Lancashire, UK | Established Lancashire music business dancing to different tune following takeover: Lancashire-based music retailer, Townsend Music, has been acquired by Dutch distributor and vinyl producer, Artone, for an undisclosed sum. Established in 1978 in Great Harwood, Townsend Music has grown into a global direct-to-customer e-commerce retailer and distributor of physical music products. The company hosts artists’ websites and has collaborated with more than 1,000 performers including Kylie Minogue, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Van Morrison, Simply Red and Placebo. Its last accounts, filed at Companies House, showed that it achieved turnover of £13.899m in the year to August 30, 2023, down from £15.352m the previous year, and a pre-tax profit of £1.278m, compared with £1.583m in 2022. Artone was founded in 2022, through a merger of Bertus Distribution and Record Industry. The business specialises in the sale of physical music products, including vinyl pressing, distribution and label services
Wheaton, IL | Wheaton’s Mile Long Records moving to a larger space: Mile Long Records, an independent record store in Wheaton, will be celebrating its 10th anniversary in October and a move to a new location. Owner Michael Paeth announced Saturday, Sept. 21, that Mile Long is moving to a new spot at 128 W. Liberty Drive, also in Wheaton. Since October 2014, the store has been at 350 W. Front St., just north of the Union Pacific West railroad tracks. Paeth said he plans to move nonessential inventory within a week. Paeth looks to be operational on Liberty Drive by mid-October. The Front Street location will remain open until the move. “I’m looking forward to it,” Paeth said. “I think we’ll make a smooth transition from one to another.” The new location is south of the tracks, near the corner of Liberty Drive and Wheaton Avenue. For years, it housed an office of the Illinois Secretary of State Vehicle Services Department. Most recently, Pedego Electric Bikes was there. The new Mile Long Records, a wider and deeper footprint of roughly 2,000 square feet, will give Paeth more space than what he has on Front Street.
Arlington Heights, IL | New Arlington Heights antique shop offers curiosities, oddities and plenty of kitsch: Inspired by her uncle’s love of collecting, Sarese Hranicka has operated Uncle Lee’s Closet shop within antique malls in Elgin, Woodstock and Madison, Wisconsin, for the last decade. Now, she’s ready to formally grand open a multi-vendor vintage shop of her own—Arlington Heights Antiques—this weekend. The 1,750-square-foot storefront at 1723 E. Central Road quietly started welcoming foot traffic over the summer as Hranicka, daughter Elory and six others who rent space started setting up their displays. The shop —formerly a dry cleaners—is in the same strip mall as the popular and long-standing Mr. Allison’s diner. The new place has a variety of everything that’s old: art, furniture, sculpture, clothing, jewelry, glassware, comic books, vinyl records, and a section labeled “curiosities and oddities” (like preserved sheep eyeballs and octopus in sealed glass containers).
Edinburg, TX | Edinburg’s Groove Garden opens its doors to vinyl enthusiasts: What started out as selling records from his personal collection at pop ups, Juan Campos has transformed his passion for music into a new full-fledged record store, Groove Garden, giving the Valley another destination for vinyl desires. Located at 1519 South McColl Rd. in Edinburg, Groove Garden held its grand opening on Saturday. Campos, the owner of the record store, said he was nervous about the store’s first day. “I’ve been really stressed about the turnout because you never know exactly if people are going to come out,” he said. Despite a downpour of rain most of the afternoon, the store saw a strong turnout. The record store has about a thousand vinyls with the four main genres of the store being hip-hop, indie rock, jazz, and funk and disco. Having a deep passion for those four genres but especially funk and disco music, Campos said he felt there was a void for that type of sound in the Valley.
