Las Vegas, NV | Analog Dope Store in Arts District bringing Las Vegas community together: Couple Rachelle and Charlie Luster are making their mark in the Las Vegas Arts District. As musicians, they’re sharing their love for creativity and culture by operating the Analog Dope Store, offering a curated selection of books and vinyl selections. “Historically in this country going back to slavery, Black people were not allowed to read. We had to sneak in and find spaces to read and learn how to read from each other. So these spaces became underground libraries where people would gather,” Charlie said. “We wanted to carry on that legacy and we pay homage to that during Black History Month with an event that we do called Roses and we educate about the lineage of Black bookstores in America.” The shop first opened in 2022 and Rachelle said the Analog Dope Store is more than just a bookstore, it was born from the wants and needs of our community.
Rome, IT | These Top Record Stores In Rome for Vinyl Collectors Will Transport You To Another World: Among my favorite things about Rome is that many thriving subcultures lie beneath the city’s historic façade. One subculture will transport you to another world – the world of vinyl records. Whether you are looking for rare gems, classic albums, or new releases, you will find them in the many record stores that dot the Eternal City. Here are some of the best places in Rome to satisfy your vinyl cravings and discover new sounds. Transmission: Transmission is the spot to be if you enjoy experimental, indie, or alternative music. In this bright and inviting storefront close to Piazza Navona, you can find a handpicked assortment of CDs, books, posters, and vinyl records from indie artists. Additionally, you can take in exhibitions by artists and musicians from all over the world, as well as live performances and DJ sets…
Newcastle, UK | Independent record store could have lost ‘up to 30 customers a day’ after broadband switch left phones dead: A Newcastle city centre independent record shop has been left in a spin after a phone mix-up led to the potential loss of up to 30 customers a day and ‘hundreds of pounds worth’ of business. Reflex, on Nun Street, has been serving music fans since 1999, but customer service ground to a halt between Christmas and New Year, when owner Alan Jordan arranged for his broadband to be switched from Plusnet to BT. The switch went according to plan – but his TalkTalk telephone line mysteriously went dead at the same time, meaning that up to 30 calls a day were going unheard. A week later, the business, which is famous in the city for the long queues forming outside every Record Store Day in April, is still without a phone line as BT and TalkTalk try to get to the bottom of the problem. ‘BT say they can’t do anything because the account is with TalkTalk and TalkTalk say they can’t help because the phone line has been disconnected by BT,’ Alan said.
Long Beach, CA | Take a spin with Record Store Meet Up: Record Store Meet Up invites residents to travel through SoCal cities every other month in search of their next best vinyl find. When someone enters a shop on the Record Store Meet Up tour, they are greeted with a sign, a button, a nametag and a warm welcome from club founder Crystal Martinez. They are then thrown into an at-your-own-pace browsing mingling session with fellow vinyl connoisseurs searching for their next prized find. …“It just makes me so happy when I see someone I haven’t seen before come to a meeting and to see people start talking to each other and making new friendships,” Martinez said. “That just makes me so happy because I love building community and supporting these small businesses and these record stores. They are so important.”
Vinyl sales top 2m weekly units in sales: Is streaming in trouble? Vinyl sales again topped 2 million weekly units for the third year in a row around Christmas. These numbers are the highest since vinyl sales were electronically tracked in the early nineties. In addition, cassette tapes and CD sales have been steadily increasing in recent years. Are we seeing the resurgence of physical media? Christmas shoppers drove vinyl sales to over 2 million units sold per week for the third year in a row in that period. According to Billboard, 2.115 million units were sold in 2021 in the week ending with December 23. Last year set the record so far with 2.232 million units sold in the week ending with December 2022. These are the highest weekly numbers since vinyl sales were tracked electronically – in 1991. Over 40 million vinyl records were sold in 2022 in the US. While this might be seen as a sign of a vinyl resurgence, it pales in comparison to the heyday of the medium. In the record year 1979, over 534 million vinyl units were sold, according to the RIAA. On the other hand, before the vinyl boom, only 2.4 million units were sold in 2006.
Sioux Center, IA | Collector donates six phonographs to Dordt: Dordt University professor Mark Volkers and antique phonograph collector Irvin Soule have never met face to face. It took a community to connect them. First, it was through former Dordt employee Garry Zonnefeld, who knew of Volkers’ long search for an old phonograph machine from the early 1900s to show his digital media students at the college in Sioux Center. Zonnefeld spoke with Debbie Nibbelink of Sioux Center, Soule’s daughter, who told him of Soule’s collection, which included six Victrola phonograph machines and two portable record players. Soule recently moved into Sunrise Retirement Community in Sioux City and was looking to give them away. By November, Volkers went from having no phonographs to six along with two portables and multiple boxes of records. “My sister talked to them a little bit and told them what we had,” said Mark Soule, Irvin Soule’s son. “Mark, when he came over there, he was really excited.” Soule gifted floor-level phonographs; audio turntables that stood on their own and blended into their environment like a piece of decorated furniture.
ABKCO announces ‘Priscilla (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)’ vinyl: The soundtrack will be available on March 1st. On March 1st, ABKCO Records will release Priscilla (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on vinyl for the first time. Containing both hits and obscurities that span genres and decades, artists as diverse as Alice Coltrane, Ramones and Porches comprise the music heard in Sofia Coppola’s much-lauded latest film that was released in November. There will be a standard black vinyl version available widely and an Urban Outfitters exclusive baby blue variant. Starring Cailee Spaeny in the title role and Jacob Elordi as Elvis Presley, the film is based on Priscilla Presley’s bestselling memoir Elvis and Me. When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
Stepping Back From Ones and Zeros: Vinyl Records Among Analog Trends in 2024: According to a 2023 Luminate midyear report, analog vinyl record sales shot up 22% during the first half of 2023. Print book sales brought in $64.35 billion in revenue globally. Even sales of sports trading cards are expected to reach $767.86 million by 2028. In a world filled with digital electronics, virtual game systems, and cloud-based content, analog pursuits are still holding their own. The digital revolution has taken much of the hiss, snap, crackle, and pop out of a vinyl record collection and turned smartphone owners into instant photographers. But it has not completely replaced the nostalgia and visceral experience of old-school analog technology. Younger generations are rediscovering the appeal of board games, record albums, letter-writing, and collecting, among other non-digital pursuits. Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino all insist on using actual film emulsion to make their major motion pictures, and they’re not alone.
Aurora, IL | Roundhouse Record Show: We’re kicking off 2024 with a record show specially crafted to chase away those winter blues. Saturday, January 20th our dealers are bringing a wide range of LP’s, 45’s, sports cards, collectibles and more. Come to the Two Brother’s Roundhouse for drinks, food and music collectibles. Shop the small business in the cafe that will have a range of toys, vinyl records and unique gifts. Your favorite record dealers with LP’s & 45’s. Rare performances on CD & DVD. Bargain vinyl and used CD’s too. Christmas is done so you can shop for yourself! Plus, music is calorie free!
Stockport, UK | Stockport Vinyl Record Fair: This event is a must for all vinyl lovers, featuring traders selling vinyl records, CDs, books, and more. There is catering on site and the bar is also open. Entry is £1 per person, or £5 from 9am. The event runs from 10am-4pm. The organisers gave the following description: “We’re rammed full with vinyl records, CDs, and associated memorabilia, with some new traders alongside our regulars. “You can park at the rear of the venue for £1 in the car park off Brentnall Street. “Oh, and there’s two convenient cash machines close by, at the petrol station and Co-op.”
