Berlin, DE | New record shop BIG CHOON to open in Berlin’s Zemin Art Gallery: A new record shop is opening in Berlin. Located within Zemin Art Gallery in Kreuzberg, BIG CHOON is a project that’s been started by two members of the Auslanderbehorde collective: DJ Regret and Potkid. The shop aims to cover a wide range of genres and styles, “from proper electro to IDM, acid techno to ’00s minimal, early rave to ’90s tech-house,” the team told Resident Advisor. “We’re aiming to be a tiny room full of well curated underground electronic music records, and offer a more intimate and unique digging experience.” BIG CHOON also plans to host regular in-store events, parties and workshops.
Stroud, UK | Record shop of the year says vinyl ‘here to stay.’ A Gloucestershire-based record store has won Record Store of the Year 2024. Sound Records, in Stroud, won the accolade despite being up against well-established independent shops such as Rough Trade and Piccadilly Records in Manchester. Owner Tom Berry said he thinks the success of his store lies in selling cheaper records. He said: “The key is having good records—new released and second-hand stock—and making sure we price our records fairly.” Sound Records have been trading for about six years in Stroud and now has three stores. Mr Berry told BBC Radio Gloucestershire he sees people of every age coming into the shop. “We get the 50-something man that comes in and he’s buying the records from his youth,” he said. “But we do actually get an awful lot of young people now as well.”
Manistee, MI | Manistee DJ spins vinyl into thriving resale business: From vinyl records to vintage VHS tapes, local resident Nate Markham is breathing new life into old media. Markham, a DJ and longtime music enthusiast, has turned his passion for records into a thriving business, called Nate’s Records. Operating out of his mother’s booth at Maryann’s Antiques, he has quickly become a go-to source for vinyl enthusiasts in the area. “I started this in March,” Markham said. “I got into it because my mom has an antiques booth at Maryann’s Antiques. She’s been doing that for 10 years, and one day I was like, ‘Hey, how about I put a crate of old records in your antiques booth?’ They ended up selling like hotcakes, and now I can’t buy records fast enough to keep up with how fast I sell them.”
Salt Lake City, UT | How 2 record stores are fostering Salt Lake City’s all-ages music scene: They’re part of an effort to establish “third spaces” for people under 21 to hang out and create community. A crowd of young adults nod their heads in time to a jazz trio as it weaves through its set on the stage at Fountain Records. The dimly lit underground venue at 202 E. 500 South in Salt Lake City buzzes with energy. The place is small enough to create an intimacy that seems to unite the room. While timeless music and old brick walls elicit the past, the space allows young adults to connect, live and in person. …Terry, the store’s owner and founder of the creative label FOUNTAINavm, said bringing musicians and audiences back together has been crucial to redeveloping a community around music after the pandemic pulled many people into solitude and dependence on technology. “I hope these third places get you off your phone and into the world more,” he said.
Glasgow, UK | Franz Ferdinand to perform intimate Glasgow record store gig to celebrate new album release: It has been announced that Franz Ferdinand are to perform an intimate acoustic gig at one of Glasgow’s best loved record store next week. To celebrate their sixth studio album ‘The Human Fear’ which was released today (Friday 10 January), the band will be heading to King Street for a gig at Monorail Music on Tuesday 14 January with doors at 5.30pm. Taking to social media to make the announcement, Monorail Music said: “Surprise! Our pals Franz Ferdinand are touching down for a SURPRISE INSTORE to celebrate The Human Fear, out today.
Atherton, CA | The Vinyl Revival: Why Students Still Have Record Players: “It’s fun to experiment with things you weren’t alive for,” freshman Laya Goldstein said. Goldstein collects Gracie Abrams and Taylor Swift records. Even with the rise of digital music options and streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, vinyl has been resurrected from the past and regained popularity in recent years, especially among younger generations. “Vinyl is nostalgic,” Goldstein said. “Even though I wasn’t alive when they had record players, you pretend you were.” While new digital music formats are more convenient, vinyl can uncover the imperfections and details of music, creating a sense of nostalgia that many listeners seek. “It’s a throwback to earlier times,” Gary Saxon, owner of vinyl store The Record Man in Redwood City, said. Streaming services compress the sound components of a song to create a digital recording, often removing minor details.
The 5 best turntables and accessories of CES 2025: Vinyl players that are the cream of the crop. It’s no secret that vinyl record sales have exploded over the past several years. Recording artists and fans that have grown tired of the digital age of streaming services have leaned more into the collectability and ownership of tangible physical media. That’s the reason why the global vinyl market grew an estimated $1.5 billion in 2023 with projections to reach $2.4 billion by 2030 according to reports. Of course, hardware manufactures are attempting to one-up each other with the best turntables aimed at a new breed of buyer. At CES 2025, there were several companies attempting to make players that cater to different demographics alongside price points. One thing that definitely connects them all is that they’re all ultra stylish and offer some cool feature sets beyond playing vinyl. Here are my favorite spinners and accessories for turntables that I saw on the CES show floor.
Leeds, UK | Leeds Record Fair: 12 pictures from Kirkgate Market as collectors browse through crates of vinyl albums: Record collectors in Leeds braved the biting cold to search for some new sounds to add to their collection. Coat-clad crate diggers turned up in force at Leeds Record Fair today to see what they could find. The free event is held every second Saturday of the month at Kirkgate Market and features 85 tables of sellers across two halls. John Cox, the organiser, said: “It’s been going for eight years and is always really popular. We’re always fully booked and despite the cold weather it’s been very busy today.” Check out our pictures from today’s event in the gallery.
Television’s Adventure and Faces’ Ooh La La Added to Rhino’s High Fidelity Vinyl Series: Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi) cranks up the volume again on its series of acclaimed limited-edition, high-end vinyl reissues by revitalizing and re-energizing two more rock classics! New Rhino Hi-Fi versions of Television’s pivotal sophomore LP Adventure and Faces’ fourth full-length album, Ooh La La, will be available today, exclusively at Rhino.com and internationally at select WMG stores. Each release is limited to only 5,000 individually numbered copies priced at $39.98. New York art-rock pioneers Television boldly progressed on their second album, Adventure. This time around, frontman Tom Verlaine co-produced the record alongside John Jansen. Upon release in April 1978, the band’s uncompromising vision incited widespread critical applause. It served as their last release for 14 years. In retrospect, Pitchfork praised how “the music is quieter and more reflective.” The liner notes for Ooh La La boast a highly rare and utterly fascinating conversation between Glyn Johns and Kenney Jones, including commentary by reissue producer Rob Caiger.
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