State College, PA | Algorithms Can’t Match the Record Store Experience: …The best part of the old record store was the experience. Sometimes you went in there with a specific album in mind—like when a new U2 album was released and we were there to watch them take the albums out of the box they were shipped in. Or the goal was a multi-year quest for the rare Led Zeppelin B-side “Hey, Hey What Can I Do” that was finally found in a used record store in New Orleans. Other times you’d go to your favorite store just to hang out and perhaps discover something new. The clerk would have new tracks spinning on the turntable, and you’d listen as you perused the aisles of new and used records. Sometimes they’d ask “Have you heard the new album by…?” and play it on the turntable behind the counter. That was part of the experience.
London, UK | HMV is planning to shake up retail with Oxford Street comeback: Everybody loves a comeback story, and it is good news for music and pop culture lovers as HMV reopened its flagship store on London’s iconic Oxford Street at the end of last year. After a four-year absence, the return to 363 Oxford Street is a full-circle moment as it was also home to the very first HMV store back in 1921. Customers can expect the location to become a hub for entertainment in the capital and the largest entertainment outlet in London offering an unparalleled range of music, film, merchandise and technology products as well as performance spaces. Nevertheless, the new store signals a dramatic turnaround under Canadian owner Doug Putman, who took the reins back in 2019. “Having the store there and open is great and the excitement around the business that its generated,” HMV Managing Director Phil Halliday told indy100. “Whenever I speak to people outside of work or wherever it really seems to mean something to people that we’ve reopened on Oxford Street and in that store.”
New Kensington, PA | New Kensington record store owner buys out Allentown shop, opening 2nd storefront: As more big retailers stop carrying physical media, and more people find limitations to streaming, New Kensington record store owner A.J. Rassau believes there will be more demand for what he offers. That’s his hope, at least. And after investing a half-million dollars to take in more than 100,000 vinyl records and more than 100,000 compact discs, he’d better be right. It took four tractor-trailers to bring all that music to New Kensington from Allentown, where Rassau, 38, bought out the inventory of Double Decker Records, which closed in December after being in business for nearly 30 years. “It took every dollar to my name, plus a lot of loans,” Rassau said. Without enough retail space at his shop, Preserving, in the former Salvation Army building on 11th Street, Rassau is opening a second storefront nearby on Fifth Avenue.
Östersund, SE | Vinylen appeared—the record store opened in Stortorget: After leaving his old job, due to old age, Ulf Grinder knew what he wanted to do. To create something that Östersund lacked. Vinyl shop like the old days, but in a modern style. This is something Östersund has not had for many years. It’s the kind of store that’s needed in the city, where you can walk in and experience not just browsing through the registers, but also spending some time, talking a little, and feeling the vibe. The feeling should be a little different than when you walk into a store and there are only ramps, says Ulf Grinder. The store in Stortorget feels more open than many other vinyl stores. The small room is filled with natural light, it’s not cramped and it feels like there’s real thought behind the design of the room. Queen, Status Quo, ELO, David Bowie and Bob Dylan are just some of the famous names lining the walls. He bought the records from three unnamed sellers. Now in the startup phase, I drive used, but the goal is to also drive new. “I’m going to try to work as broadly as possible with this record store,” says Ulf.
Edinburgh, UK | Edinburgh record shop dubbed Aladdin’s cave visited by viral Youtube vinyl-hunters: Vinyl Villains on the city’s Elm Row was visited by online duo ‘The Vinyl Hunters’ who came to Scotland to see if they could find any deals for vintage records. An Edinburgh record shop has been visited by a pair of online ‘vinyl hunters’ as they searched for bargain deals in Scotland’s capital. Jake and ‘Poppa’ Dave, better known by their online name as ‘The Vinyl Hunters’, dropped by Vinyl Villains on the city’s Elm Row after the shop was recommended to them by fans. The pair, from London, have documented their search for vintage vinyl records across social media and their videos have been viewed thousands of times. However, Vinyl Villains had the honour of being the hunter’s first visit to a shop outside of England. ake said: “We put up a little question on social media, saying that we’re coming to Edinburgh soon, which shop should we visit? And you guys said Vinyl Villains.”
Los Angeles, CA | L.A. Small Business Owners React to California’s Minimum Wage Hike: ‘It’s Not the Solution.’ Three Echo Park business owners, who already pay hourly employees over the minimum wage, weigh in on the issue, the struggle and the bigger picture. …Oren Pius is another small business owner who already pays his employees over the minimum wage at his Echo Park record store cafe, Cosmic Vinyl (ranked by Los Angeles as one of the five best indie record stores in the city). But he thinks that even with the raise, the minimum wage is “probably still too low.” Pius makes his living working full-time as a mental healthcare provider, but he continues to run the cafe on the side even though he doesn’t “take any money out of it.” “Getting by on minimum wage is probably impossible. There’s no way I could do it. Me and my wife both have full-time jobs. I have a baby. After childcare and making a good wage, we’re still left with nothing at the end of every paycheck.” The record aficionado feels that workers’ pay should reflect how much profit a company brings in.
Auckland, NZ | Attention Record Fiends! The Auckland Record Fair Returns: The twice-yearly Auckland Record Fair is organised by Truly Fine Citizen, aka the legendary Brian Wafer, who says: “Apparently All Aucklanders desert the city on long weekends. Untrue of course, but that is what has been said for years. With this in mind it was decided that Tuesday Feb 6th would be a great time to have the Auckland Record Fair. With only the people of good taste and refinement left in the City there should be plenty of parking and no long queues anywhere. So, like the Laneway people and the organisers of Waitangi Day Ki Tamaki 2024, we want to enjoy the city of Auckland on the day. What have we got? Unsurprisingly , there will be Records. Heaps of them. Multiple vendors with all sorts of music on vinyl. Good, bad, desirable, unloved, overpriced, cheap as chips. Rare, common, unknown, obscure. The record of your dreams might just be there.
San Francisco, CA | Drop the needle: More and more, we are spinning back to wax: Vinyl sales continue to skyrocket—and it’s not just Taylor Swift and simple nostalgia driving the tables. …Over in the UK, the British Phonographic Industry reported that sales of vinyl rose for the 16th consecutive year in 2023, as reported in Resident Advisor. While the BPI’s final 2023 stats are still TBA, preliminary data shows that 5.9 million vinyl records were sold last year, representing an 11.7 percent increase year-on-year—the fastest growth this decade. The same report documented that people also bought nearly 11 million CDs—the format’s smallest annual decline in 10 years—and 100,000 tapes. What accounts for this return to sounds in physical formats? A couple of things: People enjoy having a centralized experience when listening to music. Records, CDs, and cassettes all contain the album art, liner notes, information on the recording, and writing credits. No need to scour the internet to find out all of these things. Listening to a project as a whole brings a different value to the trip.
