Madison, WI | Record store resurgence: vinyl sales jump as old tech trend grows: There are more streaming services than ever before in 2020. With a slew of options to listen to music, the comeback of a classic form of technology might make people scratch their heads. The Recording Industry Association of America estimates vinyl to outsell CD’s in 2019. Southern Wisconsin record store owners say they are happy they never got rid of vinyl, because it’s consuming most of their sales. MadCity Music is among that group of stores. It has been in Madison since 1981. Current owner, Dave Zero, credits the community for their strong support to buy local and admiration of music. “It [vinyl] makes up most of our sales,” Zero said. MadCity Music has always sold vinyl, but Zero didn’t expect it to come back as strong as it has in the past decade. He says their number one selling artist isn’t a classic, it’s a new artist, Taylor Swift. Drew Metter, the manager at Janesville’s Exclusive Company can relate to Zero. He said their number one vinyl selling artist has been Billie Ellish.
Columbia, SC | Music lovers keep vinyl alive: USC student Jesse Milliff set one of her favorite vinyl records, “Signs of Light” by The Head and The Heart, on her black turntable. “When I wake up in the morning,” the first song began. “I see nothing / for miles and miles and miles.” The record is one of more than 200 she has in wooden crates on her bedroom floor. Milliff, a third-year business management student, started listening to vinyl because of her dad. “He showed me all of his records,” she said, sitting under a Beatles poster next to her turntable. “I think Beatles ‘65 was the first one I listened to.” Milliff is among a large number of people who listen to vinyl records. Nationally, vinyl record sales have increased every year since 2005, reaching over $419 million in 2018, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Vinyl sales are expected to surpass CD sales this year, in part because of vinyl’s increasing popularity, but also because of a steep drop in CD sales, according to RIAA. In an age when the music industry is ruled by streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, vinyl has made its comeback. To be sure, vinyl sales still pale in comparison to those services, but the attraction is visceral and emotional.
Cumming, GA | Local bands rally around His Rock Music record store: Friends of the music store are planning a benefit concert to help rebuild the shop’s inventory. Local bands are now coming together to rock out and rally around a beloved record shop. A benefit concert is now in the works to help His Rock Music following a fire last Friday that destroyed the shop’s entire inventory. Several supporters of the music score are organizing the Feb 8th concert that will be held at the Ponce De Leon Music Center in Cumming off 1060 Dahlonega Highway. Lead concert coordinator and former His Rock Music performer, Rachael Nintzel said the studio has impacted so many people in the Atlanta music scene, “It’s more than just a central part of Cumming. Like yes, it’s a staple in Cumming, Georgia. But in the Atlanta and Georgia music scene, it’s where many bands got their start. “God called on me and said you need to do something. And the first thing that popped into my head was a benefit concert. There’s no better way to serve someone that has given us a space to hone on our talents than to showcase those talents,” adds Nintzel.
Los Angeles, CA | An Audiophile’s Guide to Visiting Los Angeles: A few weeks ago, we published an article here at AudiophileReview.com that asked the question: in order to be a well-informed, seasoned audiophile do you have to travel? For many, the answer is “yes,” as so many traditional brick & mortar stereo stores and regional AV chains have gone the way of the dodo. Replacing said retailers are often pretty mundane big-box retailers, non-audiophile-centric custom installation firms, and online retailers that, while compelling, can’t offer that old-school and often very appreciated in-store experience. AR-1-12-capitol-records-building450.jpgA willingness to travel gives you access to a growing number of regional audiophile shows, like AXPONA, Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Capital Audio Fest, shows around Los Angeles, Toronto, New York, San Francisco, and–if you’re willing to make the occasional international jaunt, Munich. But if you don’t have a ton of frequent-flier miles nor the budget to make so many trips in a year, you can get a lot done with one relatively affordable plane ticket to a big city such as Los Angeles and experience the best of what the city has to offer for people who are looking to invest in their audiophile systems as well as have a great time.
Official Top 100 biggest selling vinyl albums of the decade: It was the decade vinyl came back in from the cold – who’s been gracing turntables the most in the 2010s? One of the most remarkable music trends of the 2010s has been the resurgence of a format once seen as obsolete. Since vinyl ceased to become the dominant physical format in the 1980s, fandom of the black plastic was restricted to DJs and collectors, with the odd enthusiast poring over stacks of vinyl in local record shops. In the last decade, however, vinyl has made a comeback. it’s now more widely available than it has been in years – you can even buy vinyl albums in supermarkets. The vinyl revival led Official Charts to launch the Official Vinyl Albums and Singles Charts, which are updated every week. There’s been a demand from some fans to hear vintage albums on the format they were originally recorded for, which has led to an increasing fondness by artists to reissue classics on vinyl, sometimes on very collectable limited editions, such as coloured discs or double LP sets with extra content.
Brisbane, AU | Beloved Brisbane Record Store To Close: “The shoppe as you know it will be closing down here at 680 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley very soon.” A beloved Brisbane record store has announced it will be closing. Phase 4 Records, currently based in Fortitude Valley, shared the news on Facebook yesterday afternoon. “The shoppe as you know it will be closing down here at 680 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley very soon,” the store’s owners wrote. “So whether you might be crying into your hands or clasping them, stay tuned for updates and more detailed speech writing. New stock will still be hitting the floor as per normal as we got a nice swag of LPs in this week.” When approached by The Music, co-owner Julie Morrison confirmed the news but would not comment further. Opened in 2015, Phase 4 Records has become a staple in 
New York, NY | MoMA has opened a gorgeous new record store pop-up: New Yorkers have a new record shop in Soho with dozens of records to set their needles on. Through March 1, the MoMA Design Store at 81 Spring Street will have a special concept space it collaborated on with Williamsburg’s Earwax Records called The Record Shop. The pop-up, which is decorated with color blocks of bright pinks, yellows and greens, is meant to unite music and design in one space in a reflection of 20th century pop culture, MoMA says. Inside, audiophiles will find more than 45 records (Duran Duran, The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Miles Davis, Philip Glass) from MoMA’s permanent collection, featuring cover designs by modern artists like Andy Warhol, Raymond Pettibon, Richard Avedon and Robert Frank, all of whom have been featured at MoMA, which just recently reopened after a major renovation. “The best album covers are a compact 
Seattle, WA | Dumb Shit Overheard in a Seattle Record Store: Anyone who’s worked in retail can tell you dozens of anecdotes about the boundless idiocy of the general public. Those who toil in record stores are no exception. In fact, the comments that customers in those establishments utter carry an extra frisson of unintentional comedy due to the shifting popularity of recording formats and the aesthetic properties of music itself. Back when I worked at Everyday Music circa 2003-2004, one gentleman asked with sincerity, “Do you carry CDs?” without even noticing the tens of thousands of them sprawled out before him. Yeah. Recently, a Seattle music retail employee shared with me a list titled “Dumb Shit,” which this person’s been compiling for several years. Read these remarks and ROFL, while also 
Boston, MA | Iconic Boston record shop Skippy White’s will play its final tune: An iconic Boston record shop that has been open for 59 years will soon be closing its doors. Skippy White’s, located in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, is going out of business. The shop’s owner and namesake, Skippy White, is a walking music history book with the kind of knowledge you can’t get online. He opened his first record store in 1961. His business survived a fire and decades of new styles of music, and outlasted eight-track tapes, cassettes and CDs. But it could not overcome the rise in streaming. “The record business is not what it used to be,” White said. White announced on Facebook that he will be going out of business, which was disappointing news for hundreds of his loyal customers. “I’ve had people in all day long (Friday), feeling that they love me,” White said. “It’s 
