Boulder, CO | Music lovers bid farewell to Albums on the Hill: Owner Andy Schneidkraut is closing beloved Boulder music store. Andy Schneidkraut has owned Albums on the Hill for 35 years. But after Labor Day weekend, the longstanding record store on University Hill will close its doors permanently — and plenty of music buffs are making time to stop and say goodbye. “I’ve seen people that I haven’t seen for years,” Schneidkraut said, citing friends, family and customers who have come to Boulder from as close as Longmont to as far as Massachusetts. The decision to close is not a matter of business, said Schneidkraut, but a matter of health. After going through a kidney transplant and heart surgery in the spring, Schneidkraut said he realized it was time for him to take a step back. “Sometimes, you don’t want to let go of things, but decisions are forced upon you,” he said. “I’m at the point where it isn’t a good choice for me to die behind the counter.”
Glasgow, UK | Glasgow is the UK’s vinyl capital: Almost a third of the nation’s record collectors are based in the Scottish city. Glasgow is the UK’s vinyl capital, according to a new study of collecting habits by the coin-makers at The Royal Mint. According to The Royal Mint’s findings, Glasgow boasts 32% of the UK’s vinyl collectors. The news may come as a surprise to those who assumed all the country’s record collectors were living in East London. The report also included some other interesting tidbits, including that Southampton has the highest percentage of coin collectors at 47%, while 22% of sneaker obsessives are based in London. Check out the full list.
Tulsa, OK | Tulsa Punk Rock Flea Market supports alternative music scene: Music, mohawks and metal studs filled the Expo Square for annual Tulsa Punk Rock Flea Market. Michelle Cozzaglio, the co-owner of the Tulsa Punk Rock Flea Market said it’s about alternative culture. “It’s really focused on alternative culture, alternative music, punk, hardcore, metal, rock and roll, stuff like that,” she said. Cozzaglio grew up in the Tulsa punk scene and said her favorite part about the market is bringing the community together. “It’s really fun, you see all your friends you used to know a lot closer, and it’s also supporting small businesses and artists,” she said. Unique vendors sold art, clothing, jewelry and records. Many of the of the vendors represented punk rock’s do-it-yourself culture. “DIY is very much, you know, what we do.” said Cozzaglio. She said the idea for the flea market started eight years ago with humble beginnings.
Hot Springs, NC | New vinyl record-themed pizza shop to open in downtown Hot Springs: In the past, Hot Springs has lacked an establishment that specializes in possibly the most popular food option in history: pizza. Soon, that will change, as Vinyl Pies Pizza owners Karen and Gary Goss hope to open the pizzeria and sports bar by the end of September. The vinyl record-themed pizzeria will offer specialty pies, listed as its “Greatest Hits,” while patrons can customize their pies in the “What I Like About You” portion of the menu. The shop will also offer two dessert pizzas, according to Gary Goss. “The unofficial town motto is ‘Where Mayberry meets The Twilight Zone,'” Karen Goss said. “So, we said ‘Pizza, plus a throwback theme – magic.'” …”Marty came and was here one night, and he said, ‘Let’s get pizza,’ and we all started laughing,” Karen Goss said. “I think I came up with the ‘Vinyl Pies’ name, and Gary came up with the pizza idea. We told (Martin), and he said, ‘That’s genius. I’ll do that with you guys tomorrow.'”
Fergus Falls, MN | Tune into the new vinyl listening station at the library: Vinyl records are now part of Fergus Falls Public Library’s collection of circulating materials. Along with records for checkout, the library has added a listening station and a portable record player for checkout. The vinyl comeback started several years ago and we knew we wanted to be a part of the return to vinyl partly because the sound quality is so superior to other recording formats. The vinyl craze has spread across generations. During a school field trip, an elementary student and vinyl enthusiast enquired as to what genres of music we would be adding to the collection. I was happy to respond, “all of them.” The library received a donation of more than 600 records that had belonged to Virginia Adams. Sam and Ginny loved all genres of music and collected recordings for decades. Sam and Ginny were ardent supporters of the library. The Adams family’s incredibly generous donation provided a special way to start building the record collection.
Long Beach, CA | Ozzy Osbourne announces ’Patient Number 9’ in-store signing: Here’s your chance to get an autograph from the Prince of the Darkness. Ozzy Osbourne will be signing copies of his upcoming new solo album, Patient Number 9, on September 10 at the Fingerprints record store in Long Beach, California. If you wish to attend, you’ll need to preorder a CD or vinyl copy of Patient Number 9. You won’t be allowed to take a photo with Ozzy, and you must wear a mask. For more info, visit FingerprintsMusic.com. The signing follows a series of recent public appearances from Ozzy, who’s been dealing with various health issues over the past couple years. In July, he made his debut at San Diego Comic-Con, and in August, he reunited with his Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi to perform at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the metal legends’ hometown of Birmingham, England.
5 High-Quality vinyl pressing plants in Asia: These pressing plants do great work & produce affordable records. YouTube may be the most popular platform to store music videos, but vinyl records are no doubt the best for storing tracks. Forget about the dusty pops you get occasionally when the needle hits the groove, and just bask in the deep warmth of analog richness. It’s not even up for discussion that music – especially well-produced and properly-mixed music – sounds better on vinyl. Although infinitely more people are on Spotify and Apple Music, vinyl is still selling strong in the music industry, among both musicians and fans everywhere. Vinyl sales are up because vinyl enthusiasts and collectors are buying more and more records. That means there are more pressing plants to service this regrowing trend. In Asia alone, there are five quality vinyl pressing plants with plenty of choices like Mobineko, Machang Music & Pictures, Toyokasei, ResurRec, and PrimeDisc.
