Louth, IE | Popular Louth record store announces that it’s closing down: Dundalk’s last record store which had gained cult status among music lovers is closing after nine years. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Classified Records,” proprietor Neil Waters announced in a social media post. The shop, which stocked both new vinyl releases and classic, vintage and rare releases as well as CDs and even cassettes, had a loyal fanbase of customers, many of whom travelled from out of town to see what carefully curated gems they find. The store was more than just a business for Neil who has an encyclopedic knowledge of music and the decision to pull down the shutters on the shop at The Demesne for a final time on Friday June 14 isn’t one that he has taken lightly. “We opened in back in August 2015 and can proudly say we tried to make the world a better place. Seems like a long time ago but eco-systems were different back then. The town had a buzz. There was a thrill in the air. We were the new thing,” he wrote.
Edinburgh, UK | Taylor Swift in Edinburgh: Music icon Taylor Swift gave small Edinburgh record store a big helping hand: We look back to when Taylor Swift did an Edinburgh shop a big favour. Much has been written about the huge boost Taylor Swift’s Edinburgh gigs are giving the local economy – but it’s not the first time the US superstar has given a helping hand. In September 2020, when the shop was toiling during lockdown, Assai Records on Grindlay Street received a surprise when they got a ‘very finite’ amount of the singer’s album Folklore. Believed to be a show of support for independent record stores, a select few shops across the UK also received a delivery of the signed disks. After announcing the shop had stock of the limited signed CD, copies of the album had sold out in less than two hours, which was a huge shot in the arm for the business during tough times for trading.
São Paulo, BR | Play on the record player: where to buy vinyl records in São Paulo: Whole generations have passed since vinyl records became obsolete. Since then, the music industry has invested in K7 tapes, CDs, MP3 players and, finally, streaming services. Even so, many will agree that there is still no more charming way of consuming music than the record player and LP combo. In fact, a lot of people have vinyl players at home, whether old or new, and they go around looking for new “crackers.” New Barão Gallery This gallery in the heart of the Republic is home to several stores specializing in the famous “bolachões”. A must for anyone who loves vinyl…
Cleveland, OH | Bad Medicine, a ‘Listening Bar’ Opening This Summer in West Park, to Merge Vinyl, Cocktails and Food: “We want this to be uniquely Cleveland.” Listening bars, like dive bars and cocktail bars, are all over the map in terms of vibe. Some are serious-minded jazz libraries while others are trippy dens sticky with electronica. What they have in common, however, is an obsessive commitment to audio quality while providing a welcoming space for guests to connect with the music and each other. When Bad Medicine (13334 Lorain Ave.) opens this summer in the West Park neighborhood, it will bring a distinctly Cleveland perspective to the Japanese invention. “Some of them are going to be jazz bars, some are just playing Johnny Cash or Elvis, we want this to be uniquely Cleveland,” explains co-owner Bryan Tetorakis. “Cleveland is the birthplace of rock and roll, so we’d be doing ourselves a disservice if we weren’t trying to play some great classic rock – but we do want to throw in some surprises too.”
Laced Records: Games companies are “leaving money on the table” with their soundtracks: CEO Danny Kelleher on educating developers on music business models and its recent partnership with Remedy. …Laced last worked with Remedy for Control, releasing the vinyl and digital release of its soundtrack in 2020. “Remedy are just really lovely people, and we pitched very hard to bring in Alan Wake 2 as it was something we really wanted,” Kelleher tells GamesIndustry.biz. He notes that Remedy was really supportive and heavily involved throughout the whole process, particularly for the eventual vinyl release that both Remedy and Laced have alluded to online. …”Sometimes we do all the artwork, sometimes the client wants to. With Remedy, they love to get hands-on and have creative direction on the artwork, so we’re excited to see what they come up with.” Laced has seen increased demand for physical content in the form of its vinyl and CD releases, but sales performance can “vary massively” between AAA and indie titles.
Toneoptic launches new rotating storage unit for vinyl records: As vinyl records continue to soar in popularity, one side-effect is the storage space required for collection. Stacking records is one of the worst things to do as it makes them susceptible to warping, and is harder to find specific titles. Storing vertically on a shelf is better when it comes to damage protection, but results in less storage space for other collectibles, such as books and DVDs. Toneoptic has unveiled its new RPM rotating record storage unit, which is expected to help with this. It allows listeners to view their collection via a patented 90-degree rotation. This unit can be wall-mounted or placed on a flat shelf or table. Either option provides full access to the rotating features. It has 143 parts that work together and a patent-pending 90-degree revolving design.
“With one eye on MTV and another on film soundtracks, big choruses with star-turn assists are go”: Steve Hackett’s Feedback ’86 and Till We Have Faces vinyl remasters. Released six years apart, the albums share some DNA—but one feels more of a curio than the other. Like the rest of prog’s old guard, Steve Hackett was acutely aware of the ‘adapt or die’ climate of the mid-80s. “Record companies would say, ‘I don’t hear a career song,’” the guitarist recalled in 2022, explaining his more mainstream direction on Feedback ’86. Actually made between 1984 and 1987, first released in 2000, and echoing the AOR-style of GTR—Hackett’s short-lived supergroup with Steve Howe – the album had one eye on MTV and another on film soundtracks. Big choruses with star-turn assists are go. Thus, Bonnie Tyler and Manfred Mann’s Earth Band singer Chris Thompson duet impressively on Prizefighters; and Brian May, Hackett and Thompson all sing on Slot Machine, wherein gambling is a metaphor for love’s vicissitudes.
Physical Media and Petrocapitalism: Your Growing Vinyl Record Collection Is Bad For the Environment. Nostalgia porn is alive and well in 2024, as people run to buy ’90s-esque faux bootleg tees, Y2K-style corset tops, and granny square apparel of the ’70s. But this wistful remembrance doesn’t only apply to fashion, as physical media has seen a resurgence in the 2020s despite us living amid the streaming era. Encouraged by Oscar-winning directors Wes Anderson, Guillermo del Toro, and Christopher Nolan to promote art preservation, Digital Entertainment Group revealed that 4K Blu-ray sales went up by almost six percent in the third quarter of 2023 as opposed to 2022 earnings, as per The Wrap. According to the CBC, in 2023, “vinyl records outsold CDs for the second consecutive year.” It was also noted that a whopping 43 million records were sold that year in the U.S. alone. It’s surely impressive, but is it bad for the environment?
