Bridport, UK | Community group unsuccessful in saving Bridport Music from closure: Hopes to save a much-loved record store have been dashed. A community group of investors has been unsuccessful in its efforts to take over Bridport Music. It was announced last month that the shop faces closure, should a buyer not come forward, and a group of interested parties came forward with an interest in taking over the business as a community benefit society. Following an initial public meeting at The Ropemakers, a steering committee was formed. According to campaign co-ordinator Josef Davies-Coates, those who attended had experience in community fundraising, retail in the music market and business start-ups and finance. Following a number of meetings an offer was put forward to the owners but ‘regrettably’ it was not accepted, said Mr Davies-Coates. “In view of the shortness of the time period allowed for negotiations, it has not been possible to reach any resolution,” he said.
Ashby, UK | Retro vinyl records and CDs to be sold off and this is when: If you’re a lover of retro vinyl records, then you will want to put this date in your diary, as tens of thousands of records and CDs are to be sold off. More than 40,000 records and CDs are set to be sold at an auction at The Attic, in Ashby , after the independent music shop closed in August. The Attic was named the eight best independent music shop in the country during its four years in the market town. New and pre-owned vinyls and CDs will be for sale, with everything from 50s classics, Motown, 1980s pop and even death metal on offer. Valuer Stuart Hay said: “The auction is an absolute must for anyone who likes music. “There’s 40,000 new and pre-owned records including picture discs as well as 12ins and 7ins vinyl and there’s also CDs – six lots of 400-plus CDs each. “There’s every sort of music you can think of – 1950s, easy listening, 1980s pop, punk and death metal. “One of the lots features 37 Beatles LPs. There really is something for everyone.”
Chicago, IL | For First Time in 30 Years, Vinyl Records Being Made in Chicago: Andy Weber has always loved vinyl records. Listening to them “allows you to slow down, sit back and listen to a side for 30 minutes,” he says. “Then sit back with your record jacket just like it’s a fine book to read.” As a Chicago DJ at CHIRP Radio, Weber has heard a lot of frustration from artists in the local music scene when it comes to releasing their music on vinyl. “Friends in bands would say they aren’t going to do vinyl because of cost and because of six-month wait times, and horror stories of shipments showing up damaged and the record plants not taking responsibility for it,” he said. So Weber and some friends started their own record plant, the first in Chicago in about 30 years. Production at Smashed Plastic began in February, and they say 90% of their orders have been from Chicago bands and labels. Co-owner John Lombardo also owns a small label. He says it amazes him that vinyl works at all.
Vinyl Record Sales Surging In 2019: Sales of vinyl records continue to surge in 2019 and are likely to outsell CDs for the first time since 1986, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) mid-year report. Vinyl records made $224.1 million on 8.6 million units in the first half of 2019, gaining ground on the $247.9 million on 18.6 million units brought in by CD sales. Vinyl sales have risen 12.9% in the first six months of 2019 while CD sales have been stagnant. If these numbers continue to hold, actual honest-to-gosh records will shortly be earning more money than compact discs. Paid subscriptions to streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music still account for 62% of industry revenue but vinyl is rapidly regaining its popularity as a listening format. It only makes up four percent of recording industry income but fans of the medium are finding vinyl albums to be a more connected and emotionally invested way of consuming music than online streaming. Records are sexy, intriguing, and exotic to those who missed them the last time around and deliver a tactile music experience not attainable via streaming. Also, vinyl has a warmer, clearer sound than streaming technology can produce, which makes listening to records a gourmet meal for your ears
San Francisco, CA | Vinyl: The format that refuses to die. Sales of premium audio equipment that allows listeners to fully appreciate the rarefied quality of analog records have been experiencing a boom as a certain segment of music fans rediscovers a passion for high-fidelity sound. In addition to a rise in the number of audiophiles who enjoy listening to music on such systems at home, cafes offering private booths equipped with record players have also appeared. Soji Nagase is one such audiophile. At his home in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture, the 65-year-old doctor has a 45-square-meter soundproofed listening room lined with speakers, amps and other kinds of audio equipment. A record player is a recent addition to his hi-fi line-up, Nagase said. Nagase started collecting vinyl records when he was young. His interest in the format was reignited this spring after attending a music event at which the organizers played records produced by “direct-to-disc” – a recording method in which the audio is recorded directly onto master discs without using magnetic tape.
