In rotation: 4/30/20

Record Store Day announces RSD Drops For August, September, and October 2020: New dates replace original April 18th and rescheduled June 20th date. Since 2008, Record Store Day has grown into the world’s largest single-day music event, shining a light on the culture of the indie record store across the globe. In 2020, that world is different, so Record Store Day will be too. RSD is now scheduled to be celebrated with special, properly distanced release dates on Saturdays in August, September and October. The titles on the RSD 2020 Official List, launched on March 5th, will be released at participating record stores on one of these three RSD Drops. Those dates are August 29th, September 26th, and October 24th. Before the pandemic-inspired three “socially distanced” RSD Drop dates, Record Store Day 2020, originally scheduled for April 18th and then rescheduled for June 20th, was set to look and feel different from any of the previous twelve. Prior events have been as much about the gatherings, parties, concerts and “group hang” element of a celebration as the special releases, but in this unprecedented global situation, the focus of these RSD Drops dates is on bringing revenue to the stores, as well as to the artists, labels, distribution and every other business behind the scenes making record stores work.

St. Catharines, ON | Shops seeing benefits now from Digital Main Street grants: Mindbomb Records can’t let customers browse through its vinyl in person right now, but it has made its online shopping experience a little more satisfying. The downtown St. Catharines store has been adding more content to the items on its formerly “bare bones” website, thanks to a Digital Main Street grant it received a month ago. The funding, which coincidentally came as COVID-19 shut down storefronts, has allowed the shop to boost its online presence at a time when it counts more than ever. “If you are a business that can benefit from doing online sales, it’s kind of a do or die at this point,” said Mindbomb owner Chris Charkowy. Mindbomb Records is one of the local stores taking part in the city’s first digital market on Friday, hosted by Niagara’s Digital Service Squad. The event on Instagram from noon to 2 p.m. is showcasing products from local businesses with a focus on gifts for Mother’s Day.

Columbus, OH | Record stores find silver linings amid coronavirus crisis: Local shops are bolstering their online presence, which may put them in a better position once the pandemic passes. Summer is usually a slow time for Downtown vinyl shop Spoonful Records. Co-owner Amy Kesting said most people tend to spend their money on music experiences, like concerts and festivals, in the warmer months. But as the temperature drops, sales of physical music tend to rise. “In winter, when they’re holed up inside, they spend their money on vinyl and stuff they can listen to,” Kesting said. “And right now, it’s like winter all over. Everybody’s holed up, and they need music. Music feeds your soul.” That winter-in-April mentality is one thing working in favor of local record stores, which have been shuttered since late March due to Gov. Mike DeWine’s “stay at home” order. But Columbus shops have adapted to this new era, offering a mix of online ordering, curbside pickups, mail orders and even same-day home deliveries. In fact, in interviews with owners of Spoonful, Used Kids in North Campus and Lost Weekend and Elizabeth’s in Clintonville, all expressed confidence their stores would weather the coronavirus pandemic. Spoonful, for one, might even emerge in a better position.

San Francisco, CA | Records in the time of Corona: Groove Merchant: In our ongoing series about record shops coping with this global pandemic called Records In The Time Of Corona, we got to sit down with the OG of the record game on the West Coast. Cool Chris Veltri from Groove Merchant. Everyone’s favorite San Francisco record store owner and purveyor of top notch vinyl and print media broke it down on how COVID-19 has affected this storied institution and how the game is changing right before our eyes. “As of March 15 the gates closed at the shop. Sales and income diminished quickly. The following two weeks were stressful and uncertain. I got pretty close to flat broke. San Francisco is a city that simply doesn’t allow error, so I had to get moving pretty quick. I ordered an Endicia home postage system and got busy.”

Manchester, UK | The best: Manchester record stores offering home delivered vinyl inc. Piccadilly Records, Vinyl Exchange & more: If you’re like us, you could probably spend hours in a record store, browsing the vinyl for that exciting new release or to discover a hidden gem for your own collection. Unfortunately during the current situation, vinyl shops – like many others in retail – have had to close their doors for the time being. However – this doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands on your favourite records. We’ve pulled together a top 3 list of Manchester vinyl Stores in the Northern Quarter who will deliver to your door – so your lockdown can be still be soundtracked by your favourite tunes.

London, UK | The Vinyl? It’s Pricey. The Sound? Otherworldly. The Electric Recording Co. in London cuts albums the way they were made in the 1950s and ’60s — literally. …The Electric Recording Co., which has been releasing music since 2012, specializes in meticulous recreations of classical and jazz albums from the 1950s and ’60s. Its catalog includes reissues of landmark recordings by Wilhelm Furtwängler, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk, as well as lesser-known artists favored by collectors, like the violinist Johanna Martzy. But what really sets Electric Recording apart is its method — a philosophy of production more akin to the making of small-batch gourmet chocolate than most shrink-wrapped vinyl. Its albums, assembled by hand and released in editions of 300 or fewer — at a cost of $400 to $600 for each LP — are made with restored vintage equipment down to glowing vacuum-tube amplifiers, and mono tape systems that have not been used in more than half a century. The goal is to ensure a faithful restoration of what the label’s founder, Pete Hutchison, sees as a lost golden age of record-making. Even its record jackets, printed one by one on letterpress machines, show a fanatical devotion to age-old craft.

New York, NY | Other Music, Other Times: Tisch Alumnus Rob Hatch-Miller and co-director Puloma Basu remember Other Music and the community it fostered. After 20 years of musical wizardry, famed record shop Other Music shut its doors in 2016. With their latest documentary, Rob Hatch-Miller and Puloma Basu memorialize its magic, speaking to the wonder of creating communities and manifesting physical meaning by way of a mere geographical space. The closing of Other Music represented the death of a community, a distancing from reality and a retreat to a lonely world where consumers are more trusting of their Spotify algorithms than random record shop recommendations. With Record Store Day being delayed from April 18th to June 20th due to the outbreak of COVID-19, newly rendered documentary “Other Music” offers music aficionados a glimpse into simpler times. A time where rummaging through record sleeves for that elusive record that would change your life remained a reality and talking to the random melophiles around you brought an unprecedented amount of excitement into your life.

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