Tampa Bay, FL | Emo is hugely popular in Tampa Bay, but DJs and record sellers have to navigate the genre’s problematic artists: At the end, ‘fans take precedence.’ Tampa Bay is more emotional than ever thanks in part to a highly confessional and soul-bearing genre that is a staple in the community. But constant access to social media has opened the genre’s musicians to allegations and accusations of misconduct, leading bands to get canceled. The allegations also force record sellers and the curators of local DJ nights devoted to emo to respond to cancel culture. Cambridge Dictionary defines cancel culture as “a way of behaving in a society or group, especially on social media, in which it is common to completely reject and stop supporting someone because they have said or done something that offends you.” …Although cancel culture is prevalent in every genre of music, Blake Nolen—owner of Indy Record Shop, an online record store based in Tampa—thinks that it is more common for emo fans to be vocal about the issue. “I think a lot of emo kids kind of wear their hearts on their sleeves and are more open to expressing themselves,” Nolen told CL.
Norfolk, UK | Will gets career back on track with Diss record shop opening: A Roydon man has embraced his love for music by taking a leap of faith and opening a record shop in Diss. William Porteous threw open the doors to Wildflower Records – a name inspired by his love of Tom Petty – in Church Street yesterday in a move he puts down to a deep passion for music and an upbringing spent listening to vinyl. The 40-year-old has been a gardener since the age of 17, but has made the jump to owning his own business after rediscovering one of his first loves during lockdown. He said: “I was looking through my vinyl collection. I did not want to go back to my job as a gardener and, during Covid, I was a stay-at-home dad, so I just wanted to do something that I really liked. “Taking this step has come out of nowhere and was all very sudden. “Some people have plans that have been 20 years in the making. For me, it was just one of those ideas that has turned into me getting the keys.” The shop, also influenced by his love of the great outdoors, stocks vinyl, cassettes and CDs – all split between different rooms.
New York, NY | A Sleek Cocktail Lounge for Vinyl Record Fans Opens in Greenpoint: A new bar for audiophiles opened today, according to Grub Street. Eavesdrop has cocktails, like ones using yuzu and yerba mate, as well as a selection of wine and beer. The food menu features chicken meatballs with chile mayo, baked cod with tamari-doused spinach, tinned fish, nori popcorn, a miso rice bowl with tofu, and, for dessert, a yuzu lemon ricotta cake. The 36-seat listening bar comes from Dan Wissinger and Charlie Ballinger, who previously worked in music. Fittingly, the room is outfitted with state-of-the-art sound systems where the team will book DJs and other musical acts. According to Grub Street, the bar plans to host bring-your-own vinyl record nights.
Kingston, UK | The Smiths’ lead guitarist Johnny Marr comes to Kingston: A Kingston record shop hosted the lead guitarist from one of the best-known bands from the 1980s, The Smiths, this week. The rock legend, Johnny Marr, 58, visited the Banquet Records shop to meet fans and sign vinyl records of his new album, Fever Dreams 1-4, released 25 February. Marr is on a whistle stop tour of record shops to promote his new album, and Banquet Records is one of these shops set up to cater for these tours for many artists alike. The shop owner, Jon Tolley, 44, told South West Londoner: “It’s an important part of what we do as a business but also as what we do as a community. It’s great to be the facilitator of that. “Johnny Marr is the person who wants to support and meet fans and wants to be a part of something. “He does seem very grateful for still having an audience to play for, he’s very appreciative of his fans, and it shows. “He likes the vibe of Kingston!”
Universal Music Posts Record Revenue for 2021 as Streaming and Vinyl Soar: The world’s largest music company, Universal Music Group, posted a record $9.4 billion in revenue for 2021, the company announced in its earnings report on Thursday. That marks a 14.4% increase over 2020, although comparisons with the pandemic year are obviously skewed. Recorded music revenues were up 14.3% to around $7.52 billion, while streaming soared nearly 17% to just under $5 billion. Physical revenue is up 18.6% year-over-year to around $1.24 billion, powered mostly by vinyl’s continued growth and a boost in direct-to-consumer sales. Top sellers for the year included new albums from Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Justin Bieber, Morgan Wallen, ABBA and Taylor Swift, while the Weeknd and Billie Eilish also posted strong sales.
The first year of Metallica’s vinyl club was pretty epic: In the first week of March 2020—before anyone in the United States was concerned about rapid tests, face masks and quarantines—Metallica announced their first-ever attempt at a vinyl subscription service known as, quite simply, The Metallica Vinyl Club. Promised to include “rare cuts, demos & rough mixes, and live rarities,” the club locked fans into a yearlong subscription that delivered a 7-inch record every quarter. Additionally, becoming a member of the club would also open up some doors for you to get exclusive merch. This didn’t come as a big surprise to fans; Metallica have always cared about vinyl and offering distinct experiences for their fans through special records. Whether it’s deluxe box sets and reissues or serving as the official ambassadors for Record Store Day in 2016, Metallica love vinyl. But with all of that, let’s just say things didn’t go exactly according to plan. And yet, The Metallica Vinyl Club was—and will continue to be—pretty epic.
