Caversham, UK | Online record seller opens shop: A record shop has opened in Caversham. Pop Classics in Church Street was launched after the success of the business selling music online. To mark the occasion, the store was decorated with a balloon arch and the first 10 customers were given free merchandise. Owner Damian Jones has been buying and selling vinyl online since the start of the millennium. He said: “We decided it was time to take the plunge. We do not know how it is going to pan out or what the uptake is going to be but so far it is looking promising. “I have been collecting and selling records for the past 23 years and there has always been a collector base. People have always collected records and loved the clarity of the music. “DJs have always bought records but in the last 10 years there has been a boom with the resurgence of vinyl production and the falling popularity of CDs. Record stores have always helped the love of this old style of listening.”
Cheyenne, WY | Cheyenne’s Downtown Vinyl changes ownership after more than 18 years: Things are pretty much the same as always at Downtown Vinyl, except for one thing. After more than 18 years of operation, owner Don McKee has sold the store. The information came as a surprise to longtime patrons when McKee announced his departure on Downtown Vinyl’s Facebook page just the day before his departure. “I’ll be doing lots of exploring, traveling, reading, and, of course, listening to lots of music,” McKee wrote in the post. “Thank you very much for 18+ years of support, fun, and conversation!” There was one person who knew about the change, made official on Sept. 11, and that was the woman who stands behind the counter now. Kay Bybee, the new owner of Downtown Vinyl, formerly known as Phoenix Books & Music, was a longtime patron of the shop, and plans to keep the atmosphere of the location just as McKee had built it.
Edinburgh, UK | 10 Edinburgh record shops that were a rite of passage back in the day: Back when a stream was a small river, an apple was just a fruit and YouTube sounded more like an insult, Edinburgh was stacked with record stores that kept the good times spinning. A trip to the record store was considered a rite of passage for Edinburgh music fans back in the day, and we all had our favourites. While there has definitely been a bit of a vinyl resurgence in recent years, it’s nothing compared to the days when there were umpteen record stores to choose from around the city centre alone. The late 20th century was a golden era for the record store scene in Edinburgh. They weren’t just shops where we purchased singles and LPs, but they also served as spaces to discover new sounds, wax lyrical with like-minded souls and exchange tastes and knowledge. We take a look at 10 Edinburgh record stores that were must-visit establishments back in the day.
St. Louis, MO | Marc Maron Visits St. Louis and Falls in Love With Us, Basically: He shouted-out Euclid Records, Akar, Frida’s, Small Batch and more on his podcast today. Marc Maron has a long history with St. Louis. The Los Angeles-based comedian has been touring comedy clubs for years, and he always makes time to stop in St. Louis and enjoy all that we have to offer. He also has a special relationship with our town because he’s had a long-time obsession with ice cream from Clementine’s Creamery. Clementine’s used to send Maron pints of its ice cream until he called it off out of fear of gaining weight. Maron was in town over the weekend again to do some shows at Helium Comedy Club (1151 St. Louis Galleria Street) in Richmond Heights, and while he was here, he dropped in on some of his favorite spots and experienced some new places, as well. …Still, he says the highlight of his trip to St. Louis was visiting Euclid Records (19 North Gore Avenue, Webster Groves).
Kansas City, MO | Voted the best record store in Kansas City, 7th Heaven fulfills all of your vinyl-related needs: 7th Heaven, featured on Very Local’s “Hit Me With Your Best Spot,” opened in 1974, located on Troost Ave. in Kansas City. Located on Troost Ave. is the best rated record store in Kansas City. 7th Heaven will fulfill all of your vinyl-related needs selling local artists, classics, and new releases. “It’s kind of a cool vibe, music really kind of defines the space. In the last 35 years it’s really been about the music and the life style that goes with music” Owner Jan Fichman said. The Vinyl Underground at 7th Heaven won first place in Pitch KC’s Best of KC 2022 Best Record Store category. They also won in 2021. To learn more why 7th Heaven is one of the top spots in Kansas City and how Tech9 left his mark at the location watch “Hit Me With Your Best Spot” streaming on Very Local.
Philadelphia, PA | A guide to music in Philly: record stores, concerts and the local scene: Going out to explore music in Philadelphia can be one of the most exciting new things about moving into the city. While it can get a bit expensive, it will most likely be worth the time and money. This guide will explain a bit about the local scene, give recommendations on where to shop, overview the general venue choices and tell you how to get involved through Drexel.
Norwich, UK | Record shop urges music lovers not to throw away CDs – they could be worth thousands: Streaming may have taken over as the most popular way to listen, but many music lovers are still longing for physical copies of their favourite albums. First, it was vinyl which saw a revival in record shops across the UK, but now the CD comeback is underway with dealers reporting that rare albums on the format are at their highest-ever price. While you can probably forget about getting big bucks for Brittany Spears, some of the discs changing hands for decent cash might come as a surprise, with 1980s Eurovision stars Bucks Fizz’s Greatest Hits sometimes selling for as much as £60. It comes after online music marketplace, Discogs, reported a 37pc rise in CD sales during 2020 and that trend has continued to grow, with the format accounting for one in five items sold on the platform by the end of 2022. Some of the highest prices for CDs on the marketplace include a Woodstock festival compilation called Back to the Garden, which sold for a whopping £2,128, a single of Michael Jackson’s Smile, which went for £2,016 and Bob Dylan’s 50th Anniversary Collection which made £1,956.
New York, NY | Hip-Hop Is the Music of Vinyl Librarians: Of all the clichés about hip-hop we’ve endured over 50 years, the idea that hip-hop is the product of the streets — with all the attendant implications about what and who is and isn’t authentic — remains the most tiresome. In reality, hip-hop is largely the product of kids who stayed inside. For five decades, beneath all the bluster and braggadocio, behind every park jam, party, stage show, flashy album cover or video, there were hours upon hours spent in a room, alone or with friends — amid dozens, sometimes hundreds, of records — experimenting, practicing, in spirited study. The records are the key to it all. From the very beginning of the culture, the earliest rappers or M.C.s were there simply to point to the D.J.: Listen to what he’s doing. With two turntables and a mixer, the D.J. composed in real time — annotating, cross-referencing and building on a living library of specific beats and sounds that would become the foundation of hip-hop.
Lacey Township, NJ | Record Thief Targeting Rare Punk Vinyl in Statewide Operation: Record store owners across New Jersey have identified a man they suspect is targeting businesses and stealing high-priced classic punk and 80s vinyl. To date, three record stores have been hit. Yearbook Records in Lacey, the Vinyl Dinosaur in Bayville and Randy Now’s Man Cave in Heightstown. According to Yearbook Records, on Tuesday, September 12, around 1:30 pm, the customer came into the store. “He’s been in before, somewhat chatty and friendly. I didn’t think much of it, answered any questions he had, etc. He purchased three used records for a total of $26, then asked some questions about other items in the store,” the company said. “He placed what he purchased down near the used records, looked around for a few more minutes, then picked up his records and left.” The owners, Chris Jamieson and Lureal Furfaro said they didn’t have a good feeling after he leadt and later realized three high-priced records were suddenly missing from the store.
