Warner Music Posts Strong Quarter as Streaming and Vinyl Soar: Warner Music Group posted $1.34 billion in revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended June 30, the company announced on Tuesday, with a 32.7% year-over-year revenue boost and a 33% jump in streaming. The company saw a 33.8% growth in recorded-music revenues over the same, pandemic-struck quarter last year, up to $1.15 billion from $861 million. Digital led the charge, up 28.9% to $928 million. And vinyl and other physical product sales were up to such a degree — 155%! — that it actually cut into digital’s percentage of recorded-music venues. Physical soared from $51 million in 2020 — again, hampered by the pandemic — to $130 million. In the first six months of 2021, 19.2 million vinyl albums were sold, according to MRC Data, up 108% from 2020 — although that number is skewed due to the pandemic. Still, in 2020, vinyl trumped annual revenue of CDs in the U.S. for the first time in 34 years, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Liverpool, UK | Liverpool record store 3B Records to shut at current location: After 32 years the shop, bar, and events space on Slater Street will not reopen due to disagreements with the landlord. Treasured Liverpool record store 3b Records is to close at its current location, bringing its 32-year legacy on Slater Street to an end. According to a statement by the team circulated on social media, difficulties with the landlord relating to the renewal of the shop’s lease have led to the decision. “To our loyal customers from Liverpool and beyond, it is with great sadness and regret that we have to announce that our doors on Slater Street will not reopen. We have had ongoing difficulties with our landlord over the renewal of our lease for the last month or so. We have sought to negotiate both informally and legally, however they seemed to have had other ideas form the start,” the statement reads. In addition to selling vinyl and tickets, 3b Records — originally 3 Beat Records — also had a bar and events space which it used to host countless in-stores over the years.
UK | Love Record Stores announces artists, labels and more set to take part in 2021 return: Following the success of its launch in 2020, Love Record Stores is set to return for its second event on September 4 supported by AIM, with a range of exclusive new vinyl releases now revealed. 220 UK independent record stores are participating in #loverecordstores 2021 in addition to HMV, and 54 new vinyl editions will be released on the day, available in stores with remaining stock available online at 9pm that evening. Due to the demand in vinyl and capacity of global pressing plants, some releases will be available on pre-order only. Among the artists taking part are Arlo Parks, Mogwai, Editors, Plack Pumas, Sharon Van Etten, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Low, Soundgarden, Hinds, Sonic Youth, Soulwax, Slowdive, Shame and many more. Speaking on the news, Love Record Stores co-founder and PIAS MD Jason Rackham, said: “Love Record Stores 2021 is a celebration of the UK’s Record Stores.
Creative Ways to Display a Vinyl Record Collection: Don’t hide your sound equipment, use album covers as rotating art and make sure the collection is accessible to guests to keep the good vibes on tap. Maybe you’ve been amassing a pile of vinyl since “Thriller” was released, or perhaps you’re continuing to add to an inherited stack handed down through generations—or maybe you’re new to the scene altogether. The beauty of LPs is their appeal is as auditory as it is visual. “Vinyl records are to an audiophile what trophies are to an athlete: a symbol of passion,” says Amy Vroom owner of The Residency Bureau design studio in Seattle. Part of the joy in having them is how they’re displayed. Here, ideas from the design pros to maximize your collection for your listening and viewing pleasure.
Jakarta, ID | One last spin: Remembering legendary record store owner Lian Nasution: Among the sprawling antique businesses along Jl. Surabaya, Menteng, in Central Jakarta, one store has stood the test of time: a modest-looking roadside shop that has become a meeting spot for all kinds of music lovers from all over the world. It is a beloved record store owned by Lian Nasution, who passed away on July 13 at age 59 from a mix of liver complications and diabetes. People would flock there just to converse with fellow collectors and the shop owner, spin a record or two, and start digging for vintage Indonesian records. They would go home with vinyl records or cassettes that Bang Lian, as he is commonly known, would recommend. “If you like that, then you’ll love this,” he was wont to say. But most importantly, they would go home knowing they would come back again. Not just for the collection, but for Bang Lian’s presence himself.
Brooklyn, NY | Brooklyn duo The FMs release timely new single ‘Record Store’: Brooklyn duo Matte Namer and Frankie Rex (aka The FMs) are kicking off the weekend with the release of new music. The duo has shared a timely new track called “Record Store,” a song reflective of cherishing what once was and the things we’ve lost, wondering if we’ll ever get it back. Especially given the events of the last year, it’s definitely relevant. “’Record Store’ is about what once was and now isn’t,” says Namer of the track. “It’s about the loss of things we once took for granted and how we feel more passionately about those things after they stopped existing. As is often the case with The FMs, the song is also about freedom. In this instance it’s about losing our freedoms during the height of the Covid pandemic and wondering if we’ll ever get them back again.”
