In rotation: 4/16/19

Newnan, GA | Vinylyte participates in Record Store Day: If the Mastodon doesn’t get you, the Gorillaz might. Saturday is Record Store Day, and Vinylyte Records will join thousands of other independent, brick-and-mortar stores around the world to celebrate. Vinylyte is opening its doors at 8 a.m. to give music lovers a chance to grab exclusive releases specifically designed to commemorate the event. Created in 2008 to celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store, Record Store Day is supported by a wide range of artists who contribute unique recordings each year. Those pressings are only distributed to shops participating in the event. It’s a day that brings together fans of all genres, because it’s all about the music. Places like Vinylyte are “a musical Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” says store owner Jesse Yates. “Record Store Day celebrates the relationship between people, their community record store and music,” he said.

Niagara, ON | Record Store Day draws customers looking for special releases and rare gems: A day that rocks for vinyl lovers. Music lovers and vinyl fans had their day on Saturday. Record Store Day, created to help local independent record stores, was first held on April 19, 2008. The day is now celebrated on every continent except Antarctica. “Busiest day of the year for sure,” said Chris Charowy, owner of Mind Bomb Records on James Street in St. Catharines. For the occasion, many artists unveil previously unreleased material, new remixes and box sets to entice people into their local record store. This year the big sellers included soundtracks for “The Crow” and “Lost In Translation,” Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Highway” and select Woodstock performances, which were released in honour of the festival’s 50th anniversary. “There’s literally hundreds of releases that come out for record store day, so it’s on the owner of the shop to bring in what they think is going to sell. Everything is in limited quantities so I can order 10 copies of something and get one…”

Ithaca, NY | Ithaca’s Angry Mom Records Celebrates Record Store Day: Conceived in 2007 at a gathering of more than a thousand independent record store owners across the globe, Record Store Day is held on one Saturday every April and every Black Friday in November to commemorate the unique culture of independently owned record stores and their importance within a community. Record Store Day has had a far-reaching impact on the reinvention of independent music in the streaming age. The event puts great emphasis on the role of the independent record store as a gathering space for music enthusiasts to interact. And the intimate connections fostered by such interactions are crucial in the formation of a local music scene…For Ithaca, Angry Mom Records serves as the backbone of the local underground music scene. Located in the basement of Autumn Leaves Used Books on the Commons, it is a safe haven for opinions and artistry to interflow.

Cumbria, UK | Music fans visit Barrow’s TnT records in their droves for Record Store Day 2019. More than a thousand people were said to have descended on a music shop for Record Store Day 2019. Music lovers queued up in their droves outside Barrow’s TnT Records hoping to snag limited edition vinyl. The only record store in south Cumbria, it was among hundreds in the UK to take part in the worldwide celebration of independent music shops. More than 500 special vinyl were released for the day, exclusively available in record shops. To celebrate the occasion, the Duke Street shop laid on a host of local bands to entertain the crowds, while budding musicians experienced drum lessons on the shop’s upper floor. Owner Dave Turner said: “The way people have supported us today is absolutely overwhelming.

Whangārei, NZ | Fair pickings for vinyl and antiques lovers in Whangārei: What goes around comes around and Saturday in Whangārei provided lots of pickings for hunters and collectors looking for the good old stuff. Vinyl records were the main drawcard but there was plenty of other music media and memorabilia available at the Whangārei Record Collectors’ Fair at Oneonesix. This was the third such event Steve Parrish, from Indigo Records, has organised in the city. The event was on the same day as International Record Store Day. Meanwhile, there were also fine pickings at the Antique and Collectors Fair at Forum North which took place on Saturday and yesterday. Northern Advocate photographer John Stone went along to both

St. John’s, CA | Record Store Day bigger than Black Friday for St. John’s stores: Duckworth Street usually isn’t this busy just before 9 a.m. on a Saturday. Trying to find a parking space close to Fred’s Records is a challenge. Stretched from the independent record store’s entrance down to Holloway Street is a line of about 100 people waiting for the door to open. People can be heard woo-hooing as Record Store Day is about to begin. The event started in the United States in 2008 to celebrate independently owned record stores. It caught on at Fred’s Records a couple of years later. “It’s snowballed since then,” says manager Tony Ploughman. Today, Fred’s Records owner Jim Brokenshire says “it’s bigger” than Black Friday. Ploughman says it’s a great day to have this time of year. “We’ve all come through the doldrums of winter, so it’s nice to have a big spark in the middle of April when there’s nothing going on. So, yeah, definitely one of our biggest days.”

