Author Archives: TVD HQ

London, UK | New record store to open in London this month: A new record store is opening in London in August. Next Door Records will open in Shepherd’s Bush on Wednesday 12th August as a store, bar and café. After smashing its crowdfunding target of £3000, the three-man team behind the store promise to provide a “mixture of new and vintage vinyl which will span a variety of sounds for both the living room and the dancefloor.” The record store also hopes to host live music and DJ events, book launches, exhibitions and workshops in future. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, record stores have been allowed to open in the UK since June. During lockdown, an interactive map was developed to show what independent record stores were still operating in a limited capacity, and how you can buy from them. In that time, Bristol record shop Idle Hands issued a stark warning on how the pandemic might affect small, independent businesses. Earlier this year, a new record store and dubplate cutting house, Disc World, opened in New Cross, south east London.

San Francisco, CA | Popular SF record store closes permanently: ‘There just isn’t a way forward in the city.’ Stacks of colorful indie comics have slowly begun to replace the massive collection of vinyl records sold at 1-2-3-4 Go! Records on Valencia Street. On Monday afternoon, owner Steve Stevenson announced the San Francisco location would shutter after five years in business, with comic book shop and former DIY record label Silver Sprocket taking over for the remainder of the lease. “Given the uncertain direction of the pandemic and the heavy revenue losses we’ve sustained over the last 5 months there just isn’t a way forward in the city,” Stevenson wrote in a Facebook post, encouraging his clientele to support the comic book publisher in the coming months. Silver Sprocket, previously located on Haight Street, moved into the record shop in late February after a seismic retrofit taking place at their former location prevented them from resuming operations. Since the comic book shop was operating out of the building as a pop-up business without a formal lease, they knew that once the renovations were over, their landlord would likely begin the search for a permanent tenant.

Boynton, FL | Boynton record store had a side business as an illegal gambling operation, cops say: A Boynton Beach record store owner is accused of using her business to run an illegal gambling operation, taking in thousands of dollars in bets a day. Police arrested Alison Henry Abner, 49, of suburban Lake Worth on Thursday after serving a search warrant at the Caribbean Record Store on Gateway Boulevard, near U.S. Highway 1. Henry Abner is the owner and operator of the business, police said. During a search of the business, officers found more than $6,000 in cash, including a bundle of cash with separate gambling tickets and payouts attached. Investigators found more than $2,500 hidden in a bathroom wall. Abner was advised of her rights and taken to the police department for questioning. There, she reportedly admitted to running a gambling game out of the business. She told investigators she did not know the name of the game, but described it as a game of chance in which a person would pick between one and four numbers and put money on each number.

Athens, AL | Vinyl Revival: Record store keeping it old school in Athens: The music industry has undergone many changes over the years when it comes to keeping up with the modern digital age. Most people stream music from one of many apps on their smartphones these days, but not so long ago, music was found primarily on physical media. Even CDs have been largely phased out, but there’s still those who prefer something more than a digital file. That’s where record stores like Vinyl Revival in Athens comes in. Places like this small, local shop cater to clientele who like to keep things old school and still get their music on physical media like vinyl records. “I think records, above all other mediums, are pretty unique,” said owner Keith Montgomery. “It’s a hands-on experience. You have a jacket. It’s got its own artwork and lyrics. It’s an organic experience. There’s an argument to it, but generally speaking, I think that vinyl records sound ‘better’ than digital formats. I like it.” Montgomery is from Athens originally. He moved to Detroit in the late 1970s to be closer to some family members, but after he got married, he decided he didn’t want to raise his children in Detroit. So, the family moved back to Limestone County.

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Colorado Springs, CO | Remember Record Store Day? It’s back! Bryan Ostrow has mixed feelings about Record Store Day. As the co-founder of What’s Left — a political music zine, indie label, and newly opened record shop at 829 N. Circle Drive — he feels the annual “celebration of the culture of the independently owned record store” is becoming less about small stores and more about big record companies. …But Ostrow is also an enthusiastic vinyl collector with an undying devotion to punk, metal and hip-hop. So it’s inevitable that several Record Store Day exclusives find their way into his collection each year. “Collecting physical music is so important,” says the longtime Colorado Springs resident, who also plays guitar in Night of the Living Shred and books shows for various venues around town. “Listening to a full album the way it was meant to be played; pulling out the liner notes and reading along as you listen; it’s an important art that has been going away for a while now.”

