In rotation: 7/15/19

Manchester, UK | The Manchester institutions everyone should visit at least once: …Established in 1978, Piccadilly Records has outlived every music format that’s come and gone in the last forty-odd years. The Oldham Street shop is a specialist in new and niche release records and usually has the most extensive list of Record Store Day titles – and the biggest queues. Across the road, Vinyl Exchange is another long-standing resident that’s been here since 1988. It prices its records according to their condition (from mint to poor) and marks them down the longer they’re in stock – resulting in plenty of bargains. Around the corner in Stevenson Square, after a couple of moves, Eastern Bloc was at the centre of the Madchester scene in the late 1980s and remains just as relevant today with its impressive house, techno, dub, funk and reggae selection and late night DJ sets and events in-store. Slightly newer but no less part of the fabric of the city is Vinyl Revival on Hilton Street, which opened in 1997 at the height of the Britpop scene and dedicates a good percentage of its shelves to Manchester music from the 60s to the present day.

Southgate, MI | Stormy Records to celebrate 20th anniversary with big bash: Stormy Records opened in the summer of 1999 when the musically included Windy Weber and Carl Hultgren decided Dearborn needed a record store. According to Weber, the business has changed a lot, both in physical locations, and in the way the record business has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. “The one constant, through all 20 years, is the support of long-standing customers and the friendships forged with them,” a release from the store said. “Stormy Records prides itself in knowing their customers by name, and their dog’s names too!! As dog lovers, their current location is adorned with a collection of record covers that all feature dogs. The store, at 13306 Michigan Ave., is hosting a celebration of its first two decades July 20.

Streaming Now Accounts for 66% of Germany’s Total Recorded Music Revenue: Last year, despite the growth of music streaming in the country, German’s music industry remained stagnant – at best. German music association Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) revealed that the country had recorded 79.5 billion streams. Music streaming had grown by 40%. Meanwhile, and thanks to its reliance on physical media, Germany’s recorded music revenue actually fell 1% year-over-year. CDs declined with 48.2 million units sold, down 23% over 2017. In a shocking drop, vinyl sales also fell 7%, with BVMI tracking only 3 million records sold. In short, the German music industry brought in €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) in recorded music revenue, down 0.4% year-over-year. Music sales came from all available formats – streaming, CDs, digital downloads, and vinyl… CDs continue to crash, falling 11.7% year-over-year. As with most countries around the world, vinyl experienced a strong boom, growing 7.4% over H1 2018. Physical formats now make up 34% of Germany’s recorded music revenue, down 11% year-over-year.

Brighton, UK | Vinyl Revolution in Brighton is ‘forced to shut down’: A POPULAR record shop is to close because the owners can no longer afford to run it. Vinyl Revolution, in Duke Street, Brighton, will shut its doors for good this weekend. Owners Simon Parker and Rachel Lowe blamed the closure on the chaos caused by Brexit, £22,000 in business rates and high rent. The couple have posted an impassioned video on YouTube saying they have no choice but to shut. Mrs Lowe said: “We’ve been forced to close because the Government has created an environment in which it’s virtually impossible for a small independent shop to survive on the high street.” Mr Parker said: “Hundreds of shops are closing every week and the Government is doing nothing. “When the banking crisis happened the Government invested billions to save the industry and we want to know why they’re doing nothing to save independent retail.”

The String Cheese Incident and Keller Williams Announce Vinyl Release of ‘Breathe’ at Red Rocks: To mark their upcoming Red Rocks collaboration, The String Cheese Incident and Keller Williams will release their 1999 joint LP Breathe on vinyl for the first time ever. “As many of you know, Saturday night [July 20] at Red Rocks, SCI will be joined by our longtime compadre, Keller Williams,” the band wrote via Facebook. “As we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Breathe record, which will be played in full… and we are pleased to announce that a limited run of Breathe vinyl will be available for the first time!” The limited edition Breathe vinyl will be printed as a 180g double LP, available only at Red Rocks merch stands next weekend. Tickets for the band’s special Saturday night Red Rocks show with Keller Williams are still available, although SCI notes that they are “nearly sold out.”

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  • SUPPORTING YOUR LOCAL INDIE SHOPS SINCE 2007


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