Wimbledon, UK | The Sound Lounge makes comeback to Sutton and Merton: The Sound Lounge speaks on nerves, excitement, and preparation after one week of reopening their new venue. Founders of The Sound Lounge Hannah and Keiron share their experience of returning to the high street after entertainment was put to a halt due to the pandemic. The Sound Lounge not only provides a place for music fans to relax but, also several schemes to benefit the community as well as tasty food in both Merton and Sutton. On April 12, both the venues partially reopened for outdoor dining, which has been well-anticipated for Sutton after a stressful journey during the pandemic. The arts venue opened its doors for its official music launch on December 12 but was soon faced with closure after the Prime Minister announced the third lockdown. Despite a number of obstacles, The Sound Lounge continued to find ways to serve the community and most recently cooked over 100 meals for some of Sutton’s most vulnerable young people.
Brookeville, PA | Main Street Revolution; records, music, and more: Main Street Revolution is a recently opened record and music store on Main Street, also offering some extra treats for its customers. Main Street Revolution is the culmination of Michael Phillips’ dream to own a music store. He began collecting records two years ago to build up his inventory to eventually open a shop. Finding a space for the shop was the hard part. He finally found the opportunity in 2020, when the chance to start his own business presented itself as a positive out of the pandemic. This is his first time working in retail at all. “Music was more of a hobby, but I’ve bought and sold music since the 90s,” Phillips said. His main focus in the shop is on records, but there are also collections of tapes and CDs to choose from. The music ranges from vintage to modern starting as far back as the 50s, and covers all genres. “I like all types of music. There’s nothing that I don’t like. It’s like an outlet,” Phillips said.
IT | Vinyl record sales overtake CDs in Italy after 30 years: Revenues up 121% in first quarter with respect to a year ago. Sales of vinyl records surpassed those of CDs in value terms in Italy in the first quarter of this year for time since 1991, according to Deloitte data compiled for Italian music industry federation FIMI. It said revenues from record sales were up 121% compared to the first quarter of 2020, taking them slightly above earnings from CDs, which were down 6%. Vinyl records now account for around 11% of revenues on the Italian music market, which is dominated by sales via streaming, which have 80%. (ANSA).
Sorry, “Wrong Number.” Alana Shor’s heartbreaking 1965 anthem is still largely unknown even to diehard music collectors. …When the single came out as a 45 rpm 7” it was packaged in a pink/burgundy tinted picture sleeve. Its central image was a photo of the teenaged Shor sporting a semi-formal style similar to that of Leslie Gore, Patty Duke, and other early-1960s fashion icons. She’d yet to adapt the glammed-out flash that’d be her signature during the 1970s and 80s. The record’s connection to New York is also a big reason why it’s remained so elusive. Shor’s base of support has always been strongest in the Baltimore area, and other recording credits attributed to Satellite, Dismond, and Millstein reveal no association with any other Maryland artist. Years later, when unsold stock copies turned up in local record store bargain bins, fans of Maryland music probably thought this was some other random preppy “Alana Shor” from up north and not their flashy heroine from the Paper Cup. The dynamic intensity of “Wrong Number” could’ve come from any number of sources, but deciphering this element mostly requires a simple understanding of Shor’s character.
Carbondale, IL | Music Historicity: Cassette tape comeback? f you’re like me, you’re a music lover. You’re old school but always trying to keep up with the latest, and you’ve got a shoebox filled with old audio cassette tapes. In my case, I’ve got about eight shoeboxes of cassettes, most of them without a shell or album artwork label. You may have delayed throwing away those old tapes — if not to at least gain an empty shoebox — for sentimental reasons. But not so fast! In case you haven’t heard, the audio cassette tape format has been making a comeback of sorts over the past several years. In fact, cassettes never completely went away, as 8-track tapes did. According to the most recent industry data available, nearly 220,000 albums on cassette tape were sold in the U.S. in 2018. Purchases have increased exponentially in each subsequent year. Technical specifications prove that digital compact disks have better aural clarity than analog formats such as vinyl and cassette tape. For example, a CD has twice the signal to noise ratio of a cassette, which has inherent hiss.
