Liverpool, UK | Vinyl countdown brings back fond memories: Can you imagine life without music? There would be no concert rooms, Glastonbury, Brass Bands, dance halls, musicals… the list is endless. Music is not only sound, it is a feeling, an emotion and a satisfaction that connects us to the world around us. So, why is music so important? Well it can raise someone’s mood. Get them excited. Evoke a memory. Or make them calm or relaxed.n fact, music touches our souls. Some people would say the world would be a quieter place, some would say it is the very fabric of our lives. And it’s a great way to deliver a message. I certainly couldn’t imagine life without music. Let’s face it, I’ve made a good living out of it. Now we are coming out of these terrible times – fingers crossed – we can get on with our lives and eventually bring back concerts, festivals and theatres.
Chesterfield, UK | How a Chesterfield record shop is showing its thanks to NHS staff. A Chesterfield record shop – which is ‘very cautiously’ reopening after months of lockdown – is thanking NHS staff for their hard work during the coronavirus pandemic. Tallbird Records has introduced a ten per cent discount for NHS workers. Maria Harris, owner of the Soresby Street shop, said: “It’s our way of saying thank you to NHS staff for the fantastic work they have done throughout lockdown.” To take advantage of the offer – which is only redeemable in-store and ends on August 28 – workers just need to show their NHS card. Following the easing of lockdown restrictions, Maria’s store reopened last Thursday but only for customers to place and collect orders and to make general enquiries. She said: “We decided to take a very cautious approach to reopening as record shops are about spending a long time browsing through records. “We didn’t want to encourage that just yet – even with the most scrupulous hygiene measures in place, the potential of spreading the virus still exists.
UK | Our Favourite Record Shops Talk Social Distancing In The Vinyl Racks: Rough Trade, Viny Hunter, and Earworm Records on navigating the new landscape… It’s been two weeks since the government announced that all ‘non-essential’ shops could reopen again. While many will have argued that record shops fit into the ‘essential’ category of stores allowed to open before this date, vinyl enthusiasts have had to wait patiently for their favourite stores to swing open their doors. Clash caught up with Rough Trade East (London), Vinyl Hunter (Bury St Edmunds) and Earworm Records (York) to hear how shops in the capital and further afield have been staging their comebacks. Firstly, the words on everyone’s lips are: ‘customer safety’. The twelve-week lockdown is far from a distant memory – and though restrictions have been lifted, the threat of the virus remains at the front of store owners’ minds. However, while shop doors have been closed, record stores have been working behind the scenes to prepare for welcoming their customers back.
Little Rock, AR | Control marks the return of the neighborhood record store: As someone who works in the music industry, and who grew up going to shows where vinyl records were almost always (and sometimes exclusively) available, I’ve never really stopped collecting them. I love the warmth of a good sounding vinyl record, the big artwork, the liner notes and the ritual of flipping the disc when the side is over. I own the same Discman I’ve had for 20 years, which I’ll throw batteries into once in a blue moon when I get the itch for something not available to stream and never pressed on wax. It seems I’m not alone. According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s year-end report for 2019, vinyl LP and EP sales saw a growth change of over 14 percent between 2018 and 2019, even as CDs saw a loss of over 10 percent. Still, coming off the early 1990s decline of vinyl record output in favor of the CD, this seems wild to me. When has any industry gone from exclusively one format of distribution to a newer “better” one, stuck with it for decades, then gone back?
Edinburgh, UK | The owner of iconic record store Unknown Pleasures on why he has to close shop: ‘It would be very hard to get through the winter.’ An iconic Edinburgh record store loved by locals and people all over the world has announced that they won’t be re-opening the store due to the pandemic. Mike Craig, owner of Unknown Pleasures, a quirky record store on Edinburgh’s Canongate explained the logistical difficulties of re-opening the store. The store owner received a devastated response from customers when he announced that the shop would not be making a return after the pandemic, but according to Mike “it would have been hard to survive the winter.” Mike Craig: “We are going to just be online now after 14 years of having an Edinburgh store.” “I have been selling vinyl records for 23 years since 1997 – the business started off in Halifax and I ended up moving to Scotland when I married a Scottish woman. “In 2005 we started the first store in St Andrews before opening on Canongate in 2006.
Gallatin, TN | Randy’s Record Shop bricks for sale: Fans of Randy’s Record Shop can now take home a piece of history from the now demolished Gallatin landmark. The Sumner County Museum is selling 500 bricks from the West Main Street store, which were donated after the building was torn down in late March. Each one is numbered and comes with a plaque and commemorative box for $25. “We all wanted for Randy’s to be saved, but unfortunately it was not,” Sumner County Museum Director Ryan Baker said. “Luckily, the owners were conscientious enough to save (the bricks) and make sure they went to a place that could benefit from them.” So far, more than 25 bricks have been purchased since they went on sale last month. Money raised from the fundraiser will be used to support the museum, which is located in Gallatin and contains items from across the county. Started by music business entrepreneur Randy Wood in 1944, Randy’s Record Shop was originally located on North Water Avenue in downtown Gallatin before it later moved to West Main Street. The store was considered to be the world’s largest mail-order record business of its time with 500,000 records sold each year.
Vancouver, CA | Clampdown Record Pressing Inc. pitches Tinder for bands: Billy Bones is pushing for bands to split album releases to lower COVID-19 financial pressures. Clampdown Record Pressing Inc. is a Vancouver-based plant specializing in limited runs of seven-inch and 12-inch vinyl. A self-described “record nerd,” owner and operator Billy Bones is a longtime member of the Vancouver music scene, playing guitar and singing with veteran punk act the Vicious Cycles. He knows how hard it is to make a record. When the coronavirus pandemic made things even harder on indie artists to get product pressed, Bones hit on an idea he pitched as: “Tinder for bands.” The idea is that two musical acts can split a release with one another. You only get half of the run of records, but you only spend half the money too. Bands can post on Clampdown’s website and other interested parties can “swipe right” and contact them to share a run of records. The idea isn’t a new one.
