Category Archives: A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined

5 Unexpected Insights About Vinyl Record Buyers: The return of vinyl records is arguably one of the biggest comeback stories of the 21st-century music world. Just one example is artist Travis Scott, whose vinyl record sales recently pushed his album into first place on the Billboard charts. CivicScience data show that 20% of U.S. adults purchased vinyl records this year alone, up from 14% in 2020 and just 11% in 2015, with Gen Z leading the consumption craze. Nearly 40% of Gen Z adults aged 18-24 report they’ve made a vinyl purchase this year. The format almost went completely extinct with the rise of digital music distribution. Yet now, vinyl records are in the spotlight once more, as music buffs crave the nostalgia, and perhaps the aesthetic, embedded in each fragile disk. As a result, it may come as no surprise that vinyl record buyers display unique consumer habits. Keep reading to see what sets these music fans apart from the rest.

Evanston, IL | New old record store opens downtown: “I’m a Believer.” The sounds of that mid-1960s hit from The Monkees fill the store. But the music is not coming through Spotify, or Apple Music, or any of them newfangled purveyors of pop. Rather, it’s playing the way it was intended … back when Mickey Dolenz and colleagues laid down the tracks in 1966 … on a 33 1/3 rpm record, spinning on a phonograph. “The Monkees Greatest Hits” is one of about 40,000 records (yes, 40,000) that Evanstonian Greg Allen has collected over the years, records which Allen plans to make available at his new shop, Animal Records, which just opened at 624 Grove St. “I always wanted to open a record store,” Allen says, “but like everyone else, I had to earn a living.” But now that his kids are off to college, Allen says “my wife gave me the green light. I gave notice to my employer. I said, ‘hey guys, I’ve got to take this chance.’” Allen, and his sole employee, Aden Levine, are busy filling shelves and racks with all sorts of albums, from all musical genres.

Cottonwood, AZ | The Queen B Vinyl Café (fka Puscifer The Store) to Open in New Location: Previously operating under the name Puscifer The Store, cafe/record shop, The Queen B Vinyl Café, is set to open its (new) doors in Old Town Cottonwood at 102 E. Pima St. on Oct. 23. To celebrate, they present a week of events including comedy from Rory Scovel, a Q&A and book signing by Chet Zar, musical performances from Thou, Galactic Empire, and Night Club, and a special Gospel Brunch with The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers. …“Relocating and renaming Puscifer The Store to Queen B Vinyl Café is about more than just a change of location—it is about seizing new possibilities,” Jennifer Keenan, co-owner of the Queen B Vinyl Cafe. “With our new location, we’re able to bring more live events to the community, while expanding our food offerings with the addition of both a coffee roaster and ramen.”

El Cerrito, CA | Historic Bay Area record store has to pony up millions to stay in business: SFGATE contributor Jessica Lipsky reports on Down Home Music’s efforts to stay in its El Cerrito location. Situated along a mixed-use stretch of restaurants, groceries, housing and bars in El Cerrito, the building at 10341 San Pablo Ave. is something of a museum. Or museums, to be more precise. The two-room storefront houses the legendary Down Home Music, a 48-year-old record store dedicated to the sale and preservation of global roots music in its many forms. Upstairs is Les Blank Films, while an annexed home attached to the building is the site of the Arhoolie Foundation and its archive. The unassuming beige facade may not catch the eye of a driver speeding down San Pablo, but the building is an essential archive of art and cultural history. As of Oct. 11, it’s also up for sale.

Read More »

Owasso, OK | Store Owners Recover Stolen Records, Suspected Thief Caught On Camera In Owasso: The security footage shows a man walking into Screaming Earth Records in Owasso at 86th Street North and 129th East Avenue and taking several records from their sale bin. Two record store owners are frustrated with a man stealing several dozen records, worth hundreds of dollars and it was all caught on video. The stores did get their records back when the man tried to sell them at another store. The security footage shows a man walking into Screaming Earth Records in Owasso at 86th Street North and 129th East Avenue and taking several records from their sale bin. The store has only been open for a month, so the owners never expected to get hit this soon. “It’s horrible, especially in our case,” said Ben Sloma, the Co-Owner of Screaming Earth Records. “We’re really new, so we’re limited on what we have. Any loss of stock for us is devastating, it’s potential income.”

Carrboro, NC | ‘A big spot in my heart’: All Day Records remains a Carrboro staple for past 14 years: All Day Records, an eclectic record shop in downtown Carrboro, celebrated its 14th birthday on Sept. 29 with performances at the shop by local musicians and DJs. Ethan Clauset and Charlie Hearon founded All Day Records in 2009. They started out by acquiring records at thrift stores and other places to build their collection before they had a storefront. About a year and a half later they opened the store and have been going strong ever since, Clauset said. The store finds its roots in dance music culture, which Clauset has been heavily involved in throughout his life. As an undergraduate at UNC, Clauset worked at student-run radio station WXYC as a DJ. He later found himself spinning discs in the local music scene at house parties and Nightlight, the now-closed club that was owned by All Day.

Kelmscott, AU | Tributes flow for the music man: For forty years Adrian Loos has supplied the soundtrack to people’s lives from his eclectic Kelmscott music store. His shop persevered through each cataclysmic revolution in the music industry in large part due to his business savvy, but also because he offered the kind of old-school customer service that is becoming as rare as the obscure albums he tenaciously hunted down for his customers. And they paid back his effort and kindness in undying loyalty. That community is now mourning the loss of ‘the music man’, after his sudden passing last Tuesday morning. “It’s so sad – he was loved by everybody. And he would do anything for them. He dedicated his life to that shop and to music,” Stargate lotto kiosk owner and friend Effie said. There’s been a relentless stream of customers travelling from all parts of Perth to pay their respects since, and the condolence book out the front of Abbott’s Music Centre is rapidly running out of blank pages—a poignant indicator of the impact both Adrian and his life’s work had on people.

