For the Record: How Vinyl Got its Groove Back — to the Tune of a Billion Dollars: …A few weeks ago at the Music Biz conference, MusicWatch founder Russ Crupnick presented a new consumer research study on the topic, “Revelations About the Vinyl Revolution,” about where this growth is coming from and why – as well as how the business might expand. (The study was funded by the Music Business Association and the RIAA.) Based on more than 1,400 consumer surveys, including more than 900 vinyl buyers, the report segments the market of vinyl buyers according to how long they’ve been collecting (38% more than a decade, 30% between three and 10 years, and about a third less than two years) and how often and why they buy. Although we tend to think of vinyl buyers as a particular tribe, there are more of them than most people realize – 17.6 million in the U.S. That’s more than a third of the number of Americans who bought tracks as downloads at the peak of that market. And although 26% are “veteran and committed,” there are also consumers who focus more on packaging (26%) and artists (20%), as well as pop fans (12%) and “new occasionals” (15%).
What Nostalgia? Vinyl’s Biggest Boosts Are Coming From Pop Fans and Mass Merchants (Even if Indie Stores and Rock Still Rule): Much of the audience that is driving vinyl sales to new peaks consists of fans who are experiencing LPs as their first and only physical format. Luminate data shows Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo are selling the format as well as themselves. “…Rock still controls the vinyl universe,” concedes Peter Krien, senior music analyst at Luminate. But with big surges for pop and country of late — not to mention the recent development of Tyler, the Creator’s album returning to No. 1 based almost entirely on a vinyl release — “it was just nice to see some increased diversity from a genre perspective over the past year.” The preeminence of pop in the vinyl format isn’t about to end any time soon. Tuesday, it was announced that Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” had broken the record for vinyl sales in a single week — and more than that, it’d done that in just its first three days out, with LP sales of more than 146,000 just in the first weekend.
West Allis, WI | West Allis record store changes some business practices after being victim of alleged check fraud: Record Head in West Allis has changed some of the ways it operates its business after learning it was a victim of alleged check fraud earlier this year. The business doesn’t just sell records. It also buys a lot of merchandise from customers to re-sell. Anything from a $50 game system to a $10,000 guitar. “So, when an item is more expensive, rather than keeping that cash on hand, we issue them a check,” said Bill Sanders, Chief Operations Officer at the store on Greenfield Avenue. Sanders says Record Head has issued thousands of checks over the years and never had a problem until one day in February. “We were rectifying all of our books, and my accountant was like, ‘Hey can you explain some of these charges? They’re not typical. What’s going on?’ I was like, ‘Oh I have no idea what any of that is,'” Sanders recalled. According to court documents, there were “eight fraudulent transactions totaling $2,485.36.”
Everett, WA | Vinyl Hunters: Buy One Record, or all 10,000: While meandering through the Everett Flea Market recently, I stumbled upon Vinyl Hunters. If you hear some good jams emanating through the space, it’s likely coming from Paul Burr in the back left corner of the store where he hangs out with his large collection of vinyl records. Admittedly, I had mostly just wandered into the flea market in search of home goods. Yet I managed to wander out with three new records instead. I blame Paul; in the best way. …Paul’s got it all, he shared. “Blues. Jazz. Country. A lot of stuff from the 50s-90s. There’s at least 10,000 records here.” The average price point seemed to run around $15-20; which compared to new vinyl is very reasonable. Especially when you consider that these 50-year-old records can go up in value. Don’t be surprised to see certain records priced at $50 or $100+. Paul uses, “a 16-year-old book for the prices, and then I usually add a couple bucks to make a little money.”
Madisonville , KY | Record Revival Collection is a hit at the Library: Madisonville Public Library has a new offering for library card holders and it is already the new rave among members. It is called the Record Revival Collection, and according to the Library Director Joel Meador, this collection lets people discover and experience vintage music how it was originally experienced. “Vinyl records have made a tremendous resurgence over the past ten years or so, but things particularly picked up during the pandemic — even becoming popular with millennials new to the format; and for older people, it’s nostalgic.” Meador also shared that vinyl records have a number of benefits. Unlike music streamed, records are a tactile experience and foster a closer connection to the music. There’s also a big visual art component with record covers. And, there’s a literary side to them as well since lots of vinyl record covers, especially gatefolds contain extensive written information and photos about the record and the artist. Listening to records also promotes active listening and can be a form of meditation.
