Lehigh Valley, PA | Record Store Day in the Lehigh Valley: 2 local shops picked to carry exclusive WXPN vinyl: An exclusive vinyl copy of live recordings by some of eastern Pennsylvania’s best, but maybe lesser known, musicians will be available for one day only on April 20 for free. While you’re making your annual pilgrimage to your favorite music shop on Record Store Day, don’t miss hitting up either of the only two Lehigh Valley record stores selected to carry WXPN’s Homegrown Originals: Vol 2. Like its predecessor Homegrown Originals, Vol 2 is a compilation of exclusive live recordings on vinyl by Philadelphia-rooted artists taped for The Key Studio Sessions, WXPN radio’s weekly music scene series, and the Free At Noon concert series. The double-sided, 10-track album features music by Greater Philadelphia area artists who specialize in blending. Pop, R&B, indie, rock and punk all make up the happy host of genres reflected in the album and the sound of today’s underground music scene in this part of the world.
Brooklyn, NY | Record store backed by Erasure, Depeche Mode’s Vince Clarke coming to Park Slope: Enjoy the silence while you can Park Slope, there’s a new record store opening on Fifth Avenue next month, promising to be a haven for music aficionados of all ages. Sterling Records, a passion project of owner Gary Giddens and backed by synth-pop legend Vince Clarke — one of the founding members of Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure — is aiming to open its doors and have records spinning by May 19, just in time for the annual Fifth Avenue street fair. Giddens, also the owner of nearby bar Gowanus Gardens, was first encouraged to follow his teenage dream of opening a record store by Clarke, his long-time friend. He said Clarke’s decision to come on board early as an investor got the ball rolling on making Sterling Records a reality. “I’m really excited to be involved with Gary’s project, an opportunity to share our passion for music, history, vinyl and the art of audio,” Clarke said in a statement to Brooklyn Paper.
Abertillery , UK | Kenny’s Vinyl Vault to open vegan café in Abertillery: Owned by Jo and Kenny Kendrick, Kenny’s Vinyl Vault, is nothing short of a success story with the business expanding from 15 High Street to 21 Church Street. The new shop will see the addition of a vegan café alongside thousands of new and pre – loved vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs and Blu Rays. Mrs Kendrick will also continue her tarot readings where guests can also buy beautiful, responsibly sourced crystals and jewellery. In a true family affair, the couple’s three children Pippa, Carriad Kendrick and Tobey Kendrick are involved in the business. Mr Kendrick said: “The business will continue to be a vinyl shop and there will be a lot more music-based things in store such as record signings. Whilst Jo will continue to focus on the tarot readings and crystals. “We have built up a good following and are really excited about the addition of the café.”
Kansas City, MO | Manor Records settles into new home it hopes will be ‘anchor’ for Kansas City music scene: Manor Records, the nonprofit record label aimed at helping local musicians fund their work, is opening a new storefront on Troost Avenue. The record store will offer a small stage for concerts and a space for music lessons in the back. The foundation is celebrating its grand opening Friday with a concert. For the past month, a modest storefront next to an ice cream shop at 55th Street and Troost Avenue has been under wraps. Behind the brown paper, Shaun Crowley, the founder and president of Manor Records, has been hard at work creating his latest venture for the nonprofit record label that nurtures local talent. Crowley started the nonprofit in 2017, with concerts first in a rented house in Shawnee, then moving to a cafe in Strawberry Hill and later a basement space in the West Bottoms. On Troost, he’s doubled the retail space where he will sell used records. This time, Crowley thinks he has the right business model.
Tranent, UK | Things Canola Get Better: Scots firm gives vinyl a new spin to create eco-friendly records ready to make the market sizzle. Since becoming popular in the 1950s, to its seeming demise in the ‘90s, to the more recent resurgence as the format of choice for music connoisseurs, vinyl records have been made with the same substance. But musicians are increasingly turning to an alternative form of PVC, used to make the shiny black discs, created from an unlikely source: recycled cooking oil. Scottish start-up company Seabass Vinyl is pressing records using the new type of eco-friendly plastic, with cult punk artist Vic Godard its first customer. The PVC is created by using cooking oil and other industrial byproducts to create a bio-vinyl indistinguishable from traditional plastics. “The most important thing is that it is the right quality, and there is no difference from an acoustic perspective versus standard PVC – listeners won’t lose any sound quality,” said David Harvey…“It’s the same product, just made from used cooking oil.”
Lincoln, NE | Vinyl collecting alive in Lincoln as popularity rises: Passion for music and its format fuels the decision to purchase and sell music physically every day. A MusicWatch study in March 2022 estimated that 18 million consumers ages 13 and older, purchased a vinyl record, which is a 27% increase from 2020. Billboard concluded that 47.1% of album sales in the U.S. were vinyl record sales. Fifty-seven percent of physical albums were sold on vinyl and outsold their competing formats. “The best part of vinyl records is that it’s real. It’s a physical piece of music that I can relate to, that I can use to express myself and how I’m feeling or who I am as a person,” said Alex Neill, a broadcasting and sports media major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who has amassed a collection of over 300 records. Despite rising vinyl popularity, Lincoln has seen vinyl record stores come and go through the years.
IE | Vinyl inflation: Soaring record prices leave small producers in a spin: The vinyl revival continues, but is it at the expense of loyal fans and independent artists. Last month, Britain announced that the cost of vinyl records will be one of the consumer goods used to measure UK inflation. It’s the first time since 1992 that vinyl has been in Britain’s notional shopping basket. This was one of a number of vinyl-related stories making headlines in recent weeks. Another, detailed the rise in the number of independent UK record shops. They’ve hit a 10-year high, up 122 shops on a decade ago, while, in the US, vinyl sales topped CDs for the second year in a row, a first since 1987. Such stories feed into the positive narrative that’s swelled around vinyl since sales creeped upwards 16 years ago. Vinyl now has a growing association with all that’s hip. …While there’s an undoubted increase in love for the physical format, some perspective around the spin is needed. The 461 independent UK record shops may be a 10-year high but there were some 2,200 shops in the 1980s.
Bend, OR | World’s Last Blockbuster Store, world record in Bend, Oregon: Blockbuster, also known as the Last Blockbuster, is a video rental store in Bend, Oregon; in 2018, it became the last Blockbuster store in the United States, it stocks around 1,200 titles and has an estimated 4,000 members who regularly rent movies and in 2020, it became the last remaining retail store using the Blockbuster brand, thus setting the world record for being the World’s Last Blockbuster Store, according to the World Record Academy. …”After successfully operating their locally owned video stores for 10 years, the Tisher’s, along with their partners, Debbie’s parents, Larry and Berniece Doan made the decision to become a Blockbuster Franchise in June of 2000. This was the beginning of our Blockbuster Story: how a small business, thru stubborn determination and a bit of pure luck, has been able to operate in the chaos of an ever changing home video world.”
UK | Are vinyl collectors are being cheated out of extra music? As Beyonce leaves off five songs from Cowboy Carter record, how Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo have enraged fans. Since its release last week, Beyonce’s new album has been dubbed a ‘masterpiece’ by gushing critics and devoted fans alike. Although Cowboy Carter has been met with worldwide praise, the singer has angered a group of fans by not putting the album’s bonus tracks on the vinyl version. In failing to do so, the Texas Hold ‘Em singer has fallen into the same trap as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish in recent years. The A-List stars have been slammed for not putting all the tracks on each vinyl and releasing multiple ‘limited edition’ versions to make even more money. One moaned on TikTok: ‘It’s such a shame because Ya Ya is probably up there with my top five favourite songs at the moment. I’m quite miffed.’