Houston, TX | Best Of Houston 2024: Best Record Store: Cactus Music. If you have lots of concerts on your calendar, you probably also have lots of visits to Cactus Music on your calendar, too. That’s because the venerable Houston record store, which is a multiple Best Of honoree in its category, brings lots of local and touring acts to its in-store stage ahead of larger shows later the same day. For instance, within the last year we’ve been able to joke around with piano man Ben Folds and hear songstress Molly Tuttle deliver a stirring mini-set ahead of their respective concert venue shows. No meet and greet fee, just Cactus opening its doors to the musicians we love and the fans who wish to meet them. Cactus Music does all the other things right, too, of course, offering a wide array of music in the various formats we’ve experienced over the years. There are books and fashion statements and anything else a record aficionado needs to curate an impressive collection.

Read More »

Record Store Day Black Friday returns 29th November: Record Store Day returns for Black Friday 2024. This year’s event sees special vinyl releases from more than 100 artists, including The Beatles, Bebe Rexha, Jungle, Garbage, and Rage Against the Machine. Consider all musical bases covered. As ever, all releases are special limited editions, and are available only from independent record stores. The doors open at 8am on Friday 29th November—that’s Black Friday for other retailers, too. …Record Store Day celebrates all things vinyl, with special releases, merchandise and live performances all part of the fun. It’s a chance to show your appreciation for everyone involved in the independent side of the music business, including workers at the stores, the labels, distributors and the artists themselves. The main event takes place in April, but Black Friday is an antidote to the online sales madness.

Evanston, IL | Animal Records vinyl store opens in Evanston: Longtime Evanston resident Greg Allen said he has dreamed of owning a record store all his life. Last month, his dream became a reality. Animal Records, located at 624 Grove St., opened Sept. 30. The store’s wares consist of records from Allen’s own extensive collection, turntables and record players. The store will also buy record collections for cash or store credit. “I’ve always been a record collector my whole life,” Allen said. “But I’m not gonna be alive forever, so what’s the point of just keeping all this crap in my house?” Allen said he bought his first record when he was 12. This year, he is 55. He’s finally ready to open his own record store since his youngest child just started college, he said. He added that many parts of the store are still a work in progress because he had to move and catalog his “colossal” collection out of his home. But he wanted customers to see the store anyway, he said.

Glasgow, UK | Love Actually star visits Glasgow record shop after filming ITV thriller in city: An actor from Love Actually was pictured visiting a record shop after filming a new ITV thriller in the city. Andrew Lincoln, who is known for his role as Mark in the 2003 romcom, visited Mixed Up Records on Otago Lane recently. The 51-year-old, who also starred in The Walking Dead, posed with a tote bag containing his new purchases from the music and movie store. Staff wrote: “Andrew Lincoln is very happy with his big bag of excellent records from Mixed Up! And he gets to take home one of our super cool tote bags too.” It comes after Lincoln was spotted filming a new television series in the city. The actor was shooting scenes for the upcoming programme Cold Water, which is described as an “intoxicating” new thriller for ITV. The story follows John (Lincoln), a repressed man who is shocked to find himself in middle age, secretly raging at his life as a stay-at-home dad.

New York, NY | Coldplay pops into New York City record store for surprise performance: Customers inside the store were suddenly treated to a live song by Coldplay—during which Chris Martin invited a woman celebrating her 70th birthday on stage. For a few lucky Coldplay fans, it was para-para-paradise. The band made a surprise appearance at the New York City record store Rough Trade on Tuesday morning, stopping in to perform a song for the customers shopping inside. Chris Martin and the seven-time Grammy winning band — who released their newest album “Moon Music” on Friday — performed an acoustic version of their latest single “feelslikeimfallinginlove.” “They kind of wanted it to be something where there were customers just shopping and, all of a sudden, they walk in and start playing,” said George Flanagan, the store manager. “Which is kind of exactly what happened.”

Read More »

Pittsburgh, PA | Ross record store meets demand for vinyl while continuing family tradition: Reports of vinyl’s death were greatly exaggerated. The mid-1980s advent of the compact disc prompted many a misguided music collector to dispense with scratch-susceptible records and replace them with the new medium. Eventually, the convenience of streaming services basically sent CDs the way of the dodo, while the products they supposedly supplanted are doing better than ever. “Last year, 2023, was the largest-selling year for vinyl records in the history of the business,” Shaler resident Mark Mawhinney reported. The 1981 North Hills High School graduate has witnessed the phenomenon go full circle, so to speak, from his time as a 10-year-old helping at his dad’s record store to running one of his own, Music to My Ear on Babcock Boulevard in Ross. Upstairs in the same building is a second business of his: Northern Audio, a carrier of top-end equipment for top-notch home entertainment. And yet another entrepreneurial venture is Spin-Clean, which manufactures kits to keep records pristine.

Wolverhampton, UK | I started my record collection after getting a paper round aged 12—now I have my own store: If you live in Wolverhampton and and have a passion for music you’ve almost certainly met Claire Howell. The 55-year-old is the owner of the city’s only independent record store whose love for vinyl started when she got her first job as a 12-year-old delivering papers. She then started her collection with her £4.50 weekly wages by copping records from Woolworths. Claire, who moved from Dorset to Pelsall, Walsall more than three decades ago made her hobby a profession when she was 23 by wheelin’ and deelin’ in record fairs – before making the jump and setting up her own store in South Wales before brining it to the Black Country. The veteran wax-dealer has been an ever-present in the city for the last 13 years, with her most recent store being located on Cleveland St, Wolverhampton, but before that was jetting around the world selling at record fairs and shows across Europe and even in the USA.