Plymouth, MN | Copycats Media to open vinyl album pressing plant as demand for records increases: The music soothingly welcoming customers into Mill City Records in Hopkins is spinning away on a Technics turntable at the front counter. On this day, the needle has dropped on vinyl album by Berlin happily taking anyone within earshot on a nostalgia-filled journey back to the 1980’s. “I found the sound quality is just unmatchable,” Kurt Weissenburger who was searching the stacks for some new vinyl to take home, told FOX 9. “The audio quality is so great and just being able to kind of experience that in a different way has been a really cool thing for me.” That user experience has not gone unnoticed by the very Plymouth-based company that produces and packages compact disks. “It’s big,” Copycats Media president Justin Kristal told FOX 9. Copycats is one of the largest compact disk producers in America. They’ve made CD’s for artists from Adelle to Dolly, and books on tape from Barak Obama to Harry Potter. But increasingly, fans of local independent artists want a new, if not old groove.
Idlewild announce reissue and 20th anniversary tour for ‘The Remote Part.’ The band call the 2002 album their “defining record.” Idlewild have announced a reissue and 20th anniversary tour for their 2002 album ‘The Remote Part’ – get tickets for the gigs here and find all the details below. The new reissue comes on the back of the band celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2021 with a retrospective book and career-spanning UK tour. On July 15 – 20 years to the day since its initial release – ‘The Remote Part’ will be reissued on black LP, with the vinyl available to pre-order via Dig! now. Speaking to the website in an excerpt of a soon-to-be-released interview, frontman Roddy Woomble said: “Simply speaking, ‘The Remote Part’ is the most popular, commercially successful record that Idlewild ever made. “None of our other records achieved that level of popularity. So it’s the defining record…”
Talk Talk debut album to get 40th anniversary vinyl reissue: Talk Talk’s The Party’s Over to be reissued on coloured vinyl in July. Pioneering post-rock band Talk Talk are to have their debut album, The Party’s Over, reissued on coloured vinyl through EMI on July 15. Originally released in 1982, and recorded by a line-up of Mark Hollis (vocals), Simon Brenner (keyboards), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass) (this would be the only Talk Talk album to feature Brenner), The Party’s Over represents the band’s early synth pop leanings. The Party’s Over was produced by former David Bowie engineer Colin Thurston, who also produced Duran Duran’s debut album. The album reached No. 23 in the UK album charts and spawned two hit singles in Today, which reached No. 14 and Talk Talk, which stalled at No. 52. The Party’s Over will be released on white vinyl. A grey vinyl version will be available exclusively through the Dig! website.
Metallica team up with Walmart for range of coloured vinyl releases: Load, ReLoad, Garage, Inc., St. Anger, and Death Magnetic will be reissued in June on a variety of coloured vinyl in the US. Metallica have announced they’ve teamed up once again with Walmart to offer fans an exclusive range of coloured vinyl. The band previously joined forces with the US retailer for reissues of Kill ‘Em All, Ride The Lightning, Master Of Puppets, …And Justice For All, The Black Album and Hardwired… To Self-Destruct(opens in new tab). Now the band have revealed that Load, ReLoad, Garage, Inc., St. Anger and Death Magnetic will be released as a limited edition bundle exclusively through Walmart on June 17. All have been pressed on double vinyl, with the exception of Garage, Inc. which spans 3LP. Load is presented on Poor Twisted Orange vinyl, ReLoad on Flaming Fuel vinyl, Garage Inc. on Fade To Blue vinyl, St. Anger on Some Kind Of Orange vinyl and Death Magnetic on Magnetic Silver vinyl. There’s no word at the moment if these reissues will be released outside of the US.
Limited Edition Vinyl Record Features 60 Musicians in Honor of George Floyd: With the 2nd anniversary of George Floyd’s death on May 25, comes a new movement that touches all corners of the earth. Black Lives: From Generation to Generation is a two-disc vinyl limited edition project featuring songs by 25 artists and over 60 musicians across the globe to fight for equality and social justice. The beauty of this project is that these global composers take you on a personal music journey of pain, love, kindness and hope for the human race to conquer all. Each song tells a unique story from geographical viewpoints across the world of culture shifters and change agents who range from 20 to 80 years of age. The multi-national, multi-genre musical tale reflects the culturally connective power of music to bring together individuals, places and generations. Sparked as a source of moral truth and potent weaponry in response to the worldwide George Floyd protests initiated, this work is spearheaded by Brussels-based Music Agency and Label Producer Stefany Calembert and her husband African-American Veteran Bassist Reggie Washington. They used the therapeutic medicine of music that has historically uplifted people of color during the civil rights movements.