Austin, IL | ‘Austin is where we want to be.’ Despite pandemic, looting West Side small businesses still loyal to community. On June 6, less than a week after the wave of looting swept through West Garfield Park’s Madison Street corridor, Out of the Past Records store, which has been operating at 4407 W. Madison St. since 1986, was open for business. Marie Henderson, who founded the store with her husband, Charlie Henderson, said that the store has been struggling throughout the pandemic. And while it wasn’t looted, in the month after the reopening, the business hasn’t fully rebounded to where it was pre-COVID-19. The Hendersons are among a handful of small business owners on the West Side who were interviewed about how they’ve fared since the pandemic and the death of George Floyd. Some of the entrepreneurs reported an increase in profits while others found their business model completely disrupted. The Hendersons said that at one point they owned 12 record stores throughout Chicago, but as tapes and later CDs became popular, the demand for records plummeted and they wound up consolidating their inventory into their current location.

Macon, GA | Old School Music Headquarters celebrates 50 years of music in Macon: Since 1967, owner ‘Laughing’ Lafayette Haynes has watched the world of music change from his downtown record shop. For 53 years, former radio personality “Laughing” Lafayette Haynes has watched the world of music grow from his record shop in downtown Macon. Whether through owning his shop or working as a radio disk jockey, Haynes’ life has been a large part of Macon’s evolving music scene. “It’s been amazing to see the difference that has taken place in Macon since I was a little kid,” says Haynes. The same month that he opened Old School Music, Haynes started at WIBB with “The Laughing Lafayette Show.” While hosting, Haynes became a household name interviewing stars like James Brown, The Temptations, and Fletch Stone. During his 13 years at WIBB, Haynes also helped shift the station from country music to gospel and rhythm and blues alongside ‘King Bee’ disk jockey, Hamp Swain. “People used to tell me, ‘We’d get off work just to listen to you,'” says Haynes. “When WIBB went to R&B, Black people had something to listen to, it was brand new.”

Everett, WA | Pop into this Everett pop-up store for new vinyl records: Upper Left Records will offer albums from local bands and new pressings of classic recordings. Success for Ryan Taylor and Brooks Smothers would mean a six-foot folding table and, if sales really take off, an eight-footer. The two partners recently launched Upper Left Records, a pop-up store that sells new vinyl records. “Our store is a four-foot table. We’re just going to be a little pop-up table,” Smothers said. “We’re starting small, but our goal is to grow to a six-foot and then an eight-foot table,” Smothers said. The two friends, who share a love of music, were camping with their families in June. Over a campfire, they began musing about how rare it is to find places in Everett that sell new records. “I said, ‘Let’s do a little research and see if this is viable,’” Smothers said. What they found is that recent music industry studies suggest that vinyl records are having a resurgence.

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Melbourne, AU | Melbourne businesses say online sales and government help is key to surviving stage-four lockdown: …Over at Vinyl Space, a record store on Johnston Street, Collingwood, owner Mick Smajdor said business would also take a dive. “We basically have to close the shop, which probably represents about 40 to 50 per cent of my turnover, so basically it’s a massive part of the business,” Mr Smajdor said. The shop had remained open during most of the first lockdown, but has now closed in line with government advice. “We’re lucky though that we do have a fairly strong online presence through eBay and Discogs,” he said. But the downside was they hadn’t been able to qualify for JobKeeper, owing to an increase in revenue immediately leading up to COVID-19. “Unfortunately, because of the way the business grew quite a lot in the last 12-month period specifically, because of the online growth we’ve had, we’re not able to get the government support [like JobKeeper],” Mr Smajdor said.

Milwaukee, WI | Two friends just opened a vintage clothing and mid-century decor shop in South Milwaukee with an in-house record store: …One room of the shop, with a listening station, is dedicated to Swing Boogie Stomp, Natalie Gajewski’s husband Joe Gajewski’s vinyl and DJ business. “It’s always been kind of a pipe dream to open a record store,” said Joe, AKA DJ Nailhead. One room of Dupree’s in South Milwaukee is dedicated to Swing Boogie Stomp, Joe Gajewski’s vinyl and DJ business. Joe has about 6,000 records, both vintage and new releases, including ones from Hi-Tide Recordings, Swelltune Records, Wild Records, and Bloodshot Records. “A lot of it is vintage-inspired,” he said. In addition to DJing at car shows and vintage fashion shows, and having a podcast, Joe is a personal banking representative and in the Marines. “He’s the only client I ever went on a date with,” Natalie Gajewski laughed

Shanghai, CN | Old technology? Yes, but vinyl phonograph records still attract music purists: To music purists, the next best thing to attending a live concert is to hear music on vinyl records. It may be outdated to most people, but vinyl possesses a more “real” sound than CDs or digital downloads. The recent announcement by Chinese pop singer Jay Chou that he will release vinyl versions of all his 14 albums has put a renewed spotlight on the old format of music recording. Rather coincidentally, Shanghai Vinyl Records Association also announced its formation last month, dedicated to promoting vinyl recordings and looking for new innovations in the development of the format. Are we witnessing a revival of vinyl in China? According to Xu Bing, president and founder of the new Shanghai Vinyl Records Association, listening to vinyl records is a retro trend, especially for the younger generation. Vinyl is carving out a niche market.