Seattle, WA | Burst pipe ruins more than 7,000 albums at West Seattle’s Easy Street Records: Workers at Easy Street Records are in clean-up mode this weekend after a pipe burst in their building damaged the beloved store. An apartment above the West Seattle shop had a pipe burst overnight, causing damage to thousands of items of merchandise. The store is powering through, as a Jelly Roll listening party is still on the schedule for Sunday night at 5 p.m. So far, the owner says $200,000 in damages, including at least 7,000 records, two dozen hoodies and tote bags have been lost to water damage. The owner, Matt Vaughn, told West Seattle Blog he has experienced “much worse” water damage to the store over the past 36 years. He added how grateful he was to the community who had helped get the place mostly cleaned up, save for a few fans and tarps on the sales floor. In a post to Instagram Sunday, the Easy Street Records account said, in part: “Please bear with us: Our store might look a bit messy right now, since the other night a pipe burst in the building… Thank you for your support. Loud love, Easy Street”

Chicago, IL | The Record Track, A Community-Minded Music Shop, Opening Soon In South Chicago: The record store-turned-outpost for music education and events will preview its newly renovated space with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday. A music shop and community center is preparing to open on 87th Street, and its owners are pitching the store to their South Side neighbors as an entry point into the world of music. The Record Track, 2804 E. 87th St., will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and sneak preview 1-6 p.m. Saturday. Local Latin funk band ESSO and DJ Ronnie will perform live music as attendees get familiar with the shop’s model of video-based music lessons, community jam sessions, instrument stations, audio recording and workshops. Food, games, local vendors and pony rides will also be available. “I’m super stoked about the ribbon-cutting, mostly to get an understanding of what our community is interested in,” said Connie Anderson, who co-owns the store with Clifton Muhammad.

Read More »

Kansas City, MO | Beloved Missouri Record Store Closing forever after 50 years: There are few record stores in Missouri that are better known than this one and truth be told, it has been much more than a place to find your favorite vinyl. Sadly, it will now be closing its doors forever in November. I saw the Kansas City Star report this week that 7th Heaven which has been a part of the lifestyle of that area for five decades. 7th Heaven has always been a combination of many things—music, smoke shop and really a community that embraced it and made it the special place that it is for many. KSHB in Kansas City spoke with owner Jan Fichman about the decision to close and he seemed to infer that the passing years and friends who have had medical problems and even passed on played a role in his decision to close the doors. Both stories say that 7th Heaven plans to close sometime in November, but no exact date has been decided upon just yet. A lot will depend on how quickly their current inventory can be sold and there is even talk of a big party to celebrate its last day.

Chicago, IL | Music Community Rallies Around Gramaphone Records Owner Michael Serafini After Fall: In less than a week, the Chicago music community has raised over $47,000 to help pay for Serafini’s medical bills. The Chicago music scene is rallying behind Gramaphone Records owner and DJ Michael Serafini after he fell and sustained serious injuries. Serafini was helping his partner move into a new home that was being partially remodeled when he fell through a hole in the floor and landed on concrete in the basement. He suffered multiple rib fractures, spinal fractures and a lacerated skull that required 10 staples. After weeks in the hospital and extensive physical therapy, the medical bills and medication costs added up. Serafini’s sister, Tina Serafini, started a GoFundMe to help pay for Michael’s bills. In just one week, friends in the Chicago music scene, regular customers of the record store and others have raised over $47,000 to help Serafini get back on his feet.

Seattle, WA | Community rallies around West Seattle record shop after flood: A West Seattle staple is recovering after a flood caused potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. A burst pipe in the apartment above Easy Street Records has destroyed an estimated 10,000 records and 500 hoodies, as well as other store merchandise. “We probably had three or four inches here on the floor,” said owner Matt Vaughan. “Then upstairs, that was just that was just raining down.” The pipe burst overnight Thursday into Friday. Vaughan estimates the water was running for several hours, before someone out on the street got a glimpse of it and called 911. “I really got to hand it to the Seattle Fire Department, because they found a way to get in here,” he said. “Busted through without making too much making too much damage, and was able to put tarps on most everything.” Vaughan still estimates the store is looking at roughly $200,000 in damage.

New Brunswick, CA | Longtime N.B. record store owner sells to Halifax-based Taz Records after 43 memorable years: Backstreet Records opened a Saint John shop in 1980, later expanding to Fredericton. Around 43 years ago, Gordie Tufts decided that after years of working in music retail, he was going to open his own used record store in Saint John. So off he went to Halifax to speak with the founder of Taz Records, the late Bob Switzer, and get some advice, as he owned a used record store at the time. And now, everything has come full circle. Tufts has decided to retire, and Taz Records is taking over ownership of the Saint John and Fredericton stores under a new name, Taz Backstreet. “It’s something after all these years to see it go to Taz,” Tufts said. The first Backstreet Records shop opened in 1980 in the Ritchie Building, a few doors from O’Leary’s Pub on Princess Street in uptown Saint John. But the store was destroyed by arson on Christmas Eve 1982. Two months later, Backstreet moved to a compact, 600-square-foot storefront at 124 Germain St., where it has been ever since.