Swindon, UK | Vinyl fans queue up for hours to snap up World Record Store Day exclusives: Vinyl lovers queued up to get their hands on exclusive discs as World Record Store Day returned. One dedicated shopper arrived at Holmes Music at 5pm the day before to ensure he was first in line for the Red House Records event. Owner Paul Holmes said: “We were about to close up and I saw a man loitering around outside and wondered if he was – I was right, and he got everything he wanted on his list. “It’s always a very busy day and it takes months of hard work and preparation to get ready for it, but we always look forward to it. In a way it lasts for a couple of weeks after the day itself because we get customers from all over ringing round to see what we’ve got left if they missed something they wanted in their local shops. “We’re happy to be involved, it raises our profile a little and brings new customers who didn’t realise we were here and end up coming back.”

Dorset, UK | Bridport Music marks Record Store Day and the shop’s 45th birthday: Hundreds of music lovers and record collectors showed their support for a popular independent music store for Record Store Day. Fans flocked to Bridport Music which once again took part in the annual event on Saturday (13/4), with many people queuing at the South Street shop through the night to be the first in when the doors opened at 8am. A number of exclusive vinyl releases were on offer and various musicians played throughout the day. As well as it being a day to celebrate independent record shops, it was also a very special occasion for them too as it was also Bridport Music’s 45th birthday. ‘Bridport Record Centre’ opened in 1974 at 96 South Street before moving to its current location at 33a South Street in 1979. Owners Piers and Steph wanted to broaden the range of products the shop stocked in a bid not to join the growing list of independent record shops closing, so in 2007, Bridport Record Centre. was renamed Bridport Music.

Stroud, UK | Music fans queue for rare vinyls and more on Record Store Day. [ Remember, the plural of vinyl is in fact “vinyl.” Be best. —Ed.] Music lovers from across the Five Valleys queued up bright and early to bag rare vinyls on Record Store Day. This year’s annual event fell on Saturday, and provided a chance for the UK’s 200 independent record shops to celebrate their trade, and the millions of musicians and artists that they support. With so many music lovers living across the district three shops are flourishing, two in Stroud, and one in Nailsworth. Each of the shops, Trading Post Records in Kendrick Street and Sound Records in the High Street, both in Stroud, and Sanctuary Music at Nailsworth Mills (by the Morrisons car park) threw open their doors at 8am so record collectors and music lovers could pick up special releases on the day. Aside from the exclusive record day releases on offer, each shop also provided a packed schedule of live acts, DJs and other treats to entertain customers.

Miami, FL | One Last Record Store Day Hurrah for Sweat Records’ Current Location: Record Store Day, the one part Comic-Con, one part Black Friday audiophile extravaganza, had a festive feel this past Saturday at Sweat Records. The Little Haiti shop earlier in the week had announced that a rent increase would force the Miami vinyl-boom pioneer to relocate. So this would be one last hurrah in a space that neighbors the iconic live-music dive Churchill’s. More than a hundred people were already waiting in line on the sidewalk when Sweat’s doors opened at 8 a.m., manager Emile Milgrim said. They braved an early morning to get first dibs on collectible vinyl pressed especially for Record Store Day. “The most popular wereThe Crow soundtrack, the Lost in Translation soundtrack, Death Grips, and Bingo Hand Job [an alias for a R.E.M. secret live show],” Milgrim said.

Champaign, IL | Annual Record Store Day unifies music fans: Nowadays, it is easy to stream music online and for free with just the click of a button. However, Exile on Main Street in Champaign is keeping the days of vinyl, tapes and CDs alive. On Saturday, Exile celebrated its 13th annual Record Store Day. Record Store Day is an annual, national holiday that is celebrated every third Saturday of April, unless Easter falls on the same weekend. Jeff Brandt, owner of Exile, opened the store in Champaign in 2004 and has worked with records since the early ‘90s. Champaign-Urbana resident Tracy Popp said she has known Brandt for quite a while now, and she decided to attend Record Store Day this year in order to support him and his business. “I wanted to support independent record stores, too,” she said.

