Music fans pushed sales of vinyl albums higher, outpacing CDs, even as pandemic sidelined stadium tours: …Music consumption in the first half of the year has remained robust even without the sold-out stadium tours, according to a new report. While on-demand audio streaming is up 15%, consumers are also looking to own more tangible collectibles like vinyl albums, which continue to surpass CD sales. In the first six months of 2021, 19.2 million vinyl albums were sold, outpacing CD volume of 18.9 million, according to MRC Data, an analytics firm that specializes in collecting data from the entertainment and music industries. Vinyl has slowly been making a comeback in recent years. In 2020, vinyl trumped annual revenue of CDs in the U.S. for the first time in 34 years, the Recording Industry Association of America reported. That trend is continuing in 2021. The number of vinyl LPs sold rose 108% in the first six months of the year, up from 9.2 million during the same period in 2020.
Yarra, AU | Exploring the Record Store Day Vinyl Party going down as part of Leaps and Bounds Music Festival: Here’s your guide to what’s happening in City of Yarra this Record Store Day. Record Store Day Australia has teamed up with Leaps and Bounds Music Festival and City of Yarra for the second installment of Record Store Day 2021 to bring you a sprawling vinyl party happening at record stores throughout the inner north. Featuring a massive spread of in-store performances, album and single launches, and sales, you won’t want to miss out on all the fun going down for RSD on Saturday July 17. To help you put together a game plan, we’ve rounded up what’s going on where as part of the Leaps and Bounds Record Store Day Vinyl Party. Plug Seven Records: Prepare to do some serious crate-digging at Plug Seven Records this Saturday. As well as slinging a slate of RSD special releases, there’ll be discount crates, pick packs and loads more goodies to get your hands on.
AZ | Record Store Day is coming! Here’s where to celebrate in Arizona: The celebration was created in 2007 after independent record store owners and employees gathered together and formed a way to celebrate the unique culture. …ll record stores listed, except for Studio G Vinyl Records, have signed the Record Store Day pledge, according to the celebration’s main website. The pledge signifies that a store will sell Record Store Day releases only to its physical customers, rather than gouging them or holding back products to sell online. The first 2021 Record Store Day was held on June 12, but the organization decided to hold another on July 17 to support stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. The celebration was created in 2007 after independent record store owners and employees gathered together and formed a way to celebrate the unique culture, the website said. Special vinyl and CD releases and other promotional products are made exclusively for the celebration.
Kansas City, MO | Record Store Day is back again: It’s that time again, folks. The second installment of Record Store Day is here and we know all the places to hit up while you search for that perfect record to get your summer going. Stop by record stores July 17 to try your hand at getting a new addition to your collection. The Kansas City stores participating are: Records with Merritt (1614 Westport Rd.), The Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven (7621 Troost Ave.), Josey Records (1814 Oak St.), Mills Record Company (4045 Broadway Blvd.), and Revolution Records (1830 Locust St.). All stores open at 7 a.m. except Revolution Records, which opens at noon. If you’re really up for it check out our suburban record store buddies like Brothers Music KC (5812 Johnson Drive Mission, KS) and Vinyl Renaissance & Audio (7932 Santa Fe Dr, Overland Park, KS) who are also participating.
Chicago, IL | Businesses in tune for Record Store Day: Nicky’s of Beverly is the Simon to Beverly Records’ Garfunkel as the two business establishments embark on another celebration of vinyl records on July 17—the industry’s unprecedented second drop for Record Store Day 2021. “I love vinyl, and that’s why we started playing it for our customers,” said Nicky’s of Beverly owner Paul Kostopanagiotou. “Customers dig hearing records, whether it’s in their own collection or something they’ve never heard before.” On Thursday, July 15, Nicky’s of Beverly, 10500 S. Western Ave., will team up with Beverly Records for a “Roots of Rock” party, an eclectic presentation of songs from all genres and eras that thread together today’s hit sounds with “those of yesteryear.” “We’ll have something for all music lovers, and it’s selected to entertain and enlighten,” said Beverly Records DJ John Dreznes. “We appreciate that Nicky’s of Beverly is building momentum for the second record drop two days later.”