Read More »

New Hope, MN | New Hope record store specializes in vintage stereo equipment: Music is an elemental part of Shawn Smith’s life. “Music has always been a part of me, like it’s in my blood,” he said. “You just can’t shake it.” Nicknamed “Smitty,” he’s the owner of Twin City Smitty’s Vintage Audio in New Hope. “Tinkering with music and electronics is probably in my genes,” he said. “Music has driven a lot of decisions in my life, especially to open this business.” His shop is nestled in a small industrial building near Medicine Lake Road and Louisiana Avenue. It’s one of the few that still deals in the high-fidelity world of solid-state stereo receivers. There’s a room in the shop dedicated to repair, where a technician revamps the old stereo units that may remind you of your grandparent’s house. Once the stereos are repaired, they sell them in-person and on eBay. They also repair turntables and speaker cabinets. With the resurgence of vinyl records, a younger crowd is discovering the appeal of physical media.

Toledo, OH | Culture Clash launches GoFundMe to save downtown record store: Calling all vinyl enthusiasts, music lovers, and everyone who watched Empire Records on repeat in the ’90s … Culture Clash Records is in trouble. Not unlike the 1995 Liv Tyler movie, a combination of economic woes, building zoning headaches, attorney and architect fees, and other financial maladies have caused Culture Clash owner Tim Friedman to turn to crowdfunding to keep the store, which has operated since 2004, alive. Friedman launched a GoFundMe campaign on Monday, with a fund-raising goal of $30,000. As of Thursday afternoon, the campaign had raised more than $8,500. Friedman took over Culture Clash in 2017 following the death of founder Pat O’Connor, the beloved Toledo businessman who previously ran the legendary Boogie Records. Friedman moved the store from its former location on Secor Road to the former Paula Brown Shop and Gallery, at 912 Monroe St. in 2020.

Kansas City, MO | 7th Heaven announces closure after 50 years of business: ‘Bought my first album there.’ If you ride down Troost Avenue in KCMO, you’re bound to pass by historic Kansas City staples that, for some, will bring back the nostalgia. Go Chicken Go, The Landing Mall, Niecie’s Restaurant and more. Further down, off 76th Street, stands a historic record store that has been a part of the fabric of inner Kansas City. After 50 years, 7th Heaven, a popular music record store, will close its doors in November. The announcement was made recently online and has since received overwhelming support.

Wausau, WI | Business Spotlight: Norwegian Wood. This week we shine a spotlight on Norwegian Wood, a new addition to downtown Wausau, which offers a refreshing blend of casual, affordable fashion, candles and other home goods, and a treasure trove of vinyl records. This unique shop, located in the heart of the city’s River District at 525 N. Third St., carries a thoughtfully curated selection of clothing alongside thousands of new and used records, catering to music enthusiasts and style-conscious shoppers alike. From rare finds in the vinyl bins to comfortable, stylish attire, Norwegian Wood brings together a cozy, laid-back shopping experience for anyone looking to discover something special. Store owners Tristan and Gabrielle Shier describe themselves as a regular couple with a shared dream of opening a welcoming space where all types of people can enjoy a one-of-a-kind retail experience.

Read More »

Toledo, OH | ‘Our 20th year in Toledo has been our toughest’: Culture Clash asking for support: Culture Clash Records moved from west Toledo to downtown in August 2020. Culture Clash Records is seeking support from the public after what it said has been its toughest year since opening 20 years ago. In a Facebook post Tuesday, Culture Clash listed a number of ways the public can support its operations. In a linked GoFundMe, store owner Tim Friedman said the store faces mounting costs incurred from expenses related to a building zoning issue after the business moved downtown in 2020. …”The future of Culture Clash has ignited a fire in me for years, and I still believe we are and will be a hub in Toledo’s community for live music, unique events, and the arts,” he said in the video. In the social media post, Culture Clash listed for supporters the ways they can help the business…

UK | I’m travelling to every record shop in the UK—here are my 10 favourites: From Orkney to Brighton, independent stores are treasure troves for vinyl hunters and a great way to while away a holiday afternoon. I still remember the excitement of buying my first vinyl aged 11, Duane Eddy’s great 1962 single (Dance With the) Guitar Man, and that bug has been with me ever since. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of digging through the racks and finding that elusive wishlist record. …lately my focus has been on visiting every record shop across the UK—and to buy something at every stop. Established shops close and new ones open on a regular basis and, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the number of independent record stores in the UK has reached a 10-year high. Last year there were 461, compared with 339 in 2014.

Boise, ID | Historic Idaho music shop keeps rollin’ (and rockin’) with the times: As Idaho’s largest independent music store, The Record Exchange has been tickling the ear drums of music enthusiasts of all kinds since 1977. The company’s founder, Michael Bunnell, worked as a logger in McCall in the mid-1970s and when an accident on the job left him severely injured, he used a small settlement from the logging company to open a record store which was inspired by the store of his youth: The original Tower Records in Sacramento, California. The Record Exchange was born. There are rows of vinyl records and CDs, funky T-shirts and socks, turntables and audio equipment, posters and much more. And what’s coming from the sound system varies from day to day—ranging from R & B, jazz, rock and everything in between.

Charlotte, NC | Charlotte: Some Cool Record Stores: In today’s day and age, we don’t have to go to the store to buy music, records, or anything like that. You can pretty much listen to any song ever online. I grew up in an age where vinyl records were the thing you bought or maybe a cassette tape of an album. I’m a little too young to have purchased 8-tracks, but I will tell you I still buy vinyl records. I sometimes buy new versions of vinyl records that I already have. I love the remastered versions with new liner notes. And I’ll admit it: I like it when they reissue vinyl in a different color. There’s something special about vinyl records. I don’t know if it’s the beginning of the record or when you hear those little pops and ticks before your song starts to play. It’s something I have always loved and continue to love as I listen to those vinyl records. …I did a little digging and found some of those wonderful brick-and-mortar record stores right here in Charlotte.

