The Strokes launch pop-up record store in NYC: Garage rock fetishists The Strokes have launched a week-long pop-up in New York’s Lower East Side neighbourhood. Billed as a “Record Store, Installation + Espresso Bar”, the shop is stocking the band’s back catalogue, alongside merchandise and coffee. There’s also an exhibition of memorabilia and music videos. The temporary store, located at 352 Bowery, will be open from 12pm-9pm daily until 6/5.
Check your attic: Sales of vinyl records keep rising: Little more than a decade ago, many people would have thought the vinyl record was a relic of a past age; a nostalgic piece of history that new technology has rendered obsolete. But to the happy surprise of antique dealers and collectors, the last 10 years or so have witnessed a resurgence in the LP. Salisbury resident and vinyl aficionado Matthew Gunby said vinyl offers a unique experience that has been lost in our digital world…“There’s just something really wonderful about that,” he said.
Vinyl records are back, but are they here to stay this time? For the 10th consecutive year in a row, vinyl record sales have grown considerably. According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s recently published shipment and revenue statistics for 2015, vinyl sales increased 32 percent to $416 million, marking the highest level of sales since 1988. Physical music is not dead, and music lovers continue to by it, even in the digital age. The resurgence of vinyl is both exciting and confusing because getting into vinyl can be expensive. Standard vinyl LPs (Long Press) average around $25. That’s not cheap.
Calgary retailers hit the road during downturn: Brady Adkins peers tentatively into a long white bus parked on a bustling downtown Calgary street. As the warm sounds of music played on vinyl wash over him, Adkins’ eyes widen as he scans the hundreds of albums neatly packed in bins along the walls. “Never bought a record off a bus before,” he says. “Not a bad idea to go for it.” And with that, Calgary’s Beatnik Bus has another customer, another convert in a rolling retail revolution.
Delmark Records an Encore for Local Jazz, Blues Enthusiast Bob Koester: Earlier this year, a legendary Chicago record store closed, presumably forever. For more than 50 years, the Jazz Record Mart at Illinois and Hubbard streets in River North was a haven for fans of jazz and blues, offering rarities, oldies of the 78 rpm era and even new pressings of long forgotten and neglected artists. But the store’s equally legendary owner said the cost of doing business had gotten too high and he decided to sell the contents of the store and retire. Three months later, he’s back in business building up his record inventory and recording some of the fine Chicago artists.
Vinyl Records vs. Compact Disc: Why vinyl sales are increasing: Vinyl remains popular because the high – quality sound it delivers. The sound is richer, warmer and clearer than what’s being released online. In an article I read online while doing research, Jon Lloyd, a music genre specialist at Juno Records, an international online shop that sells both vinyl and digital music, tells TIME that in many ways digital music has been its own worst advertisement over the last decade.
