Las Vegas, NV | Record City: Holiday shopping could make or break small businesses: It’s good to see customers back in Record City. The place has been open for 32 years but in 2020, that’s a tough one. The pandemic forced the doors here to close for more than two months. “That was mandated,” manager Joey McDonald said, “but we also wanted to do the right thing for community and society.” According to Yelp, close to 100,000 small businesses have closed their doors for good across the country. The Vegas Chamber doesn’t know what the number is here but does know the pandemic is historically hard on owners. “I know the number of businesses at risk in Southern Nevada and across the state,” said Mary Beth Sewald of the Vegas Chamber. “It’s worse than it’s ever been.” It might be no surprise that holiday shopping is that much more important now. 20% of a local store’s revenue comes during this time of year but with Americans fearing a virus and told to keep their distance; will online shopping do to a local record shop what streaming services new technologies threatened to do?
How is the Vinyl Record Industry Weathering COVID19? The vinyl record industry, and the wider music business, is a passionate industry led by devoted people. It’s a labor of love while at the same time providing a genuinely fulfilling livelihood to thousands across the globe. So what happens when an unexpected and unprecedented global crisis hits the industry you love? To learn more about the impact of COVID19 on the vinyl record industry, we spoke to a plethora of pros from across multiple disciplines. Depending on how much face-to-face contact is involved, the impact of COVID differs significantly. One person whose job very much depends on relationship building and in-person meetings is Graham Jones, a UK-based music distribution veteran, and the author behind Last Shop Standing and The Vinyl Revival. Graham’s entire career has centered around visiting physical record stores, so the impact on his daily work is far-reaching.
Dundalk, IE | Classified Records launch new website allowing you to shop their collection online: Local record store Classified Records have launched their new e-commerce website www.classifiedrecords.net The new site will allow people to buy a wide range of music and accessories from The Demesne shop at any time. Owner Neil Waters said: “While the latest lockdown means we are not allowed open our doors and serve the public, we are able to operate online. “We’ve spent three months building a site that has a lot of extra/additional features, making shopping on our site akin to actually being in a record shop – the interaction, the back-stories on a record, the sharing of information about said record etc. “We’ve been working very hard here behind the scenes and we’re delighted to be able to have the new shop available online.” You can check out the new site now at classifiedrecords.net
Croydon, UK | Croydon record store owner says lockdown 2 is ‘completely unnecessary.’ Others have warned of the ‘worry, strain and anxiety’ facing the town’s businesses. For the second time this year businesses across Croydon will close their doors as England enters a second lockdown. It means that all non-essential businesses including restaurants and bars will be closed from Thursday until at least December 2. Duncan Barnes who runs 101 Records in North End, thinks that the second lockdown is a bad idea and he is facing the possibility of closing the shop for good. He said: “[The lockdown] is totally unnecessary, we know more about this thing now, we know how to take care of ourselves and other people. “But we’ve got to do it so I am going to carry on doing my business online. “November has always been busy online before Christmas but the shop starts to pick up in November too, like everybody else the lockdown will have a bad impact.” Duncan said that he will soon be making a decision on whether to continue running the physical shop or just focus on the online business.
San Antonio, TX | The Edison phonograph makes first appearance in San Antonio at Alamo Literacy Hall in 1878. Record players and vinyl are making a comeback in 2020, as the vinyl albums outsold compact discs for the first time since 1986. But it was in 1878 when the original Edison phonograph made its first appearance in San Antonio at the Alamo Literacy Hall. By the late 1890s, Edison phonographs began to flood the market, which helped drop the price from $150 to $20 for a standard model. That helped put a phonograph in homes across the country. The early Edison cylinders could only hold about two minutes of music, but it didn’t take long for the technology to improve and soon, the phonograph went to discs and the record business was born.
J Dilla’s Welcome 2 Detroit reissued in 20th anniversary box set: With previously unreleased alternate mixes, studio takes, instrumental versions, and accompanying book. J Dilla’s Welcome 2 Detroit is being reissued in a 20th anniversary 7” box set, via BBE this February. The box set includes previously unreleased alternative mixes, studio takes, and instrumental mixes, alongside new interpretations by Azymuth and Japanese DJ/producer Muro. It also includes a book that delves into the story of how the album was made, with cameos from Amp Fiddler, Ma Dukes, and key contributors to the record. Pre-order Welcome 2 Detroit – The 20th Anniversary Edition here in advance of its February release, check out the artwork and tracklist below.
The Style Council’s Mick Talbot: 10 records that changed my life: “The sound of the Wurlitzer electric piano, Hammond organ and acoustic piano all work so well together.” A co-founder of The Style Council, keyboard player Mick Talbot has also been a member of Dexys Midnight Runners and The Power Station, and has toured with Candi Staton. It’s for his work with Paul Weller, Dee C Lee and Steve White that he’s best-known, though; The Style Council were formed in 1983, a year after the demise of Weller’s previous band, The Jam. With their quintessentially ‘80s pop/soul stylings, The Style Council were cut from decidedly different cloth, and went on to release four albums and 17 singles. Now, more than 30 years after their demise, we have a new career anthology to enjoy. Named (almost) after their biggest hit, Long Hot Summers: The Story Of The Style Council is available now in 2-CD and 3-LP vinyl packages. Compiled with the help of Weller himself, it also features the likes of Speak Like A Child, You’re The Best Thing, Ever Changing Moods and Shout To The Top. To mark the occasion, we asked Mick Talbot to look back even further: to the 10 records that changed his life.