Read More »

Record Store Day announces special Black Friday drops from Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and more: Record Store Day has announced its exclusive releases for sister event Black Friday 2024, including very special vinyl offerings from superstars such as Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish and Noah Kahan. Record Store Day Black Friday returns on 29 November from 8am, with a line-up of vinyl releases exclusive to indie record shops up and down the UK. To find your local indie record store participating in Record Store Day Black Friday, click here. …Record Store Day’s Black Friday releases are intended to put a fresh spin on the bargain-bin chaos you often see on the day, and instead create special, collectible editions of stunning releases for music lovers to enjoy.

Inverness, UK | Union Vinyl: How an obsession for collecting records cued up a business opportunity in Inverness: The Inverness shop also led to a vinyl and vintage clothing outlet in Nairn. As a youngster, Nigel Graham’s pocket money inevitably found its way to a record shop on Market Brae Steps in Inverness. The obsession for collecting vinyl later turned into a business located just a few yards from his early album hunting ground. Union Vinyl is the city’s only independent dedicated vinyl record store and a treasure trove for the serious collector or casual browser. A collector by the age of 10. Nigel set up the business buying and selling vinyl records in 2014, initially in Union Street (hence the name) before moving to the current spot seven years ago. His musical taste was influenced by his older brother whose 70s punk records fascinated the then six-year-old. By the age of 10 he was a collector, David Bowie’s 1980 album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) being the first purchase.

Raleigh, NC | In Record Time: Vinyl records are all the rage in Raleigh. Here’s where to find them. Step down, Spotify. Try as they may, digital music formats are never going to fully extinguish the analog experience. In fact, vinyl is vibing higher than ever—with a whopping $1.4 billion spent on records in 2023—thanks to immersive sound quality and that cool aesthetic (it’s giving Alexa Chung). Clearly, the modish medium easily tops Shazaming a song any day—never mind you can make a whole day out of picking out new albums. So, channel your inner Tom Cruise a la Risky Business, take those old records off the shelf and spin up some freshly pressed wax tunes to your collection via these local selects.

San Diego, CA | Top 5 Vinyl Record Shops in San Diego: San Diego’s music scene is buzzing, and its record stores offer a goldmine of music for collectors. From rare finds to classic rock, there is something for everyone. Let us dive into the top five vinyl record shops in the city! Here is list of BEST Vinyl Record Stores in San Diego, CA. Lets explore each Vinyl Stores of san diego in more details. Vinyl Junkies Record Shack: Vinyl Junkies Record Shack is a must-visit for music lovers in South Park. With a stellar selection of vinyl, CDs, and cassettes, including rare finds, it is the perfect spot to discover new music. Plus, their snug, mid-century-inspired interior and knowledgeable staff makes it a welcoming place to hang out. Do not miss their live performances on the back patio! FeeLIT: FeeLIT is a cozy downtown music shop with a wide range of new and used vinyl, imports, cassettes, and merchandise. They are active in the local scene, hosting events and special-ordering hard-to-find records…

Read More »

Penticton, CA | Penticton Business Celebrates 34 Years of Grooviness: Spinning Records Helps Join Together the Generations. Any music lover will tell you that simple grooves cut into a vinyl disc can translate to smile-cracking memories or revive life-altering good times. Of course, the grooves we are talking about are on a vinyl record, and Penticton’s Grooveyard Records is the perfect place to recall old memories or create new ones. After all, Grooveyard represents 34 years of curating an extensive collection of all things music. …Many customers who drop by the Grooveyard store on Main Street are there to dig into the past for long-lost memories—or pick out the perfect pop album for a young, burgeoning music lover. Grooveyard is ideal for finding meaningful gifts because its products cross all demographics. They carry everything from tee-shirts and posters to records and curios, but it is the vinyl that is their bread and butter.

Miami, FL | Indie Record Store Profile: Sweat Records in Miami: Iggy Pop’s favorite record shop bills itself as the largest selection of new and reissued titles in Miami and specializes in “global sounds.” In 2008, Lolo Reskin found out Iggy Pop was a fan of her record store. It was roughly three years since Sweat Records in Miami had opened its doors and the news of Iggy Pop’s appreciation came via a segment on CNN. The Stooges legend was showing the news channel around his favorite places in his hometown and took a moment to pose in front of Sweat’s mural, which, over the years, has included Prince, Grace Jones, David Bowie, Dolly Parton and Iggy himself. At the time, Reskin tells Billboard, “We were like, ‘Oh my god. He knows we exist.’” Iggy’s appreciation for the shop meant a lot to Reskin, who has lived and breathed music her whole life. Her grandmother, Joan Field, was a violin soloist who recorded and toured through the 1930s and ’40s. Her father went to Juilliard and was a working musician his whole life.

Southampton, UK | Review: Shed Seven instore Vinilo Record Store, Southampton: Shed Seven made a triumphant return to Southampton’s Vinilo Record Store this afternoon (30/9/24) for a brief but brilliant set ahead of signing their new album, which is on course to take the number one spot this Friday. The band were in town to promote Liquid Gold, and played a brief four song giglet (like a gig but smaller), complete with banter, singalongs, and some solid, stadium-worthy belters before the crowd of grown up indie kids—and a few of their offspring—formed an orderly queue to enjoy a 1-1 encounter with the band and the chance to get their own album signed. The venue was packed out—tickets for the matinee event had sold out almost immediately—and the crowd was buzzing as the band took to the stage.