Shelbyville, TN | Most Expensive Motown Vinyl Record Ever Sold Comes To American Airwaves For First Time, Courtesy Of Uncle Nearest: …Only 250 demo copies of the 7″ vinyl record were ever pressed. As few as two are reported to have survived with the rest being intentionally destroyed when Wilson made the decision to be a Motown producer rather than a singer. It is believed that one of those two vinyls are in the private collection of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, while the other landed at a famous English Northern soul nightclub in Wigan, England, where the song became a cult classic in the ’60s and ’70s. Due to its enormous popularity, the album was officially released in the UK in 1979. It is arguably the most popular Northern Soul record of all time and remained No. 1 on the Northern Soul charts as late as 2015.

Glasgow, UK | Divine! Inspiration: We speak to the man behind Glasgow’s longest running club night as it turns 30. Divine! was established in July 1990 by DJ Andrew Divine ‘as an excuse to play my favourite records up loud’, and it’s been anything but a heartache ever since… Glasgow’s longest running club night, Divine!, is hosting a special live stream DJ set to celebrate it’s 30th birthday this weekend – and everyone is invited to roll up the rug and join the party. Divine! was established in July 1990 by DJ Andrew Divine “as an excuse to play my favourite records up loud” in the Victoria Café at Glasgow School of Art while he was studying there. Since then it has established a solid-gold reputation via its unique 60s & 70s vinyl soundtrack, featuring a mix of northern soul, deep funk, dynamite ska, garage punk, psychedelia, latin beats, funky soundtracks – with the nights akin to ten retro club nights rolled into one. The night has since shifted online to keep the tunes sounding and the party going amid the coronavirus pandemic, with ‘Divine!-at-a-Distance’ being broadcasting live from Andrew’s attic in Glasgow’s southside twice a month to new fans and old regulars all over the globe.

Phoenix, AZ | Six Phoenix Record Shops Talk Business Amid COVID: As a rule, the music industry is subject to regular upheaval. But after threats like streaming music and economic downturn, the one posed by COVID-19 has proven especially challenging. So, how have record stores weathered the storm and found ways to keep music essential as consumers weight every single purchase? Well, we asked around, and what follows is some essential insight into what stores are selling, how they’re doing financially, and what lessons COVID has taught retailers. …Our sales remained pretty consistent. They went down a little during the week, but we’re in the summertime now and that’s expected. But then they more than make up for it during the weekend. Once we opened back up, it was like, okay, we went right back to normal. Yeah, you’ve got to wear a mask, but it was still the same old stuff. We saw a lot of cheap, mostly $1 to $3 records being sold. Again, mostly cheap classics.”

Sarnia, CA | Record Store Day adjusting to pandemic: The owners of Sarnia’s Cheeky Monkey record shop hope the third time is the charm for this year’s Record Store Day. The annual day celebrating independent record stories has already been postponed twice this year because of COVID-19 restrictions, so the current plan calls for the event to be held on three Saturdays spread over three months. Normally, the event’s release of hundreds of special-edition – and mostly vinyl – music releases happens on a single day but, this year, will be spread over Aug. 29, Sept. 26 and Oct. 24 to reduce crowds and lineups that make physical distancing a challenge. Roland Peloza, who owns the downtown Sarnia record store with his wife, Mary Anne Peloza, said Cheeky Monkey has been part of Record Store Day since it began in 2008. “This is the first one that is in pandemic mode,” he said. Most of the hundreds of releases had already been manufactured by the record companies by the time the pandemic and its restrictions arrived in North America, Peloza said.

Melbourne, AU | A comprehensive list of Melbourne record stores you can support this lockdown: From head to toe, here are all the local record stores you can support during lockdown. It’s been a thrill checking in with Melbourne’s record stores as they navigate these peculiar times. Many of these businesses flaunt age-old, tried and tested business techniques that capitalise on relationships and loyalty. Greville Records owner Warwick Brown has enjoyed delivering vinyl door-to-door as a way of evading the postal gridlock while also catching up with his customers, many of whom he regards as friends rather than shoppers. Suzanne Bennett from CBD record store, The Basement Discs, has been similarly creative during the crisis, gazing laterally to online sales, social media and email newsletters as ways of communicating with their record-lovers. While for Dutch Vinyl’s Mark Reuten, online sales have taken a jump as the Dutch expat made a swift transition once the regular stream of punters were cut off from his store.

