Raleigh, NC | Collecting the dying medium: Why physical media appeals to the internet generation. By most measures, physical media has been sundowning for decades, from music to TV and movies to video games. PlayStation announced they will stop producing discs for new games in 2028. Netflix terminated its decades-old DVD rental program in 2023. Of the biggest movies of the year, only a few are guaranteed to be distributed on DVD. From the modern perspective championing efficiency and cost-effectiveness, a Spotify subscription is an easy choice to make over individually purchasing albums at Target. Despite that logic, the average college student now has a certain kind of reverence for the dusty vinyl collection in their parent’s attic.
Matthews, NC | Inside Goodwill’s new record store in downtown Matthews: Opened Sept. 4 in downtown Matthews, the donation-based shop sells records for $4.99 and lets shoppers test media before buying. …Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont opened the record and media store on Sept. 4 in downtown Matthews. According to the nonprofit, it’s a first-of-its-kind concept for the organization, its first new store since 2024 and its 37th in the greater Charlotte region. The space is small but not snug, with three distinct areas. …That’s the trade-off with a donation-based media store; people are less likely to part with rare, in-demand records that gain value over time, especially for free. And the inventory is only as good as what the surrounding area gives away. If folks in Matthews aren’t donating R&B and hip-hop, that section stays skimpy.
Houston, TX | Memo’s Record Shop—a Houston East End treasure keeping Latin music alive: Walk into Memo’s Record Shop in Houston’s East End and you’re not just walking into a store—you’re walking into decades of history. The walls are covered in photos of big-name artists. The shelves are stacked with the music people grew up on—Juan Gabriel, Vicente Fernandez, Selena, Jose Jose, and Luis Miguel. And behind every photo, every album and every memory is the same family that has kept this place running since 1968. The man in those photos—standing shoulder to shoulder with some of Latin music’s biggest stars—is 87-year-old Guillermo “Memo” Villarreal. He was home resting when KPRC 2 stopped by, but his impact is everywhere you look.
London, UK | USM and Symbol Audio Open The Doors to a “Record Shop” in London: Complete with a vinyl collection, coffee shop, and DJ sets. …Installed as part of this week’s London Design Festival (which runs until Sunday, September 20) the “USM Record Store” takes over the Marylebone space, paying homage to the connection between design and music through talks, performances, and other activations. Pieces from the existing Symbol collaboration, first launched in 2024, are dotted around—from record stands, to a DJ booth, and vinyl crates to display cabinets. “We’ve held USM in high-regard here at Symbol for a long time, not only for their incredible product, but the clarity of their vision for the world of furniture,” Walker Tovin, Symbol’s brand director said at the time of the first launch.
Regina, SK | Foo Fighters concert gives Regina record store a boost: Excitement over the Foo Fighters’ Regina concert coming up Tuesday night is spilling beyond Mosaic Stadium, with local businesses already seeing a boost from fans preparing for the show. Ken Magnuson, owner of ON AV & ON A Vynyl Records, says his store has gained some traction due to the anticipated arrival of the Foo Fighters. “Leading up to this week, there’s been a lot of people coming in and buying the new Foo Fighters album that we actually just ran out of stock on,” says Magnuson. Magnuson also says that with all the excitement of the Foo Fighters coming to town, people have been buying a lot of other music. “Having the show here obviously is bringing a great amount of clientele to town,” says Magnuson.
Barcelona, SP | El Club Del Disco revives the ritual of listening to music beyond the ‘play’ button: …Choosing a record, lingering over the cover, flicking through the sleeve notes and finally placing it on the turntable: it’s a ritual gaining more and more followers, and more spaces backing this format in Barcelona too, where in recent years—albeit still discreetly—spaces dedicated to vinyl or high-quality listening, the so-called Hi-FI spaces, have been popping up. Next week, the Catalan capital will celebrate the opening of a venue that takes this ritual to its fullest expression: El Club del Disco (Carrer Casp, 62).
Hove, UK | Hove Record Fair: A vinyl lover’s guide: A guide to the Hove Record Fair at The Brunswick, a free vinyl event run by Keyring Records with a DJ set from J.D. O’Kill. Covers the next date on 8 November, the happy-hour perk for buyers, and the venue’s bar, restaurant and nearby Hove attractions. If you spend your weekends digging through crates for a rare press or a cheap bargain, the Hove Record Fair is worth keeping on your radar. It’s a recurring vinyl event at The Brunswick in Hove that brings together local dealers, collectors and music fans for a day of browsing thousands of records, from genuine bargains to proper collector’s items, and it’s a decent way to spend a Sunday without spending much beyond what you find…
New Box Set Celebrates 50 Years of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: ‘Origins 1971-1978’ digs into the vaults to trace the group’s sonic formation. A new comprehensive box set will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Origins 1971-1978 digs into the vaults to trace the group’s sonic formation. Out November 6 via UMe, Origins 1971-1978 will be available in three configurations: a 5LP box set, a 4CD box set and an uber deluxe edition, each with Blu-ray and DVD. The centerpiece of the vinyl editions is an 88-page fanzine featuring liner notes by David Fricke and Bud Scoppa, track-by-track annotations from the original band, complete album credits for the first two albums and a trove of unearthed archival photos and memorabilia, alongside polaroids, postcards, collectibles and more.
Slash’s ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ returns on limited-edition vinyl colors: Just in time for Halloween, legendary Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash is bringing back his acclaimed Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood—Halloween Horror Nights collections with two brand-new limited-edition vinyl variants through Snakepit Records LLC and Deko Entertainment. Following multiple sellouts in previous years, Music Of Universal Studios Hollywood‚Halloween Horror Nights Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 return as exclusive vinyl-only releases featuring 21 original compositions written and recorded by Slash for the world-famous haunted attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood’s annual Halloween Horror Nights event.
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