Fort Myers, FL | Record Store Day in SWFL: What to expect and where to go. Get ready for exclusive vinyl and free stuff. Record Store Day is just around the corner. This music-centric holiday is an occasion to celebrate local music businesses and to be able to grab exclusive, one-of-a-kind records. April 20th will mark the event’s 17th birthday. How is Southwest Florida celebrating, you may ask? …Stellar Records is excited to celebrate its first Record Store Day. They plan to open at 8:30 a.m. and their event will contninue through 6:30 p.m. The store, located on Cleveland Avenue was established September 2023 during a vinyl emergence and within a strong local music scene. Owner Liz Cochran can’t wait for April 20. According to her, the first 30 customers will get a Stellar Records tote bag. Also… “We’re giving away a record player and a prize pack. That’s for everybody, anybody who comes in at any point during the day,” Cochran said.
London, UK | Record Store Day 2024: Where to celebrate in London. After two years of being a fairly subdued matter, Record Store Day is back in full force this Saturday (April 23) for the festival’s 15th anniversary, with more than 260 independent record shops getting in on the act. In addition to all the special-edition releases that are coming out to mark RSD, there will also be a whole programme of events taking place at the weekend: live music, day-parties, DJ sets, prizes, limited edition goodies, signed copies of records, and more. London is absolutely bursting with incredible record shops, so if you’re not sure where to start, check out our guide to the city’s best record shops. Then, here’s our breakdown of the best events taking place on Saturday. Bear in mind that queues are likely, and if you can book ahead, we’d advise you do so to avoid disappointment on the day.
Indianola, IA | West Wing Vinyls: Indianola’s “happy place.” Indianola has many things to offer: Beautiful parks, a great shopping center in the Indianola town square, and plenty of restaurants. One thing that Indianola local Suzanne Hack thought was missing was a vinyl and CD shop. Located on West 2nd Avenue in Indianola, Hack opened West Wing Vinyls, the first women-ran music shop in Iowa, in November of 2023. They wanted to make sure that they were open before the holiday season. Since opening, Hack has felt very welcomed by the community. “I knew it, and Indianola knew that we needed a record store,” she said. Prior to being a record store, it was a mechanical shop, and the biggest question Hack faced was: “How am I going to turn this into a music shop?” Hack knew that she wanted a smaller shop up front with more of a storage area in the back. She was able to use the old office space as the main part of the shop and has the rest of the vinyls, CDs and cassettes cataloged in the back so she is able to grab them for customers who ask.
Huntsville, AL | Record Store Day in Huntsville + 1 shop with exclusive sales: Record Store Day is coming up on Saturday, April 20th! This exciting holiday celebrates the staff, customers and artists at independent record stores across the country and internationally. The first Record Store Day was held on April 19, 2008. To celebrate, participating stores will be stocked with products like exclusively colored discs and never-pressed-before releases. Browse the list of titles and start making your shopping lists now—these releases will be selling fast! Keep in mind that not all titles are guaranteed to be held at all stores. Vertical House Records: Vertical House Records is located at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment and is owned and operated by a husband-wife duo passionate about all things music. You can shop a popular range of LPs, cassettes, CDs, turntables, stereo equipment and, of course, Record Store Day exclusives…
Denver, CO | Best Boutique Record Store: Paradise Found Records & Music. There are bigger record stores in the area. But Paradise Found is as special as its name, and easily proves that size doesn’t (always) matter. The retailer took on its new identity in 2016, when Will Paradise purchased Bart’s Record Shop from its owners, who had decided to move east after a quarter of a century on the Boulder retail scene. The Pearl Street setting that Paradise chose is warm and inviting, and so are the staffers, who offer both a deep knowledge of stock that’s curated with taste and smarts, and an enthusiasm for the sounds of yesterday and today that’s positively infectious.
Chicago, IL | Beverly Phono Mart Brings “The Noise.” On Apr. 2, local record store Beverly Phono Mart (BPM) returned for a second pop-up shop in the Wiseman Lounge. During the sale, they sold vinyl records, CDs, cassette tapes, and merchandise, to bring what they feel is an important part of life to the SXU community. Located in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago, BPM is owned by Mallory McClaire and Chantala Kommanivanh, a married couple who opened the store in October 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. BPM sells news and “I USED to love” vinyl records, CDs, and cassette tapes ranging from artists like J Dilla and Erykah Badu to Mitski and Japanese Breakfast, and even classics from Miles Davis and Nancy Sinatra. The shop also sells merch such as t-shirts, jackets, and tote bags. BPM also ships orders within the U.S. through its website and offers floor space for patrons to lounge. During the sale, they sold a variety of vinyl records, ranging from city pop compilations to classic jazz albums, and even some recent Hip-hop and R&B.
Adamstown NSW, AU | Hunter Record Fair, Saturday, 18 May 2024: Stallholders from around the country will be offering a massive range of both new and second-hand vinyl records and CDs! Don’t miss out on bargains, rarities, LPs, 45s and more. Thousands of records across all genres of music will be available, including: country, rock, soul, metal, punk, pop, hip-hop, jazz, blues, reggae, rockabilly, folk, r&b, ska, alternative, house, hardcore punk, electro, indie, new wave, noise + more. Although some stallholders have eftpos, we recommend that you be prepared and bring cash with you. A percentage of profits go to Kotara High School P&C.
Seoul, KR | Korean Vinyl Record Market Experiences Downturn Amid Shifting Consumer Trends: Factors Including Pandemic Recovery and Quality Concerns Contribute to Decline in Sales. The Korean vinyl record market is witnessing a downturn, as indicated by a significant drop in sales at online retailer Aladin. Previously sought-after LPs, typically priced between 40,000 to 60,000 won ($30-45), have seen prices plummet to 10,000 to 20,000 won. C Shop Korea, an importer of music records, has reported a 40 percent decrease in domestic sales compared to the previous year. In response, they have opted to slash prices rather than accumulate unsold stock. Factors contributing to this trend include the end of the pandemic, lifestyle changes such as increased outdoor activities, and inflation. High prices, inconsistent quality, and delays in LP releases have also dampened consumer interest. In contrast to the stagnation in Korea, the United States continues to experience steady growth in the vinyl market.
New York, NY | Will the Vinyl record renaissance last? Among the many things that have made an unexpected comeback, the return of vinyl records was something no one anticipated. Before the pandemic, the Vinyl record industry was nearly extinct, thanks to the rise of cassette tapes and CDs. By the time the Internet made its way into the music scene, purchases of vinyl records were at the lowest it had ever been. That said, sales slowly began to climb and by 2019, vinyl records earned $224.1 million in the first half of the year. However, it wasn’t until the world was deep into the COVID-19 pandemic that vinyl popularity took a huge jump into the mainstream. Thanks to popular artists like Taylor Swift, vinyl record sales have continued their upward trajectory. United Record Pressing CEO Mark Michaels remarked on Swift’s success in an interview with CNBC. “When Taylor releases a new record, there may be eight, nine, 10, different variants of that same record — different colors, different combinations, maybe there’s some unique tracks that weren’t included on the digital release, or the CD, but you get it on the vinyl,” said Michaels.
