UK | Vinyl sales surge for 18th consecutive year, led by Taylor Swift’s record-breaking releases: Vinyl sales have experienced remarkable growth for the past 18 consecutive years, with a notable surge of 13% year-on-year, bringing total sales to 7.6 million units. Leading this resurgence is Taylor Swift’s “Life Of A Showgirl,” which has captured audiences and secured top position in sales. Additionally, her limited edition release “Lover (Live From Paris),” available for just 72 hours on her website, made waves by selling 47,000 copies during that brief time frame. This significant sales achievement marked a historic milestone, as it became the first album in eight years to reach number one on pure sales—highlighting a shift in consumer preferences, with no streams contributing to its total.
UK | BPI: UK stars make global impact and physical maintains momentum but streaming growth slows in 2025: The UK recorded music market grew for an 11th consecutive year, according to the latest BPI figures for 2025. British breakthrough artists including Olivia Dean, Lola Young and Skye Newman led a British music revival in the UK and globally amid growing optimism about domestic talent, The BPI has revealed that overall recorded music consumption across sales and streams increased by 4.9% annually over the past 12 months to reach a new high of 210.3 million albums (or their streamed equivalent) consumed. While that’s a solid performance, it also marks a slowdown compared to the double-digit streaming growth of recent years. Music Week has reported on the reduction of the increase in streaming consumption amid signs that the UK market is maturing.
North Windham, ME | Retailer Bull Moose to close North Windham store: Bull Moose, a Portland-based purveyor of music, books, movies and games owned by its employees, said it plans to close its store in North Windham after 35 years in business. The company plans to close the store, located at the North Windham Shopping Center, at the end of this month. “We have worked hard to keep this store going, but the realities of the space make it increasingly difficult to serve our customers and staff the way we believe they deserve,” the company said. Bull Moose, led by its founder and interim CEO Brett Wickard, gave no further reason for the closure. “This was a difficult decision,” Wickard said in a statement emailed to Mainebiz.
Laconia, NH | Pair of record shops spin competition into collaboration: New Hampshire Vintage Vinyl’s Dan McLaughlin will now source discs for Defiant Records & Craft Beer. The teams at neighboring shops New Hampshire Vintage Vinyl and Defiant Records & Craft Beer are coming together to sell music downtown. Vintage Vinyl and Defiant are located at two corners of Main and Canal streets, directly across from one another, and a collaboration between those two businesses seems natural. Circumstances were changing for the way Defiant sources their records, which they display and sell inside the craft beer bar. A sales representative they’ve worked with for years moved on, and so the team there turned to Dan McLaughlin, owner of Vintage Vinyl. He’ll supply Defiant with high-quality records from here on out. “I think it’s a good partnership,” Kristin Bastille, owner of Defiant, said on Wednesday. “It’s definitely brought in more of a rotation.”
Croydon, UK | 101 Records to shut with final blast at landlords and council: One of the stalwarts of the Croydon music scene since the period of peak punk, where singer Kirsty MacColl once worked in its mail order department, is to close next month. Another key part of Croydon’s retail and cultural heritage will come to an end at the end of next month when 101 Records, on Keeley Road, shuts up shop for the final time. 101 Records has been such an important part of Croydon’s music scene for so long that it even has a plaque cemented into the pavement near East Croydon Station, part of the Borough of Culture Heritage Music Trail, which celebrates the time when the store was located on George Street and called Bonaparte Records. A sign of the times was stuck in 101 Records’ shop window earlier this month…
Chicago, IL | Bridgeport Records gets death threat for selling ‘Black music, rap music, Spanish music.’ The owners of the record shop, which is dedicated to house and dance music, said the threat was an outlier and not representative of how the Bridgeport neighborhood has welcomed them since opening in 2024. The owners of Bridgeport Records, a record shop dedicated to house and dance music, received a death threat Saturday night for selling diverse music. Owners Jerry Morrison and Vick Lavender were watching the Bears game at their shop with friends and customers when Morrison said he received a call around 7:30 p.m. “An older white man called and said he was on his way to kill us,” Morrison told the Chicago Sun-Times. “This was someone who had been in the store, knew the layout, knew our music. He said he knew we sell Black music, rap music, Spanish music in Bridgeport, and he said we were going to die.” …“They ain’t messing with us. We’re going to turn up some Black dance music and turn it up loud,” he said.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, CA | Vinyl fever spreads to Niagara-on-the-Lake: Royal Canadian Legion plays host to the first official NOTL Record and CD Show and Sale, drawing record collectors from across Niagara. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 124 was transformed into a mecca for vinyl lovers on Sunday as the first Niagara-on-the-Lake Record and CD Show and Sale took over the event space for the afternoon. Organizer and NOTL resident Chrystal Haverstock, who has been running a similar, larger event at various locations in St. Catharines for about 20 years, felt it was time to offer something for her hometown crowd. “This is my Legion,” Haverstock told The Local. “I’m a member here, and I’m on the board of directors. I thought, why not give it a shot and host a small one. This is a bit of a test pop-up.”
Richmond, VA | The Richmond Record Riot! Over 15,000 LPs in one room! Sat January 17th at Stony Point Fashion Park. The Richmond Record Riot! It’s a MASSIVE vinyl record POP-UP sale at Stony Point Fashion Park! Sat January 17th. Over 15,000 vinyl records in ONE ROOM! Great music and family fun. LPs, CDs and 45s. A giant record store lands in Richmond VA! Dealers from far and wide converge for a giant music sale! Saturday January 17th, steps away from our friends at Crossroads Records—in Stony Point Fashion Park! LPs and 45s and CDs too. All types of music from punk to funk to country to classic rock, hip hop, soul/jazz and more. Dust off that turntable and come on down. Regular admission starts at 10 AM ($5) with early admission at 9 AM ($15). Don’t miss the BIG VINYL DIG!
Milwaukee, WI | Our new “Milwaukee Record Club” DJ series is a collaborative vinyl spin: Bay View’s Wiggle Room (2988 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) has thousands upon thousands of LPs and 45s in its collection. On top of that, Milwaukee’s first dedicated vinyl bar routinely outsources its turntables to a wide range of DJs who bring their records to play for customers. In 2026, Milwaukee Record will offer another, exponentially more crowdsourced way to enjoy music pressed to wax in a public setting. The first Wednesday of each month, we’ll take over the Wiggle Room decks for a monthly collaborative vinyl spin we’re calling “Milwaukee Record Club.” From 6-9 p.m., we’ll drop the needle on vinyl releases that adhere to the month’s specific theme. Though we’ll bring enough music to cover a full set, we’re asking—no, we’re strongly encouraging—people to bring in their own vinyl that fits our chosen theme. If we think it’s a fit, we’ll play it!
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