Baton Rouge, LA | The best stores in Baton Rouge to shop for vinyl records: Finding the best stores to shop for vinyl records can be difficult, especially if you’d rather shop in-store than surf on eBay. My personal favorite record store here in Baton Rouge is Capital City Records on Perkins Road. This store’s record collection ranges from the newest pop hits to bootleg and unreleased albums from iconic artists.From Mozambique to Baton Rouge: Prince Chone is keeping jazz alive in LouisianaThe records are organized based on genre and alphabetical order, with the more collectible vinyl hanging upon the walls. The best part of Capital City Records’ vinyl selection is the chance to find rarities, such as first pressings of classic rock vinyl. Another store, Pop Shop Records on Acadian Thruway, could be easily missed upon driving past the building. However, what looks to be a church-like building is actually a quaint record store.
Burbank, CA | Burbank Chamber of Commerce Celebrates the First Anniversary of Run Out Groove Records: On Friday, August 25, 2023, Magnolia Park in Burbank buzzed with energy and the aroma of diverse cuisines as the Burbank Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the first anniversary of Run Out Groove Records. Owned by the dynamic duo of Ellen Rehak and Jeff Ferguson, this boutique record store opened its doors to the music-loving community in June 2022. This joyous occasion was timed to coincide with the rejuvenated Magnolia Park Food Truck Fridays event, which is organized by the Magnolia Park Merchants Association. …Ferguson remarked, “We originally planned to use a food truck night as part of our grand opening last year, but sadly, the events were canceled before we had a chance, so we never got around to having a grand opening. Now that they’re back, we made sure our anniversary ribbon-cutting was part of the fun.”
Auckland, NZ | Legendary New Zealand music label riding the wave of vinyl revival: Legendary New Zealand music label Flying Nun is hoping to cash in on the success of the vinyl revival with the opening of their new Auckland store, 40 years after they first started distributing records by budding alternative musicians. Started in 1981, the name Flying Nun has become synonymous with the best of independent music in Aotearoa, with the label having produced music from the likes of The Clean, The Chills, Straightjacket Fits and Headless Chickens. Now though, through launching an Auckland-based record store on Karangahape Road, Flying Nun General Manager Ben Howe says they are hoping to take the label to a new generation of record-buying fans and in doing so support their fresh batch of artists who are producing music on the label. “…We set up a store in Wellington and that has gone really well, and we have a lot of people in Auckland that we know are fans of Flying Nun artists, so it felt right to have a store here.”
UK | Rough Trade Retail reports record revenue amid vinyl sales boom: Music Week has been reporting on the robust growth in vinyl sales in the last few years. So it’s perhaps no surprise that Rough Trade Retail UK has reported record revenue in its latest financial results, which have been filed at Companies House. For the year ending December 31, 2022, Rough Trade posted sales revenue of £14,348,884, an increase of 35.8% on its previous highest turnover result in 2021. Rough Trade Soho (pictured) launched in October 2022, joining the East and West stores in London as well as shops in Bristol and Nottingham. Live music and bars operate in three sites. Profit before tax was down 38.3% year-on-year to £528,330. Rough Trade’s cost of sales and administrative expenses both increased significantly during 2022. The retailer became a Real Living Wage employer at the start of the year – an effective 12% pay rise for sales assistants – and paid out a profit earning bonus across all staff for the first time.
St. Louis, MO | Best Record Store: Frenchtown Records, Antiques & More: Records, antiques and more, oh my! For fans of the eclectic, Frenchtown Records is the perfect one-stop shop. The store on the edge of Soulard adds a third level to the typical vinyl shop “buy and sell” model — repair. Whether it’s vintage turntables or old speakers, blown woofers and tweaked tweeters, they are no match for Frenchtown’s in-house expert, “The Repair da Vinci” Bill Huber. Befitting its eccentricity, Frenchtown is also equipped to get antique clocks back to ticking. With vintage wonders sitting beside albums ranging from chart-toppers to underground nuggets of gold, you’re sure to find something you didn’t know you needed.
Oxhey, UK | Vinyl makes a comeback at Berkhamsted antique centre: A vinyl record shop in Oxhey has been such a success that the couple who own it – Julian Smith and Helen Phillips – have just opened another inside Berkhamsted’s antique centre, Home & Colonial. Former primary teacher Helen and Julian, who ran a fireplace shop, have followed their dream of a full-time career doing what they love best – music. Helen says: “Julian’s collected records since he was very young and has amassed a vast collection over the years.” Records were his passion years before they opened Second Scene Records in Oxhey in 2011 and he’s always had his own collection, which continues to grow. The dynamic duo met as teenagers in Watford. Julian has been in various bands over the years, most recently as the drummer with prog/pysch group Cranium Pie which have not only released a few albums of their own but have also played Glastonbury. The couple’s music taste is varied and the shops contain many thousands of records spanning all eras but they mainly specialise in the 60s, 70s and 80s – as Helen says: “The classic years!”
Los Angeles, CA | Rockaway Records acquires rare David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Mötley Crüe tour memorabilia: Rockaway Records has acquired an assortment of items that were gifted exclusively to the touring crews of David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, and others in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. These rare items were never on sale to the public and were only given to members of the staff and crew as a thank-you upon completion of a tour. Some highlights include a David Bowie “crew only” bomber jacket, Pink Floyd band/crew TAG Heuer gold watch and a Bob Dylan road crew Louisville Slugger. “I love buying collections of concert swag, especially from crew members. Their unique roles and hard work reward them with some truly rare items. After 45 years in business, there aren’t many music collectibles we haven’t seen before. This recent collection had several — including the Pink Floyd watch and 2 David Bowie ticket awards — that we are offering for sale for the first time.”
Collingwood, CA | Musician starts new ‘Bring your own Vinyl’ nights at brewery: Shawn Steinheart is hoping Collingwood residents share their record collections at two upcoming open-turntable nights. A new event organized by an area musician asks Collingwood residents to share some of their favourite songs by bringing a record from their collection to a gathering of fellow vinyl collectors and music appreciators. Shawn Steinheart, a Barrie-based musician and performer who has also been performing in The Blue Mountains and Collingwood over the last decade, is the organizer behind a monthly Bring Your Own Vinyl night at CW Coops in Barrie. He heard of similar events in larger cities and thought the idea could work in this area too. “I was like, this is a cool, unique thing,” said Steinheart, noting the comeback of vinyl records as music mediums. “Everyone from Millennials to Gen Z to their parents have vinyl … it’s cross-generational.”
