Vinyl Sales Soar & Drake Is King Of Streams In 2017: Interestingly, physical album sales still outweigh digital sales, with 53.4 percent of all sales being either CD or vinyl…Vinyl, which you can now purchase in stores like Urban Outfitters, for example, is up 20 percent in sales when comparing Record Store Day 2016 to 2017. Record Store Day exclusives and limited vinyl releases of new albums have made collecting physical LPs appealing to a younger generation of “diggers” — evidently.
Jarvis Cocker pens heartfelt farewell to ‘legendary’ Sheffield independent music store, Rare & Racy: Jarvis Cocker has taken to Instagram to pay tribute to his favourite independent book and music shop in Sheffield, Rare & Racy. The quirky independent store is currently holding a closing down sale as it prepares to make way for new development on Devonshire Street. The Pulp frontman has formerly described the store as a “global treasure” and a petition against the scheme also racked up a massive 20,000 signatures. However, the shop is now set to be demolished along with Syd and Mallory’s Emporium, to the dismay of many people in Sheffield…
Green Eggs and Jam offers used records and more: Peek said when he started his shop in Asheville, it wasn’t nearly the happening city it is today. He started the shop there mainly to carry punk rock, metal and underground music that was hard to find elsewhere during the pre-Internet days. The success he has had with his other shops and the accumulation of inventory — Peek has more than 10,000 records between the shop and his house — at his home encouraged Peek to go ahead and pull the trigger on opening his new store. He found a location he liked and moved in his “eclectic” selections, which include a lot of punk rock like Misfits and many others. Now, he says wants to use his business to help steer younger listeners toward good music.
For vinyl lovers, Cambridge is a mecca of records: It may not be surprising that physical albums sales are down 11.7 percent overall from 2015, but there’s one bright spot for traditional record stores: Vinyl record sales rose 25.9 percent in 2016. If you’re looking for new, used or collector’s vinyl there’s a store in Cambridge for you. To help out longtime record collectors and newcomers alike, we’ve put together a list of the best stores for area residents.
Alongside the vinyl revival, the art of the fanzine is not lost: Copies of The Next Big Thing are treasured objects, and this new one comes in a numbered edition of 300, 250 of which are already spoken for before any of them reach the few shops in which you might be likely to find one. Issue 28 did come as a bit of a surprise though, as it very nearly two decades since the appearance of number 27. For some reason, then, the 30th anniversary of the first edition of The Next Big Thing passed by unmarked, because this is the 40th anniversary issue of what can lay fair claim to being Scotland’s premier, and longest surviving, music fanzine.
These drool-worthy albums are among the most expensive vinyl albums on Earth: As more and more listeners embrace the vinyl resurgence, vinyl fans around the world are increasingly on the hunt for the coolest wax to spin on their newly acquired analog hi-fis. We’d all love to find that hidden first pressing of Sgt. Peppers at the local record shop. But the rarest, most expensive vinyl records in the world aren’t for playing — unless you’re just that baller. Worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases, the world’s most sought after records aren’t just antiques or even works of art, they’re tangible time stamps of rock ‘n roll history, each with its own story to tell.
Glasgow record label leads the way with pioneering new crowdfunding model: It’s never been easy to keep an independent record label afloat in the rocky waters of a crowded industry and an overwhelming pool of possible revenue streams. But one pioneering Glasgow-based company is doing just that, and leading the way using a modern method based on traditional values to boot. Last Night From Glasgow (LNFG) is a not-for-profit organisation thought to be the world’s first crowdfunded operation of its type. The brainchild of insurance firm director and music-fanatic Ian Smith, who co-founded the project with five pals, LNFG has gone from strength to strength since its launch last year. Initially floated as a way to help aspiring bands in the city to put a record out back in 2015, inspired by the plight of local Say Award nominees Nineteen Canteen, the initiative soon developed into something more.
Yarraville Music and Record Fair returns for a second spin: The Yarraville Music and Record Fair will return for a second spin in August after the first proved a hit. Event organiser and Sydney radio presenter Lord Lucifer said the free event would feature records and memorabilia from traders across Australia and showcase live performances from local musicians and DJs. “It will be really family-oriented and inclusive,” he said. Yarraville’s first record fair in February attracted more than 800 people. “They opened the club doors at 11 and it was like a train arriving at Spencer St,” Lord Lucifer said.
