Beckley, WV | Beloved local record shop to say goodbye after 23 years: Cheap Thrills Records has announced that it will be closing the doors to its Beckley location, which will be relocating to Bristol, VA in the coming weeks. The independently owned business first opened its doors in Princeton, WV in May of 1995. It wasn’t long before the store’s success brought about the establishment of a Beckley location, which had its grand opening in August of 1999, at the Plaza Mall. Specializing in the sale of music products such as vinyl records, CDs, and even cassette tapes, Cheap Thrills’ selection has always included something for everyone, with electronics like video games and DVDs, as well as collectible items such as t-shirts, figurines, stickers, hats, and jewelry having also become a mainstay in the shop’s expansive inventory. “It was a very tough decision, but we need to do what is best for our business,” Owner and founder Wyatt Lilly said of the store’s relocation. “We want to say a sincere thank you to everyone that has supported us in Beckley, and we invite you to visit our Princeton shop, which will remain open.”
North Delta, BC | Cloverdale’s Elevated Music to host Record Store Day event: Worldwide record promotion day now in its 15th year. Record Store Day returns April 23 with a “potent” list of new titles, says Bill Haggerty. “Record Store Day supports and promotes independent records stores around the globe,” said Haggerty, owner of Elevated Music, a record shop in Cloverdale. “There are limited-edition releases that will be exclusive to that day. The Record Store Day list itself is pretty potent.” RSD, as it is known, attracts a large crowd seeking hard-to-get titles. Haggerty said it’ll be first-come, first-served at his shop as he prepares for a lengthy lineup. Last year, the lineup at his store started the night before. “There might only be 1,000 pressings of a certain album, worldwide, so there are extremely limited copies available at the shops that do have them,” explained Haggerty. “So people get pretty excited about it.” At Haggerty’s shop, he’ll discount everything else in the store too.
UK | Stand by for local vinyl frenzy on Record Store Day: Local independent vinyl shops in Teddington and Twickenham are gearing up for Record Store Day, which falls on Saturday April 23 this year and attracts thousands of collectors and music fans to purchase limited editions of their favourite bands and artistes on ONE DAY ONLY. There are about 400 special releases only available on this day and early morning queues are expected at both Roan Records in Church Road, Teddington and Eel Pie Records in Church Street, Twickenham with only a limited number of albums available. The owner of Eel Pie Records, Phil Penman told Nub News: “Record Store Day is by far the biggest day the calendar for Eel Pie Records and independent record shops UK wide and all over the world. “Eel Pie Records has participated in RSD since 2018 and each year we have had queues of up to 100 excited record collectors waiting outside in beautiful Church Street for their chance to grab the limited-edition special releases…”
Milwaukee, WI | Lilliput Records hopes to replace Milwaukee’s Exclusive Company on Farwell: Milwaukee will soon say goodbye to an institution — the Exclusive Company on Farwell Avenue. The record store has been on Milwaukee’s East Side for more than three decades and will close their doors some time in the next few months. But, all is not lost. The store manager and assistant manager, Brian Kirk and Tanner Musgrove, are hoping to launch a new store in its place called Lilliput Records. “Opening up a record store is something that I’ve wanted to do, or at least had in my mind for a little while now, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity because we know how important this space is to ourselves and then also our customers,” says Musgrove. The Exclusive Company is credited as oldest, full-line independent record store in the country. The former owner Jame Giombetti, known as Mr. G, opened the first Exclusive Company in 1956 in West Bend, Wisconsin. That store had a huge impact on Milwaukee Record co-founder Matt Wild.
Fort Worth, TX | CDs make a comeback at Texas music stores: In the age of streaming music, vinyl records continue to make a comeback among collectors. And in 2021, CDs made a bit of a comeback of their own. According to Variety, all major music formats saw sales growth last year, with digital download being the only exception, as the U.S. recorded-music business made a near-record $15 billion. Vinyl, unsurprisingly, saw a 15th straight year of growth with $1 billion in sales. The report says CD sales grew 21% to $584 million — the medium’s first year-over-year growth since 2004. “Our CD section is starting to grow again,” said Bill Mecke, the co-owner of Record Town in Fort Worth. Mecke said since taking over the Fort Worth record store, he’s seen some customers turning their attention to the compact discs. They now sell for as low as $2-$4 in his used section. He said he and many of his staff still use the discs themselves, though they’re not their first choice. “It’s a very handy medium for cars like mine that still have a CD player,” said Mecke’s co-owner Tom Reynolds, with a laugh.
Saint Albans, VT | 14th Star Brewing Co. hosts vinyl sale, draws crowd of music fans: At 14th Star Brewing Company this past Saturday, Kevin Lynam watched from the sidelines as the crowds thumbed through his vinyl record selections. Lynam said he’s been collecting the physical medium for years, and at the brewery’s Spring Record Day Celebration this past weekend, he got to see the hard evidence of vinyl’s renewed interest. While plenty of people lined up for beers, more than a few traveled with bundles of albums tucked under their arms as they sat, sipped and chatted, for the most part, about music. General Manager Ryan Chaffin tended bar throughout the day. “I decided to do this because I love vinyl,” Chaffin said about the event. “I went to the vinyl sale at Nectar’s [in Burlington] and I thought, ‘What events could we do here?’”
AU | Back to the Future – Sales of Vinyl Overtake the CD: The Australian recorded music industry hit a 15-year high in 2021 according to a recent report from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). And although video, digital streaming and subscriptions services make up the vast amount with 90 per cent of sales, there’s one interesting element in the report. The vinyl record, which has been on the rise for many years now, has finally outstripped sales of CD’s in the physical sales segment, with $29.7 million, compared with $24.9 million for CD albums. In 2020, CD album sales were slightly higher than vinyl album sales. Overall the figures released by ARIA reveal a 15 year high, with wholesale sales of $565.8 million in 2021, up 4.4% from $542 million in 2020 and up 20.7% from $468.7 million in 2017.
As vinyl sales soar, European pressing plant Record Industry and Bertus Distribution join forces: Record Industry, one of Europe’s largest vinyl pressing plants, and Bertus Distribution, one of Europe’s largest independent distributors of vinyl and CDs, are merging. With 33 presses, Netherlands headquartered Record Industry claims to be one of the largest, most automated vinyl pressing plants in the world. Established in the early ’70s, Bertus, also headquartered in the Netherlands, claims to be “an essential international link between record stores, wholesalers, record companies and e-commerce businesses”. Record Industry and Bertus Distribution have been longstanding partners in the Music On Vinyl record label. The companies say that the label has since grown into one of the largest vinyl-only labels in the world. …The combined entity says that its pressing capacity will be “practically doubled” to around 25 million units per year.
Manhattan, KS | OFF THE BEAT: But really, it sounds better on vinyl. I started a new collection this year that is slowly taking over a corner of my home. I recently ventured into the world of vinyl records, and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve always enjoyed listening to music from the 60s and 70s, when everything was released in that format, and now artists are releasing new material on vinyl. I’m excited to be dipping my toes into this world. I said for years that I was interested in getting a record player, but I never made any moves to actually make it happen. I’m not sure specifically what piqued my curiosity so much, but it must be because of my interest in songs and artists from the peak vinyl era and having another way to explore music. Friends were surprised I didn’t already have one. I’d walk by a record store with my parents and say, “I think I want to get a record player.” My dad would respond that I was crazy and thought it was a weird interest, explaining that he didn’t miss the crackles and pops of records. In his defense, I had a similar reaction when I heard cassettes were making a comeback.