Kansas City, MO | After 50 years, iconic Kansas City counterculture shop is closing; sales are underway. 7th Heaven, a thrumming hub of Kansas City’s counterculture for the past half-century, will close later this year. Owner and founder Jan Fichman said Monday that he plans to shut down the music store and head shop “sometime in November, probably,” though he hasn’t yet set a closing date. “It depends on how quickly we move through the inventory,” Fichman said. “We have something like 36,000 used records in the store. All our smoking accessories and used music are marked down to half price, and new vinyl is 20% off. If you came in and wrote a check for a couple hundred thousand dollars today, we’d close it by Thursday.” Fichman founded 7th Heaven in 1974. Raised in south Kansas City, he started out in the music business selling bootleg eight-track tapes at gas stations, truck stops and swap meets.

Read More »

Minneapolis–Saint Paul, MN | Twin Cities businesses cash in on K-pop craze: From small businesses to giants like Target, retailers are benefitting from the $10 billion industry for South Korean pop music, including its revival of physical album sales. Tucked into a yellow-brick building in northeast Minneapolis is a gateway to South Korea. There’s no obvious signage to announce OtaKuPop’s location, but once inside, colors pop off the walls. A mounted TV plays bright, catchy music videos, their melodies ringing throughout the small store. Posters cover the windows, and what look like bookcases are actually shelves filled with albums of all K-pop music. OtaKuPop is one of several Twin Cities businesses bringing the $10 billion Korean pop music industry to Minnesota. And somewhat counterintuitively, physical media like magazines, trading cards, figurines, stickers and, yes, CDs make up many of those sales. Streaming services such as Spotify have eroded physical media sales in recent years. But K-pop has found a way to avoid that.

Chicago, IL | Best Place to Go Crate Digging by the Boulevard: Miyagi Records—Washington Park: Imet Maker in the late ’90s at a breakdancing battle, I think. I heard he made dope beats. Later, around 2003, a label I was a part of, Birthwrite Records, put out his album Honestly and my crew did a song for it. I met TREW a little bit later through marketing promotions, and then he booked me to perform at a couple of shows that he helped produce. Two of my favorites were Dre Day and the 2010 Little Brother show at the Double Door. That show was crazy; the audience was so live (Maker and TREW’s names are Marco Jacobo and Nigel Ridgeway, respectively). Fast forward to 2023, and I heard rumors of a new record store coming to Washington Park by the Green Line. Soon after, I found out Miyagi Records was Maker and TREW’s shop—a definite win for the culture.

KR | Vinyl renaissance in Korea holds steady with diverse music tastes: The vinyl revival has led to the development of Korea’s own record-pressing technology. Within just two hours of the opening of the 13th Seoul Record Fair last Saturday, the waitlist for new LP records reached 1,500. There were 20 new releases that day. The vinyl fever at the event dispelled concerns that the pandemic-driven LP renaissance could go bust in the endemic era. Instead, the boom shows no sign of abating in South Korea. The LP revival has even led people to expand their music tastes into diverse genres and to the revival of the vinyl pressing industry in the country. According to Korea’s online bookstore operator Yes24 Co., LP production stood at 3,024 albums in 2023, up 14.6% from the prior year. It was the first time the country’s vinyl production topped 3,000 since Yes24 started compiling the related data three years ago. It was also the fastest yearly gain.

Kansas City, MO | What is Kansas City’s best record store? We have almost too many great shops to choose. How does Kansas City rank as a vinyl town? Avid, long-time local vinyl collector and musician Jonathon Smith feels that, despite the closure of “cherished” stores like Recycled Sounds and The Music Exchange, the local vinyl market has “improved in the past 15 years.” Now, Smith doesn’t want the size of his collection published, but let’s just say the number of LPs, EPs, singles, 45s and CDs in his possession shows a real hardcore passion for music. It’s clear to Smith that Kansas Citians “continue to love music passionately.” Our city is in good company: According to Statista, 43.2 million vinyl records sold across the U.S. in 2023. That’s a far cry from the nearly 350 million records sold per year in the late ‘70s, and still just a fraction of total music revenues. But it shows that vinyl sales continue to be making a strong return.

Read More »

Bellingham, WA | Black Noise Records: Two downtown Bellingham businesses have break-ins within minutes. The front doors of both stores had been smashed in early-morning incident. Two downtown Bellingham businesses are facing thousands of dollars in repair costs after the stores were broken into within a matter of minutes of each other early Monday morning, Sept. 23. Mitch Kramer, owner of FixCO, a phone and computer repair shop on Commercial Street; and Nico Sanchez, owner of Black Noise Records, a record store on Bay Street, said they arrived at their stores to find an ugly surprise. Both of the stores front doors had been smashed, and while the suspect was unable to fully break into FixCO, the suspect did break into Black Noise Records and made off with a few items. The break-ins occurred around 4 a.m., Kramer said. …“Luckily he didn’t take too much stuff,” Sanchez said. “It’s been an unfortunate situation that people would choose to do that to local and small businesses like mine and Mitch’s.”

Ketchum, WA | Experience the Boom: New record store opens in Ketchum: COVID-19 pandemic helped vinyl sales surge, owner says. Mike Pitts prefers the sound of music on vinyl to any other. So it’s fitting that he owns a record store, called Sonic Boom Records, based in Seattle, and has just opened a new location in Ketchum. Pitts grew up in southwest Washington and moved to Seattle as a young adult. Pitts said his wife, Molly, encouraged him to buy Sonic Boom Records, a well-known record store, in 2016. His family also had a condo in Ketchum for many years, and he loved coming to spend time here so much that his family made the move full-time five years ago. Sonic Boom’s Ketchum location opened in July at 360 Leadville Ave. It is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Pitts said he wants the space to be a place for anyone to come hang out, talk about music and listen to things they might not have heard before.

