Melbourne, AU | Melbourne businesses say online sales and government help is key to surviving stage-four lockdown: …Over at Vinyl Space, a record store on Johnston Street, Collingwood, owner Mick Smajdor said business would also take a dive. “We basically have to close the shop, which probably represents about 40 to 50 per cent of my turnover, so basically it’s a massive part of the business,” Mr Smajdor said. The shop had remained open during most of the first lockdown, but has now closed in line with government advice. “We’re lucky though that we do have a fairly strong online presence through eBay and Discogs,” he said. But the downside was they hadn’t been able to qualify for JobKeeper, owing to an increase in revenue immediately leading up to COVID-19. “Unfortunately, because of the way the business grew quite a lot in the last 12-month period specifically, because of the online growth we’ve had, we’re not able to get the government support [like JobKeeper],” Mr Smajdor said.
Milwaukee, WI | Two friends just opened a vintage clothing and mid-century decor shop in South Milwaukee with an in-house record store: …One room of the shop, with a listening station, is dedicated to Swing Boogie Stomp, Natalie Gajewski’s husband Joe Gajewski’s vinyl and DJ business. “It’s always been kind of a pipe dream to open a record store,” said Joe, AKA DJ Nailhead. One room of Dupree’s in South Milwaukee is dedicated to Swing Boogie Stomp, Joe Gajewski’s vinyl and DJ business. Joe has about 6,000 records, both vintage and new releases, including ones from Hi-Tide Recordings, Swelltune Records, Wild Records, and Bloodshot Records. “A lot of it is vintage-inspired,” he said. In addition to DJing at car shows and vintage fashion shows, and having a podcast, Joe is a personal banking representative and in the Marines. “He’s the only client I ever went on a date with,” Natalie Gajewski laughed
Shanghai, CN | Old technology? Yes, but vinyl phonograph records still attract music purists: To music purists, the next best thing to attending a live concert is to hear music on vinyl records. It may be outdated to most people, but vinyl possesses a more “real” sound than CDs or digital downloads. The recent announcement by Chinese pop singer Jay Chou that he will release vinyl versions of all his 14 albums has put a renewed spotlight on the old format of music recording. Rather coincidentally, Shanghai Vinyl Records Association also announced its formation last month, dedicated to promoting vinyl recordings and looking for new innovations in the development of the format. Are we witnessing a revival of vinyl in China? According to Xu Bing, president and founder of the new Shanghai Vinyl Records Association, listening to vinyl records is a retro trend, especially for the younger generation. Vinyl is carving out a niche market.
Shelbyville, TN | Most Expensive Motown Vinyl Record Ever Sold Comes To American Airwaves For First Time, Courtesy Of Uncle Nearest: …Only 250 demo copies of the 7″ vinyl record were ever pressed. As few as two are reported to have survived with the rest being intentionally destroyed when Wilson made the decision to be a Motown producer rather than a singer. It is believed that one of those two vinyls are in the private collection of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, while the other landed at a famous English Northern soul nightclub in Wigan, England, where the song became a cult classic in the ’60s and ’70s. Due to its enormous popularity, the album was officially released in the UK in 1979. It is arguably the most popular Northern Soul record of all time and remained No. 1 on the Northern Soul charts as late as 2015.
Glasgow, UK | Divine! Inspiration: We speak to the man behind Glasgow’s longest running club night as it turns 30. Divine! was established in July 1990 by DJ Andrew Divine ‘as an excuse to play my favourite records up loud’, and it’s been anything but a heartache ever since… Glasgow’s longest running club night, Divine!, is hosting a special live stream DJ set to celebrate it’s 30th birthday this weekend – and everyone is invited to roll up the rug and join the party. Divine! was established in July 1990 by DJ Andrew Divine “as an excuse to play my favourite records up loud” in the Victoria Café at Glasgow School of Art while he was studying there. Since then it has established a solid-gold reputation via its unique 60s & 70s vinyl soundtrack, featuring a mix of northern soul, deep funk, dynamite ska, garage punk, psychedelia, latin beats, funky soundtracks – with the nights akin to ten retro club nights rolled into one. The night has since shifted online to keep the tunes sounding and the party going amid the coronavirus pandemic, with ‘Divine!-at-a-Distance’ being broadcasting live from Andrew’s attic in Glasgow’s southside twice a month to new fans and old regulars all over the globe.
