Miami, FL | Indie Record Store Owners Speak Out About Direct-to-Consumer Vinyl Sales: Vinyl sales continue to rise, but independent record stores are being cut out of the deal by major artists and record labels. By the time Taylor Swift released her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19, most Swifties who wanted a physical copy had already preordered directly from Swift’s online store in February or during one of the several special-edition flash sales the pop star announced over social media in the lead-up. There was also a Target exclusive—a “phantom” clear vinyl, 24-page jacket, rare photos, a replica of Swift’s handwritten lyrics, and a bonus track—that was available to preorder online. But if you wanted to support your local independent record store with your preorder, you were out of luck. Shops were under an embargo that forbade them from the album until the official release date. The practice isn’t new, nor is it unique to Swift.
Newark, NJ | Rainbow Records: Behind the scenes of the Newark staple. At Rainbow Records, no two days are alike. Owner Melissa Forsythe and Chrissy Morgan, the store’s main employee, agree on this immediately. In fact, the only thing they can name as a set routine would be coming in and turning the lights on. “It really depends on if it’s a new release day, if we’ve got a lot of new records, if somebody comes in with a collection,” Forsythe said. “But otherwise we’re pricing records, pricing shirts.” It’s not just the employees who never know what the day might hold at the store. With collections of records, CDs, cassettes, posters, magazines, stickers, clothing and music equipment that are added to the store every day, shoppers never know what they might find (though they can get hints by keeping up with Rainbow Record’s social media, where new records are posted daily). From the record currently spinning in the back to the bins of $5 shirts out front, the store is constantly changing.
Pinellas Park, FL | Check out this Gem of Tampa if you like vinyl records or 8-tracks: If you’re a fan of vinyl records or even 8-tracks, make sure to visit this Gem of Tampa Bay. Sound Exchange is a record store that’s been around since the 80s, with locations in Tampa and Pinellas Park. “What brings an instant memory back more than hearing a few notes of a song? I mean, that transports you immediately,” Sound Exchange General Manager Erin Stoy said. Inside, customers can browse through new and used CDs, cassette tapes, 45’s, 8-tracks, DVDs, VHS tapes, comic books and even video games. “There’s still life and there’s still value in these items,” Stoy said. “There’s no reason for any of this stuff to go into a dump or anything like that.” Stoy also said records and music from the 1980s have been becoming more popular. “I really enjoy seeing the young people come into the store and get excited,” she said.
Montavilla, OR | New Montavilla Bar Replicant Wants to Become the Record Nerd’s Watering Hole: Replicant Bar and Bottle Shop will open alongside the new location of City Noise Records. Montavilla locals will soon be able to nurse a beer or a glass of Mexican wine while they shop for records. Replicant Bar and Bottle Shop will open alongside the new location of City Noise Records, with an extensive wine and beer selection, nonalcoholic cocktails, and listening stations for folks to drink and listen. City Noise Records owner Gianpiero Milani originally opened his punk-focused record store in November 2021, but he knew he wanted to find a larger space. While he and his partner, Lydia Crumbley, began shopping for new locations, he pitched the idea of opening a bar alongside the store, to make it more of a space for record nerds to connect. “He wanted to grow the community around [the record store],” Crumbley says. “We’re making it more of a hangout.”
Pittsburgh, PA | Pittsburgh vinyl shop that opened in 1980 and almost closed in 2000 is booming again thanks to music fans and now sells $1.5M of albums a year. A Pittsburgh record store which was on the brink of closure in 2000 is now booming once again thanks to a resurgence in vinyl. The Attic Record Store, which first opened in 1980, has survived recessions, streaming and even acts of God to survive as one of a handful of independent record stores in the area. The beloved store now turns over around $1.5 million a year in album sales, as young and old flock to its shelves on a daily basis. Most surprisingly of all, while many record stores have embraced online ordering, owner Fred Bohn Jr. has bucked the trend with a more analogue approach. ‘We don’t sell anything online,’ he told the Wall Street Journal. ‘If you sell all your best stuff on the internet, it’s not as fun for people to come to the store.’
Cheyenne, WY | Love, Life and Yellow Vinyl: Mom-and-pop shops across the U.S. have been hit with a one-two punch from online services like Amazon and closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the economy shows signs of improvement, one in five small businesses fail within a year of opening. And half shutter within five years, according to a report by Forbes. In Wyoming, 3,239 small businesses opened across the state between March 2021 and 2022. During that time, 2,433 others closed. While some economists say that’s a positive trend — it’s a net increase of 796 new businesses — the owners and employees of the businesses that went under may feel differently. But those numbers didn’t stop Chuck and Kay Bybee, partners in marriage and business, from fulfilling their dream of owning a record shop. The Bybees’ dream came true last year when they bought Downtown Vinyl in Cheyenne, where former owner Don McKee sold vintage records and books for 18 years.
York, UK | Vinyl record manufacturing start-up takes on new premises in York: Start-up business Vinyl Press UK Ltd has leased 2,500 sq ft premises at Monks Cross – the first pressing plant of its kind in the city of York. Vinyl Press was established by musical entrepreneurs Lucy Johnson (managing director), Neville Proctor (financial director), and Susie Proctor (director), who realised an opportunity to offer smaller to mid-sized labels with much needed vinyl record manufacturing facilities in the north of England. The opening of the facility coincides with demand for vinyl records having increased for the 16th year in a row last year, with 6.5 million sold, taking overall sales above £170m. Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was the best-selling LP, followed by the Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds.
Wenatchee, WA | Vinyl record collectors: Vintage, classics and rare finds at Wenatchee Vinyl Record Expo: Vinyl record music collector Joel Myrene is organizing the next Wenatchee vinyl record expo on May 18th. It is the third expo in Wenatchee for collectors to buy, sell, or trade vinyl records and even CD’s and tapes. After two successful events in 2023, Myrene is scaling back to one Expo in 2024 due to time constraints. …To raise awareness of the Wenatchee Vinyl Record Expo, Myrene has visited similar events in Port Townsend, WA who will bring their collections to the Wenatchee show. “I have been visiting a ton of record stores, mostly on the WestSide, getting the word out about the expo” Myrene said. “I’ve also been joining a bunch of online vinyl groups and meeting the other people who run vinyl record shows in the northwest. It has paid off, as record vendor spots sold out two months prior to the show.” Myrene said he now has a waitlist for vinyl record vendors who want to participate.
Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ named as the best-selling vinyl of ’70s, ’80s and ’90s: The seminal record was originally released in 1977. Fleetwood Mac‘s ‘Rumours’ has been named as the best-selling vinyl of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. The seminal record by the band, which was originally released in 1977, was revealed to have sold just under 280,000 copes on vinyl in this millennium alone. Pink Floyd‘s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ made it into the top five of the best-selling vinyl records, along with Nirvana‘s ‘Nevermind’ and Oasis‘s ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’. Queen‘s ‘Greatest Hits’, one of the best-selling albums of all time, made it to number five on the best-selling vinyls chart.