Guernsey, UK | Queuing from 4am is John’s Record Store Day madness: The first vinyl enthusiasts were lined up outside Vinyl Vaughan’s record shop at 4am on Saturday. Hundreds of new and limited edition records were in the shop for Record Store Day. By the time the shop opened, dozens of islanders were lined up on Fountain Street to get their hands on their dream record. John Raworth was first in line at 4am, closely followed by Mick Harris. ‘It went quite quickly,’ they said about the wait. ‘Vaughan [Davies, owner of Vinyl Vaughan’s] came out with teas, coffees and bacon rolls which was really nice.’ Mr Raworth was looking for the picture disc of Madness, of which there are only 500 worldwide. ‘I’m really pleased I managed to get it, and I really think vinyl is back on trend again,’ he said. Mr Harris was also pleased to have found the limited edition U2 Europa record. ‘I guess it’s the advantage of being keen,’ he said. ‘Vaughan knew it was what we were looking for so had them ready for us.’

Portsmouth, UK | Business as usual on Record Store Day despite ‘politics’ preventing street party: IT WAS business as usual on Record Store Day at Pie & Vinyl as some people queued for more than a day to make that all important purchase. This was despite the trendy Castle Lane in Southsea not being closed-off for its customary street party that is awash with independent traders, stalls and live music after ‘politics’ got in the way. Nonetheless, scores of people were dazzled by the array of special edition vinyls on display while others rocked out to live band music playing inside the record shop all afternoon and into the evening. Pie and Vinyl owner Steve Courtnell said: ‘It’s the first time in five years we’ve not had the street closure but it has made things less stressful for me to be honest. ‘But it’s all about Record Store Day and we’ve had a lots of people turning up creating a fantastic atmosphere. We had five national touring bands and DJs playing inside the store.

Nashville, TN | Quality Beats Quantity on Record Store Day: A smaller number of sets at Nashville record stores meant more time to enjoy tunes from Blank Range, Alanna Royale, Peachy and more. Setting aside the occasional truly collectible release, the main draw for Record Store Day has long been the free shows, especially in Nashville. Going into the 12th annual RSD on Saturday, it seemed a fair bet that the action would be a little subdued around town. Vinyl-and-vintage-clothing outpost Fond Object consistently hosted some of the best local-centric lineups each RSD since it opened in 2013, but it shuttered in February. In addition, some stores known for big lineups — like Grimey’s and Third Man Records — scaled back a bit this year (with Grimey’s featuring just three sets and TMR two, the latter booked inside the store rather than in Third Man’s Blue Room). While Fond Object’s homey backyard was missed, the lesser quantity didn’t translate into a drop in quality.

Utrecht, NL | Record store day at Roadburn: is vinyl a fad after all? Today is a good day for music. While we’re enjoying the third day of Roadburn it’s also Record Store Day. We were at a packed Sounds Tilburg where the announced ‘DJ-set’ by Dutch Record Store Day ambassadors De Staat turns out to be a live set after all. Fool me once. We park at the door from where we see a lot of folks carrying out RSD-totes filled with what, by the shape of it, can only be vinyl. Could it be? Are people actually coming to RSD to buy records? Is the vinyl hype real? I’m at the counter wanting to talk to Maarten Koehorst, the owner of Sounds Tilburg, but he’s too busy selling records. Which we can only take as very good news. We’ve been hearing buzz about vinyl being the new black for a while and a recent report from BuzzAngle (through Genius) tells us “Vinyl sales grew by just shy of 12 percent from 8.6 to 9.7 million sales, while cassette sales grew by almost 19 percent from 99,400 to 118,200 copies sold in the US. It wasn’t quite the 41.8 percent growth seen in music streaming, but it’s still very impressive for two formats that are decades old.” Great news, but what does this actually mean for those independent record stores and labels?

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