Alliance Entertainment Announces Largest Sales Month for Independent Retail Division Coinciding with 2024 Record Store Day Event: “…We are excited to see our hard work rewarded once again during Record Store Day and the positive feedback from the retail community,” said Ken Glaser, Alliance Senior Vice President of Sales. With much contribution from Record Store Day product sales, we saw our largest sales month ever. It takes a group effort from all parts of our business to ensure that such a large number of units are received, prepped and shipped in such a short window of time. Our goal is to always ensure timely and accurate shipments to our customer base.”
London, UK | Next Door Records Two Opens In East London: With a venue downstairs, too… In the mile-long stretch from Kingsland High Street to Stoke Newington Road in north-east London, underground music culture has always been supported here. …Now, the popular West London record store Next Door Records has opened a second branch at 182 Stoke Newington Road, hoping to bring something new to the music community in the area. Having been friends from their childhood and through studying music at universities in Leeds and Newcastle, co-owners Louis Raworth, Thom Parris and Alfie Aukett decided to open their flagship store in Shepherd’s Bush back in 2020 from a desire to share their love for record digging, gigs, and electronic music within a cultural space.
Washington, DC | The 6 Best Vinyl Shops in Washington DC: Plus, what to buy, where to eat and stay, and what to do in the nation’s capital. While visitors often flock to Washington, D.C.’s iconic museums and monuments, truly understanding the city is to experience its deep influence on another aspect of American culture: music. Spanning genres such as jazz, punk, and go-go—D.C.’s distinctive blend of funk, rhythm, and blues—the capital’s contribution to the nation’s musical heritage is evident in the vibrant live music scene and thrives within its vinyl culture. To get to know the capital beyond the marble and memorials, we compiled a list of the six best vinyl shops in D.C. and suggestions of where to eat and stay nearby. For first-time and frequent visitors alike, exploring the city through its vinyl record shops offers a unique perspective on the city’s musical influence.
Berkeley, CA | Amoeba Music is More Than a Record Store: Berkeley’s iconic store is a relocated garage sale, a clubhouse and a shrine to vinyl. Amoeba Music opened its iconic store on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley on Nov. 17, 1990. A crowd of customers had already gathered on the sidewalk outside. As soon as the doors opened, they ran into the store and began flipping through the bins of new and used records. “Before we opened, we spent a year going to every garage sale and estate sale to buy old LPs,” said Marc Weinstein, one of Amoeba’s owners. “The word had gotten out that you could find almost anything you wanted on vinyl in our store, and the people lined up. We did great business that first day, selling albums and buying used records, and we haven’t stopped.”
Flintshire, UK | ‘Deeside Vinyl’ store to open for music enthusiasts: A family-owned vinyl store is set to open in Flintshire featuring an extensive collection of vintage music. Neville Wright is proud to be opening Deeside Vinyl on Station Road in Queensferry, Flintshire. Expected to open on Monday, May 20, the store will showcase a huge collection of vinyl’s, CDs and tapes featuring all genres of music – all co-curated by Neville and his father. “My Dad is a veteran record collector and music enthusiast”, explains Neville. He continues: “The amount of support that we’ve received so far has been overwhelming to say the least. “I’m so relieved to see that there are people in the Deeside area genuinely happy to see a record store appear.” The duo are keen to share their love and passion for music with others in the local community. The store is set to be one-of-a-kind in the area, with residents expressing their excitement on social media.
Newark, UK | Vinyl Attractions in Newark relocated from Cartergate to Kirkgate and sees footfall increase: New customers have been able to discover the delights at a town record store—after it moved to its third location. Vinyl Attraction moved to 48 Kirkgate, Newark on May 2. The store first opened a unit on Stodman Street in 2019, but within 18 months it had outgrown the space and moved into Cartergate. With a need for expansion and extra storage, store owner Tony Mills felt the time was right to move to a new premises. Tony said: “The biggest difference I find from here is the people who used to go to the old shop still come but there are completely new people who didn’t even know I was there. “Because they live around this end of town they didn’t go as far as Cartergate, they stayed around the market. “There is much more footfall in this location, 50% more according to the council.” The store is located within easy access of some of Newark’s key routes — Kirkgate, Church Street and Wilson Street. Tony said this location will be “third and last” as he aims to retire in three years.
Preston, UK | Action Records hit with unhinged backlash to Twenty One Pilots listening party: The owner of a city centre record store said he was left baffled after coming under fire for hosting an official listening party for the new Twenty One Pilots album. Action Records, on Church Street, will host the event one week before the release of Clancy, with free merchandise on offer for those who attend. When the announcement was made on the shop’s X/Twitter account, it was inundated with negative replies and claims lead singer Tyler Joseph would be furious about it – despite it being an official event organised by the record company. Announcing the event, the shop published: “Join us for an official @twentyonepilots listening party for the forthcoming album ‘Clancy’ on SATURDAY 18TH MAY – 5pm!! Featuring new singles ‘Overcompensate’ and ‘Next Semester’, you’ll get the chance to listen through the whole album in store before its global release.”
Haarlem, NL | Haarlem Vinyl Festival announces first wave line-up for 2004: The “world’s first vinyl-focused festival” returns to the Netherlands this September. Haarlem Vinyl Festival has announced the first wave of acts slated to perform and provide talks at its 2024 edition. The “world’s first” vinyl-focused festival is set to return to the northwestern Dutch city of Haarlem this September for its second outing, taking place across three days and nights. This year’s line-up includes the likes of Anastasia Kristensen, Cassy, Colin Benders, Shakedown Tim & The Rhythm Revue, and Altin Gün, among many others. Berlin-based DJ and producer Cassy will deliver a talk about her own record collection, offering an insight into her selections with “valuable lessons for both DJs and vinyl collectors” from one of “electronic music’s most respected selectors”. The first wave line-up also includes local Dutch record stores and talent including Nedda Sou, Thrills in +41, and Amsterdam-based vinyl distribution service, One Eye Witness.
Bismarck, ND | Collectors to meet up at the Bismarck Record Fair: The Bismarck Record Fair is a place for music lovers and vinyl collectors to add to their collection or to find that hidden gem. We spoke with Kenny Opsal (Owner of Music and More) and Todd Becker (the Bismarck Record Fair’s organizer) all about the event. Becker spoke about the excitement behind the event amongst the vinyl collectors community. “Well, I’ve got vendors coming in from three different states,” he says, “as far as Missoula, Montana. And basically, people that buy and sell records. It’s like the Super Bowl of record collecting. Everybody gets together and, you know, loves to talk about music and their record collections, favorite bands, vintage electronics.” As vinyl records get older and become a thing of the past, their value actually gets higher.
