U.S. Record Industry Sees Album Sales Sink to Historic Lows (Again) — But People Are Listening More Than Ever: First, let’s bottom-line those disappearing sales. Album units overall fell 13.6 percent, with 100.3 million total sales. The compact disc continued to crumble, losing 11.6 percent and moving 50 million. Digital album sales fell to 43.8 million, from 53.7 million in the first half of last year. Vinyl sales continued to move up and to the right, growing 11.4 percent, to 6.2 million.
Burlington’s new vinyl pressing plant will be the second largest in North America, Precision Record Pressing Inc. is getting ready to open… and it’s going to be massive: The new pressing plant occupies a 20,000 sq. ft. facility. Its presses and boilers and other machinery arrived from Europe just two weeks ago and are in the midst of setup. The operation is a partnership between one of Canada’s largest music distributors, Isotope Music Inc., and Czech vinyl manufacturer GZ, which already fills orders for Universal, Sony Canada, and a handful of independents.
The Record Store Experience Must Not Die With The Shops: All Things Must Pass is an illuminating documentary that tells the human story behind the rise and fall of one of the most successful record store chains of all time. There was a culture that surrounded every Tower Records. There was no dress code. Dave Grohl said that he got a job at Tower because it was the only place that would hire him with his long hair.
Vinyl-loving couple hoping new store will be music to people’s ears: Liden residents Karrie Miszkowska and Gregg Miszkowski, both 30, are following their dreams to turn their passion into a career by opening RPM Records in Old Town…“There is nothing quite like the feel of a new vinyl; tearing the cellophane off, taking the record out, even down to the smell and the actual physical feel of having something so delicate to look after. “Now, we can share our passion for records with other like-minded collectors and provide a social space for collectors to get together and share their appreciation for music.”
A Pair of Rare Vinyl Discoveries Reveals Treasures of Old-Time East Tennessee Music: Jim Cooley of Rockwood called up and said he had a record I might find interesting. It was a 1960s recording of a 90-year-old Rockwood woman playing banjo and telling stories. That did sound interesting. I wondered what small local label might have released such a record. Turns out it was a vanity-press record of Robbie Clack, transferred from reel-to-reel tape to vinyl at Loran Baker Recording Service. Baker was a TVA employee who ran a small studio out of the garage of his Fountain City home. In a 1956 News Sentinel ad, Baker offers tape and disc services for “Church Programs, Public Addresses, Funeral Services, Weddings, Rentals, etc.”
Review: Sony PS-HX500 Turntable: USB turntable is an ungodly oxymoron. Plug these record players, often tarted up in retro cases, into a computer, and you can turn the audio from your vinyl records into digital files. The sound quality is usually terrible (especially the bass response), and garbage electronics make the digital transfers sound hideous. Worse, these plastic monstrosities are preloaded with crude styli that plow through the grooves of your precious records like chisels. If you want to listen to your LP collection at the gym, you’re better off paying for the lossless digital downloads and saving yourself some aggravation.
The UK’s 60 official biggest selling albums of all time revealed: 60 years ago this month saw the birth of the Official Albums Chart – the UK’s official weekly snapshot of popularity dedicated to one of the most influential art forms of our time. The first ever chart, which was published in Record Mirror on 22 July 1956, saw Frank Sinatra’s Songs For Swingin’ Lovers landing in the coveted Number 1 slot. Now, over half a century of vinyl, cassette, CD and download-purchasing later, nearly 1,100 albums have hit the top spot in the UK.
Game Of Thrones Season 6 Soundtrack Is Being Released On Vinyl: Composed by Ramin Djawadi, the soundtrack will run for 90 minutes and take you back to all the key moments of season 6. None of which I will go into to avoid any potential spoilers. Though already we’ve discussed the particularly stunning score Light Of The Seven which soundtracked the epic start of the season finale. The triple-vinyl release features a series of images from the show on its gatefold as well as various house sigils etched into the actual record and, well, if that doesn’t give you a total Throner then were you even really a Thronie?