Nashville, TN | Egon Alapatt, BA’00, offers tips on how to collect vinyl records: Eothen “Egon” Alapatt, BA’00, discovered his career path when studying at Vanderbilt, working as a DJ at the WRVU radio station, and promoting local hip-hop shows. “When I realized that reissuing and licensing of music, and procuring music for samples for hip-hop producers, could be a profession, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” The term “vinyl enthusiast” doesn’t do justice to Alapatt’s work. He has released dozens of new and almost-lost-to-history singles and albums through Now Again Records, launched in 2002 while he was general manager for the influential independent hip-hop label Stones Throw Records. More releases come through the Madlib Invazion label, a partnership with rapper Madlib and the vaults of the late J. Dilla, a wildly influential hip-hop producer. Rappcats is the online and brick-and-mortar hub for Alapatt’s output. But the Now Again releases, ranging from the 1970 Dallas Pop Festival to Vietnam-era funk music from Florida, most closely resemble Alapatt’s passion for unearthing gems.

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Madison, WI | Local Music Shop Hits a High Note with Madison Music Lovers: At a time when Wisconsinites are looking for an escape, Strictly Discs in Madison is hitting a high note. “Music has never been more popular than it is right now and it’s very accessible,” says Angie Roloff, owner of Strictly Discs. Music is especially popular during the pandemic as people are longing for connection. Music holds a different weigh for everyone. For some, it’s all in the family. “(Music is) everything. When I got out of the army, I became a mason just to support my music habit,” says customer Mike Winget. Winglet loves music so much, he named his 11-year-old son, “Lyric.” “I’m here for my son today, trying to find some stuff to give him some culture instead of him listening to the stuff on the radio,” says Winget. “Music is a whole world of rhythm,” says Lyric Winget.

New York, NY | These Businesses Lasted Decades. The Virus Closed Them for Good. The pandemic has wiped out the longstanding anchors of New York neighborhoods. Before the pandemic, Record Mart was a fixture of the Times Square subway station for more than 60 years, known for carrying vinyl recordings of Latin and jazz music. Lou Moskowitz left his job in real estate in 2006 to work full-time at the shop, which was owned by his father. Sales at independent record stores were on the decline nationwide, and many were shutting down throughout New York. Mr. Moskowitz’s friends had questioned why he had chosen to move into the industry. “I know it doesn’t make any sense,” Mr. Moskowitz said, “but I did it anyway because I wanted to work with my dad.” After his father died in 2012, Mr. Moskowitz took over the business. For years, Record Mart survived by selling electronics and headphones and drawing in passers-by to explore its extensive vinyl collection. The shop was not thriving, but revenue trickled in.

Dublin, IE | Barry joins band giving Dublin Vinyl a spin: Isee that new New Ireland Assurance chairman and former Canada Life boss Tom Barry is getting into the music business. Barry is one of the backers of Hugh Scully and Donagh Molloy’s rapidly expanding record music conglomerate Dublin Vinyl. Scully set up a vinyl-pressing plant in Glasnevin to meet demand from music purists. LP sales rose last year for the 14th consecutive year, with 18.8 million records sold in America alone. Scully’s Dublin Vinyl has pressed everything from Joy Division to Robbie Williams to Amy Winehouse. As the music industry changes dramatically, Dublin Vinyl has moved into the direct-to-consumer space, helping artists and labels to manage e-commerce and fulfilment. It also has its own Love Vinyl club.

Toledo, OH | Culture Clash leaving west Toledo to take its tunes downtown: The longtime west Toledo staple for music fans is now set to bring the hits to historic location at former spot of The Paula Brown Shop. Boogie Records shut its doors just before, in 2004, before rising from the ashes as Culture Clash at Secor and Sylvania. Culture Clash was hard to miss on Secor. O’Connor lined the roof with vinyl records, creating a visual icon that matched the quirky, fun atmosphere of the record shop that was uniquely “Toledo”. It caused a stir at one point, but remained long enough for the lasting impression… O’Connor continued on the spirit of spinning vinyl in an era when mediums changed from records to digital and he and his store were deeply woven into the community. After his death in 2016, Tim Friedman took over. Even more live music resonated throughout the shop on Secor, with over 100 artists from locally and well beyond holding shows over the past three years. But now, the future is bright, bold and downtown, according to today’s announcement.

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