Vinyl revival – record sales! Playing LP records is truly on a continuing upward trend. There has been an astonishing turnaround in record sales over the last few years. For those that haven’t been paying attention, 2014 witnessed the highest vinyl sales in 20 years and 2015 saw the trend continue to the point that we’re at now where in the UK you can pick up some of the black stuff whilst cruising around the local supermarket.
Vinyl record sales hit 20 year high: There we were, begging our parents for an iPod – one of the first gadgets to bring digitised tunes to the masses. Now, here we are, scouring the music shops, which weren’t so long ago on the precipice of closing, for exactly the opposite. Vinyl is well and truly back. Not convinced? Well, gird your loins. According to the Record Industry Association of America, revenue from vinyl rose 32 per cent last year to $416 million – the highest since 1988.
Barnes & Noble Celebrates Its Expanded Vinyl Music Selection with a National “Vinyl Day” on August 13: Barnes & Noble, Inc. the nation’s largest retail bookseller and a leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced that it will host a special “Vinyl Day” on Saturday, August 13, in celebration of its growing selection of vinyl records and related products such as turntables, music magazines and more (www.BN.com/VinylDay). An entire day dedicated to vinyl records and music, Vinyl Day will take place at all of Barnes & Noble’s 640 stores nationwide and will feature exclusive albums, signed vinyl editions and giveaways, with select stores hosting live music appearances and events.
The world’s best record shops #031: Tracks, Rio de Janiero: While Rio may not have the same reputation for record shops that Sao Paulo does…the spiritual home of samba does offer a huge variety of options. And while digging in the city is now harder than ever, there are still enough dusty second hand spots to get your kicks. Tracks, however is not one of them. At the other end of the record store spectrum, it’s as much a bookshop and cultural hub, with the arts, literature and cinema also catered for. Tucked away upstairs however you’ll find a vinyl corner that will set your heart a fluttering, with a curated selection of classic Brazilian MPB along side cheaper crates and a fair few 7″s. While the selection is modest, there’s more than enough here for those still discovering the scene.
Why the video store isn’t extinct – yet: It’s a struggle to stay open. Bendall relies a lot on loyal customers who keep him afloat by renting out British television series and older movies that aren’t available online. He said offering niche content is key to survival and might even lead to a bounce back. “If you look at things like books and vinyl records, those were proclaimed dead, and anyone who owned a bookshop or a record store, you know, were thought to be crazy, but they both made a comeback,” he said. “I think the video store can definitely make a comeback as well.”
After Decades on the Skids, Vinyl Shows Rediscover DFW: For years, record shows have avoided Dallas-Fort Worth like the plague. There were too many failed efforts that cost organizers and vendors money, so no one wanted to take the risk. But that’s very much changed: North Texas has at least four record conventions slated for this year alone, the third of which will be this Sunday’s DFW Record Show First Spin in Hurst. Vinyl sales have grown over the past decade. Domestically, fewer than a million albums were sold in 2007, but in 2015 that number had spiked to almost 12 million. It’s a far cry from vinyl’s heyday in the ’70s, but it’s good enough for Jesse Galvan, the mind behind the San Antonio Record Show and now the Dallas Record Show.