Beyond Vinyl: 8 Tracks Made With Surprising Sample Sources: The art of sampling in hip-hop and sample-based instrumental music has often been thought of as someone taking sounds from vinyl records and recontextualizing them into something new. The truth is, the history of sampling and sample sources is much more complex, rich, and varied. From cassette tape snippets to recorded “found” sounds to YouTube videos, producers have utilized an incredibly vast array of source material from the very first days of sampling. Included below are eight unbelievable examples of sampling ingenuity employed by producers over the years. Hopefully you’ll look for an unorthodox sample of your own and create something amazing once you’re done reading.
Muse announces ‘Origin of Muse’ boxed set: In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the band’s debut album Showbiz, Muse have announced the release of the deluxe boxed set Origin of Muse, available December 6th via Warner Bros. Records. This deluxe set will chronicle the band from their early beginnings in Devon, their early demos, first EPs, debut album and breakthrough record Origin of Symmetry. The collection is housed in a 48-page casebound book which sits in a rigid board slipcase with anti-scratch and matte laminated finish with a spot gloss. The book contains an extensive and in depth interview with Matt, Dom and Chris as they talk about the earliest beginnings of the band, as well as the recording and release of their debut album Showbiz through Origin of Symmetry. The book also incorporates original posters, setlists, photographs and contact sheets, which are inserted and can be pulled out from the book as well as original artwork and all CDs and vinyl.
Rolling Stones’ Classic ‘Let It Bleed’ For Lavish 50th Anniversary Reissue: It’s a lavish new edition of the groundbreaking and multi-platinum album, which went to No. 1 in the UK and No. 3 in the US on its first release late in 1969. On 1 November, ABKCO Records will release the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed (50th Anniversary Limited Deluxe Edition) as a 2LP/ 2 HybridSuper Audio CD set. It’s a lavish new edition of the groundbreaking and multi-platinum album, which went to No. 1 in the UK and No. 3 in the US on its first release late in 1969. The new edition was entirely remastered in both stereo and mono by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering. The set features a reproduction of the 1969 7” mono picture sleeve single ‘Honky Tonk Women’/’You Can’t Always Get What You Want.’ That single was first released four months ahead of Let It Bleed, and went to No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic. ‘Honky Tonk Women’ was reprised on the album with a country flavour as ‘Country Honk.’ Three 12” x 12” hand-numbered replica-signed lithographs are also featured, printed on embossed archival paper, as well as a full colour 23” x 23” poster, with restored artwork from the Decca Records package of 1969.
The biggest football vinyl records collection in the world: A Swiss teacher has an endless archive on which you can spend your days: A unique and almost infinite collection, started by chance in the mid-90s: 45 Football is a huge musical archive of vinyl records covering football teams, footballers or football characters all around the world. The owner is a Swiss teacher, Pascal Claude, who over the years has managed to put up nearly 1000 45 rpm, or 7 inches, from every corner of the planet. A passion born by chance, as told in an old article that appeared in Inews.co.uk, when a friend returned from the Zurich flea market with the first record, a 7″ of the local team of FC Zurich. Since then the collection has increased resoundingly, also thanks to many gifts from friends, Claude has also exhibited his vinyls around Europe, in Berlin during the 2006 World Cup and several times in Austria, then in 2012 he has opened the website 45football.com (where you can also find the original audio), and finally recently decided to publish a book (Football Disco) that included the beautiful covers. Already, real works of art that take us back over the years, from the official songs of the World Cups (the first dates back to the Chile edition of 1962) to remote places and lower categories. The search for the covers was one of the reasons that gave the Swiss professor the willingness to continue.
