Chicago, IL | Theaster Gates’ Rebuild Foundation To Open Miyagi Records Store In Chicago’s South Side: Incubated under Rebuild Foundation’s Creative Entrepreneurship Program, Miyagi Records will join the constellation of artistic amenities transforming the ‘Arts Block’ Rebuild Foundation–the platform for art, cultural development, and neighborhood transformation founded by artist and social innovator Theaster Gates–announced that Chicago-based record shop Miyagi Records will open in April on the Arts Block, a vibrant collection of cultural and commercial spaces in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. Miyagi Records, a local record resale concept store, will provide the South Side with a space to purchase vinyl from a selection of curated records through Rebuild Foundation’s Creative Entrepreneurship Program. In partnership with Retreat at Currency Exchange Café, Rebuild’s creative coffeehouse and incubator for emerging culinary artists, Miyagi Records will co-host in-store performances, and community listening activities across the neighboring spaces. Miyagi Records will open its doors on the South Side on April 14, 2023, at 307 E. Garfield Blvd.
Hinckley, UK | Hinckley’s Nervous Records to re-open for a day to sell stock for animal welfare charity: The town said goodbye to owner Gordon Hayes following his death earlier this year. A record shop which has been closed since its owner died is to re-open to stage a sale which will benefit a charity which was dear to him. Nervous Records, in Hinckley, shut up shop in January following the death of Gordon Hayes – who had been a friendly face to generations of music fans from the town and further afield since the late-1970s. Many of his friends and former customers gathered outside the shop, in The Lawns, earlier this month, on the day of his funeral. They swapped stories of a man who dedicated his life to music and whose packed little shop outlived the town’s other record stores. Now, it has been confirmed the shop will re-open for one day only on Saturday, April 22, between 10.30am and 4pm. All sale proceeds will go to Hillside Animal Sanctuary – a charity of which Gordon, who was 70 when he died, was a keen supporter.
Chicago, IL | Roselle Record Store Selling Rare Gems for Sound Lovers at AXPONA in Schaumburg: Record Wonderland, an independent record store in Roselle, hits the road to attend an international audiophile event next month, but the company won’t need to travel too far. The Roselle record store will be selling at AXPONA, a convention for serious sound lovers who want to see the latest high-end audio gear tested live in person. AXPONA takes place at Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center from April 14-16. The event attracts visitors from around the country and the world. Pat Deasey, co-owner of Record Wonderland, said he has thought about taking the short drive to sell records at AXPONA, but the event typically coincides with Record Store Day (RSD), an event that features the sales of limited edition records exclusively at independent records stores. RSD will take place at the store on April 22 this year, a week after AXPONA. RSD, which also features a sale on used records in the store, is always an extremely busy day for Record Wonderland. Many of the exclusive RSD titles are pressed in very small batches. Collectors do not want to miss out.
DeKalb, IL | Perspective: Aisles of vinyl: Walking into my local record store, I’m swept back to the late 60’s and early 70’s by the smell of incense—and the albums, actual vinyl records with artwork on the covers. In the back near the stage that features local musicians hang clothes and accessories similar to those I wore in those distant decades. It’s a trip and I’m happily having a flashback. For over 25 years my friend, Steve, has owned Kiss The Sky record store, now located in Batavia. On my recent visit a range of ages wandered in—anywhere from early teens to folks who may have been even older than me. Steve spent time with one gentleman helping him download a streaming app. No wonder he’s received the award for Batavia’s most welcoming business. I knew that vinyl had made a big comeback but asked Steve to fill me in on the backstory, which he says started around 2006. Then in 2008 the first Record Store Day was held, and vinyl sales have steadily increased ever since. Record Store Day is still going strong and it’s around the corner on Saturday, April 22nd.
Glasgow, UK | Ed Sheeran stops in to Glasgow city centre record store to leave signed singles: Pop star Ed Sheeran dropped into Glasgow’s newest record store. Ed Sheeran will entertain fans at the OVO Hydro this evening as he brings his show to town. It is the first time that the English singer-songwriter has been in the city since he played a two-night stint at Hampden Park last summer. His new album ‘Subtract’ is set to be released in early May which will be the 32-year-olds sixth studio album and is said to be a full acousitc album. Ahead of his gig in Glasgow, the pop star revealed on his Instagram that he had dropped in the last remaining ‘Eyes Closed’ signed CDs to Assai Records. Following his concert at the Hydro, he will head over the Irish Sea to entertain fans in Dublin at the 3Arena. It’s a huge boost for the record store which is the newest addition to Glasgow’s buzzing music scene. The store opened on Sauchiehall Street last week and will be delighted to have this endorsement from Sheeran who has a colossal following of over 40 million people on Instagram.
Medina, OH | Blackbird Records! Records Are Coming Back Around: Do you enjoy listening to music? Have you ever wondered where to get vinyl records for reasonable prices? Blackbird Records is a vinyl record store in Downtown Medina that shares a building with Operation Fandom, a collectibles store for popular fandoms. Vinyl records have made a comeback in recent years. “Vinyl records create a more personable and tangible experience with music,” explained Liv Began, a store clerk for both Blackbird Records and Operation Fandom. “Not to mention, listening to music on vinyl allows you to hear the depths of an album and gives a new feeling that you can’t get from digital music. The sound quality is mesmerizing. Vinyl sales actually exceeded digital music sales this past year. In 2021, record sales surpassed $1 billion, that last time being in 1986.” Vinyl records aren’t the only popular product that Blackbird Records has to offer. They also have a wide variety of cassette tapes, CD’s and turntables.
Spin-Clean International Launches its First Vinyl Records Consumer Education Program: Spin-Clean International, creators of the award-winning Spin-Clean Record Washer, just launched the industry’s first education program specifically designed to inform young vinyl music enthusiasts about the importance of cleaning and maintaining their record collections. The announcement coincides with the first major upgrade to the best-selling Spin-Clean system in nearly 50 years. The new Spin-Clean consumer program is based upon landmark research conducted last year by MusicWatch, a leading U.S. research and analytics company. Among the study’s key findings: an estimated 18 million consumers purchased vinyl during 2021, a 27% increase over the previous year. And nearly 46% of these purchasers were between 18 and 34 years of age (the fastest growing vinyl music segment). Additionally, when asked why they haven’t played or intend to play some of their vinyl records, over 43% of these respondents said that “they want to preserve or keep them in pristine condition for their collections.”
