What Retailers Can Learn From the Music Industry’s Meltdown: Labels scrambled to compete via technology they seemed to barely understand. “There were a lot of experiments with formats to try to come up with different things,” said Chris Brown, the CFO for the Maine-based, 12-store Bull Moose record store chain. “We had a summit meeting with BMG,” he recalled of the music conglomerate. “The company’s president held up what looked like a memory stick. He said, ‘People like MP3s, so we’re going to sell them MP3s on this memory stick here.’ It was maybe a one-inch square. They saw that as replacing the cassette. I never heard about it again after that meeting.”
Jerry’s Records owner retiring, but store will remain open: First the good news: As the sign outside the Squirrel Hill store says, Jerry’s Ain’t Closin’. The bad news is that after more than 40 years in the record business, beloved owner Jerry Weber is stepping away from the vinyl store that brought him international fame. Citing the need for another round of knee surgery, Mr. Weber has sold Jerry’s Records to employee Chris Grauzer for an undisclosed price, and his last day at Jerry’s will be July 31. “I sold him the store, the store name, the phone number. He’s going to be the face of Jerry’s Records,” Mr. Weber says.
New Record Store/Bar Opening in the Hudson Valley Next Month: A record store and craft beer taproom called The Vinyl Room will be taking over a vacant Hudson Valley storefront next month. Owner John Kihlmire says the business will combine both of his passions; vintage vinyl records and craft beer and wine. The record store will be open all day, welcoming music fans and collectors to come by and flip through records. While there, customers can also relax at the bar and grab a drink while enjoying some music. Everything played at the taproom will be off of vinyl records, and that policy will also go for any DJs who come to play for the late night crowds. Live music will eventually also be incorporated into the mix.
For the love of vinyl: Natalie plays CDs in her car, uses an iPod when she’s out and about, then puts a record on when she gets home. It’s her hierarchy of convenience and perceived authenticity – running from downloads to expensive vinyl – and from what is being heard at the shop counter, this is how increasing numbers of us are engaging with music. So, with fingers crossed, I’m going to suggest Natalie’s approach as the future, even if that’s more in hope than in any great faith in the youth of the day after tomorrow. The alternative – gulp – is that vinyl, the vestigial nipple of music formats, is well into its final comeback, and it has had more than its fair share already.
Lathe Cutting Your Own Records – Beginner’s Guide: Lathe cutting is, basically, a technique to make or modify vinyl records. A lathe is, basically, a tool that can be used in various different ways, and it will help you to produce (or modify) music records. Lathe cutting isn’t too hard, but the learning curve is quite steep – if you’re talented, you can master it easily, but there are quite a lot of things you’ll need to know. First of all, record modification and production are reserved for professionals, so laymen might have a hard time grasping the jargon and terminology. We’re here so that even the beginners feel comfortable about lathe cutting.
Learn to build your own modernist record player console: Sick of the same old IKEA shelf and want to get stuck into building your own record cabinet? This may be for you. Furniture designer and man behind DIY YouTube channel foureyes Chris Salomone has shared a potted guide to building your gorgeous mid-century record shelf and turntable console. OK, so this might be technically out of reach for most of us, but over 14-minutes of therapeutically angled sawing, Salomone walks the viewer through the basic considerations of the parallelogram design, and how to create a sense of movement from the wood while still being a functional piece of furniture.
Medford man selling record collection of 260,000 albums: Charlie Rice started buying records when he was 16 years old and never stopped. The 68-year-old Medford resident has 260,000 albums in storage, but he says age and illness is prompting him to part ways with his prized collection that includes everything from Little Richard and Elvis Presley to Brahms and Beethoven. “My health is not the best anymore,” said Rice. “It’s making me get rid of my life’s love and my hobby. Life just dictates the things you have to do.”…Now he’s filled two 10-by-20-foot storage units with albums he’s trying to sell.
