Who’s Driving Up Vinyl LP Sales In 2022? It’s Probably Not Who You Think. What might a GenZ female have in common with a Millennial male? How about vinyl LPs? During the first half of 2022, vinyl album sales – the only segment of recorded music for sale that continues to grow, according to Luminate’s Midyear Music Report – were driven by younger women, with 34% of female buyers in the Gen Z category, while 62% of male buyers of vinyl were Gen X-ers or Millennials (31% for each). What’s driving those sales is not classic catalog titles, which might attract those older male consumers, but rather current releases, sales of which are up 27.4% year-over-year while catalog LP sales fell 8.4%. And who’s driving them is Harry Styles, currently the dominant act at CHR with two of the format’s top five songs based on Mediabase’s weekly spin count. Since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991, Styles’ album “Harry’s House” has posted the largest vinyl sales in a single week with 182,000 units upon its release in May.
Appleton, WI | Former Exclusive Company employee brings new record shop to downtown Appleton: The Exclusive Company may be gone, but its legacy carries on. A former Exclusive Company employee is keeping the tradition alive with his own record store, Eroding Winds Record Shop, which opened at 229 E. College Ave. in downtown Appleton on July 8. It’s the second Eroding Winds location for owner Adam Bartlett, who opened his flagship record store at 436 N. Main St. in downtown Oshkosh in 2016. It’s fitting that shortly after The Exclusive Company closed its doors in Appleton (and in many other cities), one of its former employees has made sure the Fox Cities will still have a place for music lovers to gather. An Oshkosh native, Bartlett was a regular at his hometown’s Exclusive Company location during his teenage years. He started working there on his 17th birthday in 2000 and reported directly to the late Exclusive Company founder James “Mr. G.” Giombetti. Bartlett also spent time as an employee at the Northland Mall Exclusive Company in Appleton.
Athens, GA | All things music: Local music shops in Athens: It is no secret that several major bands and artists like R.E.M., The B-52’s, Pylon, of Montreal and many more began right here in the Classic City. The city of Athens is famous for their long history in the music scene. While many of those famed bands rose to the top, other local bands took their place, and the Athens music scene is still alive and well. As the music continues to flow from the Classic City, the legacy of local music stores in Athens grows stronger as well. Athens has several locally owned music stores that offer all things music to its customers. Whether you are looking for instruments to learn to play, gear to start up a band or are looking to add to your vinyl collection, Athens has a store for it. The Red & Black has compiled a list of locally owned stores for all things music.
Milwaukee, WI | Former The Exclusive Co. employees will open Lilliput Records at Farwell St. location: Employees of The Exclusive Company’s Milwaukee location will open a new record store in its place as Lilliput Records, by the end of July. Lilliput Record’s soft opening is tentatively planned for July 30, two days after The Exclusive Co.’s last day, Thursday, July 28. Long-time manager Brian Kirk and assistant manager Tanner Musgrove decided that buying this store “was for the best” after learning of the Wisconsin-based record store chain’s closure. “Initially, we were just looking at the inventory. But it quickly morphed into purchasing the building as well, which, in the end, made much more sense,” Kirk said. Though the grand opening for Lilliput Records is still in the works, Musgrove said it will likely be the third weekend of August. James Giombetti opened the first The Exclusive Co. store in 1956 in West Bend. The company expanded with locations in Milwaukee, Appleton, Green Bay, Greenfield, Oshkosh and Janesville. The Milwaukee store has been continuously operating since 1991.
San Diego, CA | New vinyl listening bar blends sound and spirits: If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you mix a bar with a record store, then North Park’s Part Time Lover has the answer. The recently opened hybrid music lounge offers patrons a high-fidelity twist to go along with their highballs. Patrons are treated to curated live DJ sets featuring tunes spun from vinyl records. It also signified a partnership between the San Diego hospitality group Consortium Holdings and the iconic San Diego record store Folk Arts Rare Records.KPBS Midday Edition spoke with Folk Arts owner Brendan Boyle, who also helps coordinate music curation for the bar’s nightly sets. He created a special playlist of songs that encapsulate the musical vision of Part Time Lover.
Cork, IE | Gavin James to play intimate gig in Cork city record shop: He’s also due to play a show in East Cork to celebrate the launch of his new album. Renowned Dublin singer Gavin James is set to play an intimate gig in Cork city. The star is embarking on a tour around Ireland to promote his new album The Sweetest Part and will be popping into Golden Disc stores to play a few tunes and. The Stoneybatter native’s album will be dropped on Friday, and he’ll be starting his shop-tour in Kilkenny from tomorrow. He’ll be visiting Dublin, Waterford, Dunmore, Galway, and Drogheda before landing in Cork to play Golden Discs on Thursday July 28th and then Sea Church in Ballycotton the next day. His city signing will be from 5pm. The exciting Ballycotton show will a ticketed event and you can find out more here. James had previously been to the venue to record but this will be his first time performing live there. The Sea Church team said: “Sea Church, Ballycotton has been chosen as the distinctive venue for Gavin James to launch his new, long awaited album, “The Sweetest Part.”
World’s first PVC-free vinyl record made, using sources such as sugars and starches instead: A British firm says it has produced the world’s first bioplastic vinyl record, which it hopes will reduce the need for highly toxic PVC. Bioplastics are derived from sources such as sugars and starches — rather than oil or gas — and do not create any toxic waste in their production. The new bioplastic vinyl by UK firm Evolution Music has been endorsed by NGO Music Declares Emergency, a climate change campaign group set up in 2019 by artists and music industry professionals. “If Evolution can deliver an alternative guilt-free vinyl, it could get rid of one of the key polluting elements of the music industry completely,” the NGO’s co-founder Lewis Jamieson told Agence France-Presse. Currently, all vinyl records are made from Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC — described by Greenpeace as “the most environmentally damaging plastic”, whose production releases toxic, chlorine-based chemicals that are “building up in the water, air and food chain.”
David Sylvian vinyl reissues for Blemish and Manafon: Long out of print David Sylvian 00s albums to be reissued in September. David Sylvian is to have two of his Noughties abums, Blemish and Manafon, reissued on vinyl through SamadhiSound/UMC on September 2. Blemish will be a single disc while Manofan will be double vinyl, and both have been recut for vinyl by veteran engineer Tony Cousins at Metropolis studios. Blemish was originally released online in 2003, with a physical release following the next year (now regarded as a collectors item). Largely solo, the compositions were crafted from improvisational sessions by Sylvian and the acclaimed free-jazz guitarist Derek Bailey on three tracks and Austrian guitarist & producer Christian Fennesz on A Fire In A Forest. Manafon was released in 2009 and was Sylvian’s second solo album for the samadhisound label, and saw Sylvian working with some of the world’s leading free improvisers, including Evan Parker, Keith Rowe, Christian Fennesz, Sachiko M, Otomo Yoshihide, John Tilbury and members of Polwechsel working in small ensembles.