Newtown, CT | Friends Of Edmond Town Hall To Offer 2nd ‘Record Riot’ In Newtown: The Friends of Edmond Town Hall’s 2nd Newtown Record Riot will take place on Sunday, Oct. 6. After a successful 2023 Newtown Record Riot-when over 350 people attended to dig for music-the Friends of Edmond Town Hall are thrilled to run it back with promoter Record Riots this fall. The 2nd Newtown Record Riot takes place on Sunday, October 6, 2024, at 9:30 AM (Early Birds 8:30 AM) until 4:30 PM in the Edmond Town Hall gym, 45 Main Street in Newtown, CT. …Come shop at over 40 tables of LPs, CDs, 45s and more. Dealers from all over New England and beyond. Meet new music friends, find that special LP that you’ve been looking for. All types of music: punk, funk, country, classical, blues rock, hip hop and more. $5.00 regular admission starts at 9:30 AM, with early admission kicking off at 8:30 AM ($10).

Austin, TX | Headliners brings together UT music community with record and CD exchange: The sound of conversation and vinyl records flowed from the Texas Union East Patio on Wednesday night. Headliners, an organization under Campus Events and Entertainment, hosted their first-ever record exchange. Music collectors mingled on the patio, exchanging records and CDs. Peyton Wade, the Headliners chair and a psychology sophomore, said she started collecting vinyl recently, but her love for music runs deep. “I love live music more than most things,” Wade said. “When I saw there was a committee on campus that (hosts) and (creates) live music on campus, (I thought), ‘This is something I want to be a part of.’” Wade said she hopes the event fosters meaningful conversations between music lovers and brings together the music community at UT. She said Headliners brought their own collection of used vinyl and CDs for swapping with attendees.

Read More »

Buffalo, NY | Elmwood Avenue business is moving, but not very far: There was no immediate word as to when the move would take place. Revolver Records on Wednesday announced that it will move out of its current Elmwood Avenue location. The record store won’t move far, though. They’re going to move across the street, basically, from 831 Elmwood Avenue to 810 Elmwood. “Along with a comprehensive stock of new and vintage records, the new store will feature a bar and space for in-store performances, all coalescing to forge a new hotspot to share and enjoy music in Buffalo,” Revolver Records said Wednesday in a post to social media. Revolver Records said it would release more information at a later date. There was no word as to when the move would take place.

Whanganui, NZ | Vinyl Room extends its groove to Palmerston North: It’s been 14 years since crate digging and George St have gone hand-in-hand, but the revered pastime of record-lovers returns on Saturday with the opening of Vinyl Room. Owner Ron Fisher said he only had to observe the number of Manawatū people migrating to his Whanganui record shop on a daily basis to realise venturing into Palmerston North was a natural expansion. The shop, located between Munchkins and the library, would trade in a mix of new and second-hand records, CDs and tapes, with an emphasis on fostering community through music and conversation—just as record stores used to. When Mango Music closed across the road in 2010 it was considered the bleak end of an era, as sales of music on physical media slumped amid the surge of digital formats and streaming. But never count out nostalgia, nor the tangible, tactile appeal of taking a record from its sleeve and dropping the needle in the groove.

Dayton, OH | Dayton’s Record Stops: Dayton may be nationally recognized as the Funk capital of the world, being the birthplace of bands like the Ohio Players and Zapp, but the city’s record stores offer a wide range of different music genres and events. All of these stores are locally owned and operated, so if you are a music fan and want to support local businesses, be sure to check these spots out. They also put on events, so be sure to check out their social media to stay up to date on what’s going on. Omega Music | 318 E 5th Street, Dayton, OH 45402 (six minute drive from campus, accessible by the Flyer) Omega Music is located in the heart of Dayton’s Oregon District. Definitely Dayton’s largest record store, it offers CDs, vinyl, and cassettes from every genre you can think of. “We carry a little bit of everything,” Omega shift lead Jack (they/them) said, “but because we get used stuff from the general public of the area we end up coming up with a lot of older jazz, funk, and soul which is pretty sweet.”

Toronto, CA | Sabrina Carpenter just made a surprise visit at Toronto record store: Sabrina Carpenter is currently in Toronto as part of her Short N’ Sweet concert tour. The pop superstar will perform at Scotiabank Theatre tonight, but prior to her performance, the singer is taking time to explore the city — including making a pit stop at Kops Records on Queen Street West, one of the city’s oldest independent vinyl record stores. “@sabrinacarpenter just came by. Thank you for your love and support!” a Kops Records employee posted to Instagram on Tuesday, alongside selfies of the employee with the “Espresso” hitmaker. The post received thousands of likes and comments, with fans super excited that the singer randomly popped into the store. “NO WAY SHES JUST CASUALLY AT KOPS WHAT,” one user wrote. “SHES JUST CASUALLY AT KOPS WHAT,” another user wrote. Another gushed, “this is so iconic wow!” Others referred to Carpenter as their “comfort pop star” and to Kops as their “comfort record store” while more than a few simply commented with “OMG.”

Read More »

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.

Read More »

Londonderry, VT | Electric Mayhem expands on record store with coffee, gear, gifts: Electric Mayhem is a dream for coffee and music enthusiasts. At the end of April, the business opened by joining forces with In the Moment Records. The record shop had moved from Brattleboro to the Mountain Marketplace on Route 100 in Londonderry about three years ago, and the back room is home to Rusty Door Recording Studio and Sound. “We like to think of it as these businesses are roommates in the same space, cohesively working together,” Martha Jordan, co-owner of Electric Mayhem, said during a recent interview in the store. “Electric Mayhem is sort of the umbrella term.” Martha’s husband Joel Jordan and their friend John Pennington run the recording studio and sound business. Joel and Pennington started using space at In the Moment Records when their band needed a place to rehearse. Sujay Patel, co-owner of In the Moment Records, offered up a room in the back. Joel said he cleaned it out and painted it.

