UK | Global Music Business Rallies to Support Indie Record Stores Amid Shutdowns: UK artists Elton John, Paul Weller and Keane are backing social media campaigns to lift the troubled music retail sector. With independent record stores around the world facing the prospect of weeks and possibly months of shutdown, a growing number of artists and labels are getting behind social media campaigns to help protect the sector’s survival. The most high-profile campaign so far is #loverecordstores — a global, social media-led initiative that’s asking musicians, actors and celebrity music fans around the world to post short video messages about their favorite record shops and encourage their followers to buy vinyl and CDs from shuttered shops’ online stores. Elton John, Paul Weller, Keane, Rick Astley, Peter Gabriel, Franz Ferdinand, Kurt Vile and Brittany Howard are among the artists that have already backed the campaign. Indie labels Matador, Heavenly Recordings, Acid Jazz, Domino, 4AD and Mute have also posted messages of support on Instagram and Twitter, as have all three majors.
UK | Coronavirus: Paul Weller encourages music lovers to help local record stores get out of The Jam of lockdown: Record store owners in Tayside have welcomed a campaign by Paul Weller calling on music lovers to support their local shops while the country is on lockdown. The former frontman of The Jam has launched the Love Record Stores initiative, which encourages people to use their local shops’ online shopping services to keep them afloat. It comes as Record Store Day, the busiest single day in the independent music retail calendar, has been postponed from April until June. Keith Ingram — owner of Assai, on Union Street — closed on March 21 but the business is still operating through its website and online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon until the outbreak is over. Mr Ingram said: “Record Store Day would typically give us something to work towards at a time when there isn’t usually as many big releases, although this year there are new albums from Pearl Jam and Dua Lipa. “It’s great what Paul Weller is doing. He’s always been a big supporter of record stores and spoken about how important they are to him personally.
Birmingham, AL | Alabama vinyl record shops try to keep spinning in the face of COVID-19 slowdown: …There are about 1,400 independent record stores nationally, with some 15 spread across Alabama. Several long-time stores, like Charlemagne in Birmingham and Pegasus Records in Florence, have shut their doors. Others, like 10,000 Hz in Opelika, have joined the pursuit of a highly niche market, hoping to attract old hippies and young Hangout Festival fans to the fold. More than a quarter of all “physical” albums sold in 2019 were vinyl, led by the Beatles’ “Abby Road” at 471,000 copies and Billie Eilish’s “When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” with 176,000. That’s a far cry from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” which sold 32 million copies in 1983 on the way to becoming the biggest-selling record in history. The Beatles are recognized as the best-sellers ever overall, Billboard said. Birmingham’s Seasick Records, which is heading toward its seventh year in business, was set to celebrate its new headquarters’ grand opening March 28. Last year was the most successful ever for Seasick, whose owner and five employees might by now have been miserable in their recently closed building had they not been prepared.
Sacramento, CA | 15 Minutes: Augie Maravilla, owner of Rocket Records: It’s safe to say nearly every music lover has dreamed of owning a record store. Rocket Records opened three years ago in a low-visibility storefront in West Sacramento, but owner Augie Maravilla’s recent move to Midtown has led to increased foot traffic, growing his base of already-loyal customers. SN&R talked to Maravilla about movie scores, Mexican music and record labels. “I think every store has its own flavor, and every store will cater to their clientele in some way. In some stores it’s metal and punk … there are some that are more into jazz. I’m kind of all over the place because that’s the record stores that I grew up with and because I like everything… I like a lot of pop. I like pop. I don’t mind pop. I like soul music. Rock, soul. I tend to really favor soundtracks… I really like music scores. I’ve always liked movie music.”
San Antonio, TX | Donations pour in to save San Antonio book and record shop, music venue: Operating Imagine Books and Records, a small shop and music venue in West San Antonio, was never easy. But the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic dealt the business what looked to be a fatal blow. Shows were canceled and sales plummeted as customers worried about finances and paying for basic necessities, said owner Don Hurd. He fell behind on rent. He closed the shop altogether after officials in San Antonio and Bexar County last week ordered residents to stay home, save for essential trips. A default notice arrived from his landlord. But he later decided to try fundraising to keep the shop afloat. His son set up an online GoFundMe campaign over the weekend. They had created a campaign once before, when Imagine moved a few doors down in a shopping center at 8373 Culebra Rd. “If we just closed and people heard about it afterwards, I had a feeling they were going to come to me and say, ‘Why didn’t you say something — we could have helped,’ …I didn’t want to give up without a fight.”
A list of albums delayed due to coronavirus: Music artists are being forced to postpone their upcoming albums amid the coronavirus pandemic. Music acts are being forced to push back or postpone album releases they had scheduled in for the coming months. The current climate means artists are unable to conduct their full promotional schedules – including radio, TV and other public appearances – leading several acts to delay the release of their upcoming records. Another big factor is the closure of HMV, who announced they were temporarily shutting their doors from March 22 amid these “unprecedented times”. Read HMV’s full statement here. HMV, along with major supermarkets, are among the leading retailers for CD and vinyl in the UK. Supermarkets have stated they are currently not prioritising entertainment products in their shops. Below is a list of acts postponing their upcoming albums.
Why Are Streaming Numbers Down During Quarantine? …Wedbush Securities managing director Daniel Ives told the outlet, “Based on our data analysis over the last two weeks, TV streaming engagement is up 15-17 percent week over week.” Simply put, people are consuming more content that provides a level of human-to-human interaction, rather than music. Variety reported that Nielson Media Research data shows a 60 percent rise in TV viewing, with outlets like CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC seeing major bumps in engagement, as much as 119 percent. Additionally, streaming services like Apple TV, Netflix, and Disney+ have seen a similar rise in new users, though to a lesser degree. “When it first happens, people are locked into the news,” a major record label executive told Variety. “I think both Italy and Spain showed us that after the dips it comes back, so I expect we’ll return to at least previous numbers, and then with subscriber growth, we will ultimately be up. But, gaming, television and Netlflix—they’re the short-term winners.”
UK | Free record cleaner with every Pro-Ject X1 or X2 turntable: The £699 and £999 Pro-Ject decks currently come with a free vinyl washer worth £90. If you’re looking for a new midrange turntable to spin your vinyl collection on during these dark (albeit hi-fi listening-friendly) days, you may be interested in this Pro-Ject deal. Pro-Ject distributor Henley Audio is currently running a promotion that offers UK and Ireland customers a free Spin Clean Record Washer System Mk II (worth £90) with every purchase of a Pro-Ject X1 or X2 turntable. The 2019-launched X1 (£699) is the latest generation of the Austrian brand’s debut deck, the P1, with an Ortofon MM cartridge, carbon/aluminium sandwich tonearm, acrylic platter and Connect-IT E RCA cables. The bigger and heavier X2 (£999), meanwhile, is essentially a next-gen Pro-Ject P2 deck with an improved tonearm, new drive system, Ortofon 2M Silver cartridge and Connect-IT E RCA cables. While the design of those renowned predecessors, plus recent Pro-Ject’s recent form, would suggest the X1 and X2 pretty decent decks, know that we haven’t yet gone 12 rounds with either.
