Brooklyn, NY | Beloved family-run record store in Brooklyn to close its doors amid financial challenges: A beloved Brooklyn record shop that’s been part of the Bensonhurst community for nearly 60 years is preparing to close its doors. Silvana Conte’s parents opened SAS Italian Records in 1967, driven by a dream to bring Italian-Americans a taste of home. …The shop has become a neighborhood staple, but following the recent passing of Conte’s mother, it will soon close its doors for good. Conte says she kept the store open to preserve her mother’s legacy, but with mounting financial challenges, the family has made the painful decision to let it go. “She used to come down here and say, ‘This is my goal store. This is what I created.’ And I said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s going to be here.’ And now she’s not here and I can’t—I did what I could,” she said, holding back tears.
Waterloo, ON | Sunrise Records in Conestoga Mall permanently closing: Staff and customers at Waterloo’s Sunrise Records in Conestoga Mall are preparing for a final farewell with the store closing on Dec. 31. The store specializes in music and movies, being one of the few local places that still sells CDs and vinyl records. Employees say customers have shared their sadness to see the store go. “It makes me emotional every time because people are so heartbroken about it, just like we said,” said Erin Witt, who has been working at the location for the last three years. Though staff say they don’t know much about why the store is closing, they have heard it has to do with lease negotiations. “Sales have been great. Customers, we got a lot of positive feedback,” explained 14-month employee Dalton Saddon. “So, it’s a complete and utter shock.”
Austin, TX | End of an era: old Waterloo Records site may soon be cleared for development. After the iconic record store’s big move, its original shop could be demolished. In 2025, one of Austin’s most famous vinyl record stores underwent some big changes, moving locations and acquiring new owners. Waterloo Records relocated a few blocks away from its home of four decades and now has more space for performances and amenities including a gold record room, a podcast studio, and a cafe. But the fate of the old location where the iconic record store stood for years is now in flux, facing potential demolition. This week, the property owner submitted a demolition permission application, bringing the location one step closer to a long-term makeover. The shop’s Sixth and Lamar site had been in danger of closing for some time. In 2019, Endeavor Real Estate Group purchased that property. Waterloo relocated and reopened at the end of August.
SG | 19 Best Vinyl Record Stores in Singapore For A Throwback To Before Music Streaming Was A Thing: With Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music, we have a world of music quite literally at our fingertips. But for vinyl enthusiasts and aficionados of analog audio, there’s nothing more satisfying about the experience of buying an LP, slipping the shiny new record out of its sleeve, placing it on a turntable, and gently dropping the needle—a far more elaborate ritual than letting an algorithm choose songs for you. There’s no logical reason to buy vinyl over music streaming—it’s a purely emotional experience. If you’re looking to get acquainted with the magic of analog music, here are vinyl record stores in Singapore for rare secondhand LPs or a brand new pressing of Taylor Swift’s latest album.
Franklin, IN | Many still finding refuge on analog islands amid deepening digital seas: As technology distracts, polarizes and automates, people are still finding refuge on analog islands in the digital sea. The holdouts span the generation gaps, uniting elderly and middle-aged enclaves born in the pre-internet times with the digital natives raised in the era of online ubiquity. They are setting down their devices to paint, color, knit and play board games. Others carve out time to mail birthday cards and salutations written in their own hand. Some drive cars with manual transmissions while surrounded by automobiles increasingly able to drive themselves. And a widening audience is turning to vinyl albums, resuscitating an analog format that was on its deathbed 20 years ago.
UK | CDs return to Christmas shopping lists as gen Z embrace ‘retro renaissance.’ Demand for CD players rises 74% this year amid deluxe releases from artists such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd. Forget the vinyl revival. CD players and compact discs are back on Christmas lists this year amid a wave of 90s nostalgia and coveted “deluxe” releases from big acts such as Taylor Swift and Pink Floyd. Demand for compact discs peaked in the mid-00s and many households ditched their systems and libraries as digital music took off. But the distinctive whirr is returning to bedrooms around the country, with retailers and marketplaces experiencing an uptick in appetite for vintage tech and music to play on it. John Lewis has upped its range of CD players to meet resurgent demand and says sales are up 74% in the last year. “We’re seeing something of a retro renaissance,” said Heather Andrews, one of its electricals buyers.
UK | Karen Emanuel, Founder and CEO of Key Production Group, Awarded an OBE for Services to Music: Karen Emanuel, the Founder and CEO of Europe’s largest physical music manufacturing agency, Key Production Group, has been awarded an OBE in the King’s News Year’s Honours List for her services to music. …In that time, Karen has become a significant figure in tackling gender imbalances in music, setting up peer-to-peer support initiatives for women in their careers. She’s also led the way transforming sustainability within physical music production, byadvocating and advising more sustainable processes, carbon footprinting and life-cycle analysis and contributing to resetting the agenda for trade bodies.
Leeds, UK | 10 of the best photos from Leeds Corn Exchange Christmas record fair: It’s the record fair which is sure to evoke memories for a generation of music fans. Leeds Corn Exchange hosted regular record fairs in the late 1980s and 1990s offering collectors the chance to find that missing must have vinyl from artists of all musical genres. Fast forward to 2025 and the fair has returned to the city centre landmark every month thanks to Record Plant who boast shops selling second hand records and memorabilia at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley and on Gillygate in York. Your YEP popped down to the Corn Exchange to thumb through the vinyl and check out what was on offer.
Spokane, WA | Donation Guidelines for the 2026 Record Sale: …We accept equipment, vinyl records, 45 RPM singles, compact discs, DVD and Blu-ray discs, cassette tapes, eight-track cartridges, reel-to-reel tapes, limited commercial VHS and Beta tapes, and sealed blank tapes. We CANNOT accept home-recorded cassette tapes or CD-R recordings due to copyright issues. All items should be clean, in their original sleeves or cases, with all booklets included. …The primary reason for the sale and the reason it has gone on so long. Records should be in their original jackets with dust sleeves and in ‘gently used’ condition. In the case of long works such as operas or long symphonies, be sure that all records are in the case along with the books.
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