UK | Indies on a roll as Record Store Day UK reaches historic high: Preliminary results from Record Store Day—held on April 12—confirm that it was the largest and most successful yet in the annual event’s 18 year history. …Vinyl album sales in indie record shops were up by over 270% on the weekly average so far this year, while overall vinyl sales –including through non-indies – rose by 80% across the UK market. Compared to last year, RSD 2025 saw an 18% uplift in sales, making it the most successful yet. The indies share of vinyl sales in the week of Record Store Day also increased dramatically. In a typical week indies account for just over a third of vinyl sales (34.6%), but RSD 25 drive that share to more than two-thirds (72.1%), another all-time record.
US | Vinyl Record Market Foreseen to grow exponentially Over 2025-2034: The global vinyl record market size is projected to grow from USD 17.98 billion in 2023 to USD 37.33 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 11% during the forecast period. On April 25, 2025, Exactitude Consultancy., Ltd. released a research report offers a comprehensive examination of the various processes and materials used in the production of Vinyl Record market goods. The market study excludes key regions that are accelerating marketization. This section also gives the extent of different market segments and applications that could have an impact on the market in the future. …The report includes information on market trends and development, growth drivers, emerging technologies, and the investment structure of the Vinyl Record market.
Johnstown, PA | Nation’s oldest record store keeps going after almost a century: It’s almost lunchtime on a recent Friday morning, and the front door of George’s Song Shop is open, letting in a warm breeze. A visitor tells owner John George he’d like to find out a little more about his store. George responds, “What do you want to know?” George’s Song Shop actually comes with quite a bit of history for a visitor to discover. Reputed to be the oldest continually operating music emporium in the United States, George’s Song Shop in downtown Johnstown first opened in the heyday of Sophie Tucker and has stayed alive in the era of Taylor Swift. It’s endured as formats have shifted from 78s to 45s and LPs to CDs, and 8-tracks to cassettes. Given the thousands of records George has stashed in the five-story building he operates on Market Street, there’s a decent chance a record is in there that his father and uncle might have stocked when the store opened in 1932.
San Marcos, TX | Alchemy Records to close downtown San Marcos spot: One of San Marcos’ local record stores, Alchemy Records, is closing up shop for the foreseeable future. The store’s last day open will be April 26. Alchemy Records owner Walter Thorington announced the store’s closure in an Instagram post, telling customers, “bye for now.” The store had a 25% off sale in its final week. He said he’s been in San Marcos for almost 20 years and has watched community and business trends closely. He said the closure is a preemptive move for change he sees coming. “I’m aware when things get hard, people choose to help their neighbors who are hungry or can’t afford rent before they go and spend frivolously…” Thorington said. “I do think that there’s going to be a big change here soon. So we’re going to get out on top, if we can.” Despite the store closure, Thorington said he and the records are not going anywhere.
Berwyn, PA | Berwyn’s Shady Dog Record & Disc Exchange Rides the Vinyl Resurgence: Vinyl is back in vogue, and Dave Castleman, who owns Shady Dog Record & Disc Exchange in Berwyn, is thrilled, writes Hobart Rowland for the Main Line Today. Castleman has devoted most of his life to records. He started working at Plastic Fantastic vinyl shop in 1976, eventually becoming vice president. He opened Shady Dog Record & Disc Exchange in Narberth with business partner Mike Notaro in 1993. “We had vinyl even then,” said Castleman. “When we get the right stuff, the collectors have always been there.” However, records eventually gave way first to cassettes, then CDs, pushing vinyl off store shelves. Many titles stopped releasing vinyl versions entirely. But today, at Shady Dog’s Berwyn, it is vinyl that attracts people. The store offers a vast selection of both new and used records.
UK | “Young people are just mad for records these days!”: Meet the indie record shops at the heart of the UK’s vinyl boom: From Dundee to Southsea, let’s meet some local heroes introducing young music fans to their first vinyl record. Vinyl is so back. Haven’t you heard? As we celebrate 10 years of the UK’s Official Vinyl Charts, we thought it high time to spotlight the people at the heart of the current vinyl boom. The indie record shop staff who, day in and day out, are tirelessly spreading the good word of physical music in stores up and down the country, and vitally, guiding today’s young shoppers to their all-important first record purchase. While independent record shops make up 3% of the UK albums market, they account for a disproportionate 36% of vinyl sales today, and the audience for vinyl is notably shifting.
Denver, CO | Denver record club won’t fill orders, send refunds or respond to emails, customers say: Vinyl Me, Please has seen lawsuits, layoffs and numerous complaints over the last year. Dozens of subscribers to the Vinyl Me, Please record club say they’re confused and angry about unfilled orders, a lack of refunds, and weeks of silence from the Denver company. “I’ve been a VMP member since 2014, so it’s been especially disheartening to see what they’ve become after supporting them for so long,” said Nashville-based Stewart Eastham, who is seeking refunds from Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) of more than $1,000 in unfilled pre-orders and annual membership fees. “It seems VMP has stopped shipping records entirely and they’re still charging for memberships that promise new releases,” he continued, echoing more than 100 complaints reviewed by The Denver Post across Reddit, social media, YouTube, and VMP’s Discord server. “There has been zero communication and no response from customer support for over a month now.”
Tacoma, WA | Music: From affordable to inaccessible: In the past decade, music has become the newest form of art with a heavy price tag, and it’s one that some cannot afford to pay. …Even with streaming platforms, some fans still prefer the sound of vinyl records, as digital music formats like MP3s and streaming compress the music compared to records, which are close to an exact copy of the master recording. This preference comes with a stark cost, as records becoming popular with younger generations over the last few years caused the demand to overtake the supply, flipping the market in favor of sellers instead of buyers. While records can be purchased for a few dollars at a garage sale, it’s now common for new records to cost upwards of 30 dollars.
Edinburgh, UK | The strange case of record companies’ vinyl pricing policy: I don’t know whether it is because of Record Store Day highlighting just how expensive vinyl can be, but at Avalanche we are getting comments almost every day about the prices being charged for both new releases and back catalogue reissues. Thankfully the context is normally that the customer will say that our prices, while by no means cheap, are far more reasonable than others, whether shops or online sellers. We make the same margin that we have always made and regularly have to tell people that our prices are not discounted beyond us passing on any discount we are given by the record companies and their labels. When I say the same margin, that is not strictly true as in the bad old days there were times a CD costing us £9.96 was being sold by others for £9.99 which we had to match. In those days record company reps would visit and they had more leeway with stock and would often give us more copies for free which would then represent our profit.
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