Fresno, CA | Local record store closes Fresno River Park location: Fresno’s Ragin Records has closed its store in River Park and will be combining that location and its Tower District store into a bigger store at a different location, the store posted on social media Monday. Ragin Records posted on social media, saying that both of its stores will be merged into one larger store. The franchise had a location at River Park and another in Tower District. According to their social media, the one in Tower District at 118 N. Fulton St., is still open and will continue to be open until the re-opening of their larger store, which will be located at Olive and Van Ness avenues. Ragin Records says that the larger store will allow them to have three times more records, small shows for free, a user-friendly layout and more. According to Ragin Records’ social media, the new store will open in November.

Louisville, KY | Electric Ladyland renovating after considering selling property on Bardstown Road: An eccentric shop on Bardstown Road is undergoing some changes after being in business for nearly 50 years. Electric Ladyland is a smoke shop, record and metaphysical supply store in the Highlands Douglass neighborhood. The shop put the property up for sale for a few months but didn’t plan to close. “If the property sold, we would have moved our business to another location in the Highlands,” Electric Ladyland posted on Facebook. “Throughout our 46 years of business, we have had several locations in the Highlands.” The store is being renovated. “We are changing some inventory and carefully trying to craft Ladyland to that style,” Electric Ladyland posted. “The property is no longer for sale and we are working on updates and some new exciting changes within the business.”

Seoul, KR | Seoul Record Fair Expands, Bridging Generations Through Vinyl: The 13th Seoul Record Fair, which opened on September 21 at the Oil Tank Culture Park in Mapo-gu, Seoul, has grown into a full-fledged festival, boasting its largest scale to date in terms of space utilization since its inception in 2011. This year’s event, adopting the slogan “The Biggest Record Store,” has transformed into a more comfortable and spacious affair, making use of both indoor exhibition and performance spaces as well as outdoor park areas. The change marks a significant improvement from previous years when the fair was held at various venues that often felt cramped when crowded. The expanded layout was evident from the entrance, where a large Seoul Record Fair advertising balloon greeted visitors. Inside, popular R&B singer-songwriter Zion.T held a well-organized signing event, while singer-songwriter Lang simultaneously hosted her own meet-and-greet indoors without overcrowding issues.

Read More »

Marshalltown, IA | Wax Xtatic owner John Blabaum calls it quits on ‘one of a kind’ record store: In the week or so before he made his news official, Wax Xtatic Record Audio Stereo Shop Owner John Blabaum posted a series of songs on the business’s Facebook page that seemed to suggest the end of something — “The End” itself by The Doors, “In the End” by Linkin Park, Semisonic’s “Closing Time,” “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House, Sid Vicious’s punked up version of “My Way” that famously played at the end of “Goodfellas,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “See You on the Other Side,” Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart” and Van Halen’s “Happy Trails,” to name a few. As it turned out, Blabaum, in classic Blabaum fashion, was sending some not so subtle messages to his legion of local vinyl junkies that the store at 18 W. Main St. would be no more, and after hosting a Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday, Sept. 7, he announced its permanent closure the following Wednesday in a heartfelt 26-minute video posted to Facebook.

IA | Vinyl records are surging in popularity with new retail trends in Eastern Iowa: Records and plants sprout together at Mount Vernon, Fort Madison. After decades of decline, vinyl records are taking another spin around the turntable. As the old technology finds a new resurgence in popularity, it doesn’t sound like a broken record. Driven largely by artists and audiences born in the digital age, vinyl records are now the highest selling form of physical media today—second only to online streaming platforms for music listeners, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. When Madonna asked the DJ to “put a record on” in her 2000 hit song “Music,” vinyl record sales were near their all-time low. By 2023, vinyl sales hit $1.4 billion, the highest figure since 1988 when adjusted for inflation—the same decade the pop star charted her meteoric rise to fame.

Raymond, MS | Positively Mississippi: Little Big Store. Claudia Schmitz, the owner of A Little Big Store in Raymond, Mississippi, has one of the most impressive collections of physical media in the area. The Little Big Store is housed in an historic train depot. “It’s a fantastic building. We’ve been here for a long time selling records. My mother was the founder of the store, Betty Strachan, and we’re continuing with her legacy.” Betty Strachan first started her journey at a strip mall in Jackson. She eventually found the train depot building for sale, bought it, and moved all the records to what is now known as the Little Big Store in Raymond. “There’s a lot of digital music, but nothing matches the warmth of an analog record album. Records are a work of art. The covers, listening to the records the way that the artist intended you to hear the songs. It’s not just dialing up a song, but listening [to] the record from the beginning to the end.”

Pasadena, CA | A record shop in Pasadena wants to be your friendly local ‘Tiny Desk.’ Nearly a year ago, Austin Manuel opened his Pasadena record store with an ambitious goal: to close the gap between big industry and new music. The singer-songwriter grew up around his dad’s vinyl collection in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2017, he made a tour stop in L.A. and stayed. From there, he regularly booked shows at Club Tee Gee in Atwater, and became steeped in the local music scene. He felt the importance of physical spaces in bringing people together firsthand. He watched musician friends back home in Nashville book gigs, and a buddy in L.A. open Jacknife Records & Tapes in Glendale. Then, with a nudge from his wife, Manuel decided to make things happen for himself. The result is Healing Force of the Universe in Pasadena. By day, it’s a record shop; by night, an event space for curious musicians and casual listeners alike with a mission focused on community, hospitality, and the love of good music. “It’s basically like a community center.

Read More »