets were so loyal. Now they have a chance to be: This week, the largest popular music collection in America (3 million recordings!) is, for the first time, asking the public for financial help. Is New York’s legacy as a music town worth $100,000? That’s the question the Archive of Contemporary Music is asking. The Archive is a massive private research library that has been in downtown Manhattan since 1985, when Bob George balked at the price of rent in SoHo — $100 a month — and instead took over a $65 a month space in what would become TriBeCa, where bums burned wood in 50-gallon drums. “It had no walls, no ceiling, no floors, no electricity, nothing,” he tells Rolling Stone. “We built it ourselves. We made this place with our own determination.”
Presenting the Blue Note 80 vinyl reissue series: In honor of Blue Note Records’ 80th Anniversary, the legendary Jazz label is launching the Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series. Distinct from the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series, this 2nd series curated by Don Was and Cem Kurosman features mid-priced 180g vinyl releases in standard packaging with albums spanning the many eras of the label’s history presented by themes: Blue Note Debuts, Blue Grooves, Great Reid Miles Covers, Blue Note Live, and Blue Note Drummer Leaders. The series launches May 10 with the reissue of 3 remarkable Blue Note debuts—Herbie Hancock Takin’ Off, Dexter Gordon Doin’ Allright, and Robert Glasper Canvas—and will continue with 3 albums released each month for the coming year.