Middletown, NY | Wrestling star makes surprise visit to Hudson Valley record shop: AEW Wrestling star Harley Cameron and crew were recently spotted at a popular area record shop. Rock Fantasy in Milddetown has been the go-to area record shop for hard rock/metal lovers and music fans in general for decades. The shop has always hosted concerts in the area as well as special events like meet and greets with rockers and wrestlers throughout the years. …Stephen Keeler, Owner of Rock Fantasy in Middletown, NY that a crew from AEW were traveling from Wilkes Barre, PA to Springfield Mass when they just happened to stop into his shop to check it out as they like to look for record shops while on the road. He said that first, two AEW camera men came into the shop. They were playing pinball and purchased a Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) action figure. Then RJ City, a member of the AEW interview team, came into the store and was accompanied by Harley Cameron.
Upton, CT | Popular record store in downtown Upton says it will close after 16 years in business: After 16 years in downtown Upton, The Nevermind Shop is closing its doors next month. The store, which contains thousands of records, will close at 1 Milford St. (Route 140) on Oct. 19. Owner Mick Lawless said he and the store will move to Connecticut so that he can pursue other ventures. “I just feel it in my heart that a lifestyle change and a move is best for me,” Lawless told the Daily News in a phone interview. “We’ll keep the tradition of The Nevermind Shop going out in Connecticut because anyone is welcome to visit. We’re going to build on our legacy.” …Lawless said he’s program director for MonkeeMania Radio, a Live365 online radio station dedicated to The Monkees, a mid-1960s pop rock band. He said opportunities in music and retail are better in Connecticut. However, Lawless said the 16 years in Upton have been filled with memories of connecting with his customer base and building a community.
Travis Scott finally soars to No. 1 on the strength of vinyl: The Billboard charts are fickle this week. Sure, Shaboozey remains immovable at the top of the Hot 100 singles chart, where “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” sits for an 11th nonconsecutive week. But on the albums chart, Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet is displaced from No. 1 by the 10th-anniversary release of Travis Scott’s 2014 mixtape Days Before Rodeo. That record leaps from No. 106 all the way to No. 1, thanks to a massive flood of vinyl sales. And, while physical media also help propel Eminem back into the top 10, last week’s most prominent debuts all take massive plunges—in many cases off the charts entirely. …There’s a fair bit of precedent for vinyl-fueled chart climbs. In 2022, for example, Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost soared from No. 120 to No. 1 on the strength of its vinyl release. And Scott isn’t the only rapper to benefit from physical media this week: Eminem’s The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grace), which topped the chart earlier this summer, rebounds from No. 42 to No. 7 thanks to a deluxe reissue and a release on CD.
Lisbon, PT | The 14th Lisbon Vinyl Fair is coming up: The Vinyl Fair is back in Lisbon, with various events that will take you back in time to the sound of the record player. The 14th edition of the Lisbon Vinyl Fair will take place on September 27, 28 and 29 at the Santa Clara Market, where Lisbon’s most famous flea market usually takes place, the Feira da Ladra. The Lisbon Vinyl Fair is an unmissable event for aficionados of music in the physical vinyl format, and this edition promises to once again bring together various exhibitors, offering everything from timeless classics to musical rarities, as well as record player accessories and equipment. The upcoming fair will be free to enter and is already considered a unique opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts to explore and acquire new musical treasures, while enjoying a vibrant atmosphere full of music lovers. This edition will have around 30 exhibitors, many of them international and with various styles of music from different years and decades.
Denver, CO | Accusations fly as fired Vinyl Me, Please execs update lawsuit against former employer: The Denver record-subscription service fired the executives in March and sued them in May, alleging financial misdeeds. A trio of executives fired from Denver-based Vinyl Me, Please record club have responded to an updated lawsuit against them by adding details to counter-suits that they say prove their innocence. They are alleging breach of contract and withheld severance, which they say stems from vindictive board members at the Denver-based company. Adam Block and Cameron Schaefer filed a countersuit against the company over the summer and updated it on Sept. 13, in response to an amended complaint from VMP, which was filed on Aug. 30. …The back-and-forth has been going for nearly five months. The VMP board in March fired and in May sued Block, Schaefer and Kylberg for allegedly diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars in company funds to a separately owned record-pressing plant in the River North Art District, which the suit characterized as a pricey pet project. They used NDAs, a secret codename and other methods to obscure the project, VMP’s lawsuit alleges.
