Author Archives: TVD

Aotearoa, NZ | Gen Z is driving the resurgence of vinyl in Aotearoa New Zealand: In the past 20 years, vinyl sales in New Zealand have increased 100-fold, with more than half of all tracked vinyl sales occurring in the last four years. Gen Z is embracing the authenticity, collectability and the all-around experience vinyl offers. Auckland University of Technology (AUT) student and avid vinyl collector JD Kim says the main reason he collects vinyl is for the sound quality, as it beats digital streaming. “And a separate perk is the physical, permanent copy.” Flying Out Records on Auckland’s Pitt Street has seen an increase in Gen Z customers buying records, according to employee Hunter Keane. He says many of these customers are drawn to records for reasons that go beyond convenience.

Cincinnati, OH | From vinyl records to retro video games, the appeal of physical media: According to the Pew Research Center, 83 percent of American adults use streaming services to watch television and movies. And streaming services aren’t limited to those categories — you can listen to music, play video games, and read newspapers without ever touching a physical version. But there are those who say that collecting physical versions of your favorite forms of media is an important thing to do. On Cincinnati Edition, the physical media collecting craze.

UK | ‘Undertale’, ‘Cyberpunk 2077’ and ‘Pokémon’ soundtracks to get vinyl Record Store Day 2026 release: The 19th annual Record Store Day UK takes place April 18. Record Store Day takes place next month and gamers can expect vinyl releases of Undertale, Cyberpunk 2077 and Pokémon soundtracks. The 19th Record Store Day is set to take place on Saturday April 18, celebrating independent record shops and vinyl culture in the UK. More than 300 UK and Ireland record shops will be taking part alongside thousands of indie retailers worldwide, selling an array of exclusive physical releases.

Amersham, UK | Rob Brydon’s new BBC comedy filming at Amersham Record Shop: A new BBC comedy series starring Rob Brydon has started filming at a Bucks town record shop. Parking suspensions are in place in Amersham New Town, and The Record Shop has closed for the filming of Bill’s Included, featuring the Gavin and Stacey actor. The show is about a well-meaning but overenthusiastic divorcee who rents his spare rooms to students to stay afloat. Photos shared by Liberal Democrat councillor for Amersham and Chesham Bois, Mark Roberts, show film crews setting up outside the shop and production vans along Hill Avenue. Cllr Roberts stated: “You may have noticed that there is filming going on today in Top Amersham. This shoot is for a BBC Comedy—”Bill’s Included”—and they’ll be filming at the Record Store today and tomorrow.

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Fort Collins, CO | With resurgence in vinyl, record store opens in Old Town Fort Collins: A longtime Fort Collins disc jockey has fulfilled a long-held dream by opening Driver 8 Records in Old Town. Owner Charles Hale, currently a volunteer disc jockey, has been a DJ at KRFC and KCSU while attending Colorado State University. He said his love for records and collecting began in 2001 at Rocks Off Records, a long gone Fort Collins record store. “Much like every homebrewer wants to open a brewery to have their beers tasted, I’ve always wanted to have a record store where great music can be shared and heard,” he said. Driver 8 Records, 246 Pine St., stocks a selection new and classic vinyl across musical genres including Americana, punk, Indie rock, jazz and hip-hop. Hale said he noticed during the COVID quarantine in 2020 record stores across the country were doing well while other businesses struggled.

Madison, WI | Boneset Records, Madison’s newest record shop, is proudly woman-owned: Maggie Denman knew she wanted to open a record shop, but she wasn’t planning to do it right away. “It’s something that I thought about doing for a long time … but I wasn’t planning to do it for another couple of years,” said Denman, a musician who’s played in Madison bands No Question, Proud Parents, According to What and solo project Margerat Dryer. In February, Gary John Feest, her former boss at Sugar Shack Records announced that the 41-year-old shop’s final location at 2301 Atwood Ave. had been sold, forcing the business out. Rather than haul all the records, cassette tapes, CDs and VHS tapes to yet another location — the shop had already had six — Feest planned to retire. It was an opportunity Denman couldn’t pass up. She told Feest she could take the shop’s remaining inventory when it closed in April. Feest, who’d planned to donate what was left to a St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop, said he’d much rather give it to her.

Rhythm and Booze: Vinyl Bars Are Making a Comeback (Again): Prior to the pandemic, Japanese-style “listening bars” had a moment. Modeled after a bar style popularized in Japan following the Second World War, these establishments prioritized listening to vinyl records, often via stellar sound systems. They weren’t all hushed experiences—as anyone who ever visited NYC’s lively Tokyo Record Bar can attest—but it was definitely all about the sound, often accompanied by creative drink and food offerings. After a pandemic-induced hiatus, bars centered on vinyl experiences are back. Many are decidedly less formal, and they’re certainly not all “listening bars.” But they’re all welcoming spaces to enjoy music, drink in hand. “The vinyl market has gone up exponentially,” explains Zach Ashton, co-owner of In Between Days, a saké-focused listening bar that opened in August 2021 in St. Petersburg, Florida, in a breezy blue shack. “People are talking more about vinyl than they have in the last five years,” particularly Millennials who have nostalgic memories of their parents’ collections and Gen Zers getting back in touch with the analog format.

Mariah Carey’s ‘Honey: The Remixes’ Getting Vinyl Release for the First Time: Naturally, the 2-LP set comes dripping on honey-colored vinyl. Ready for another taste of honey? On Sunday (Sept. 18), Mariah Carey unveiled a new vinyl for Honey: The Remixes in celebration of her seminal Butterfly album’s 25th anniversary. “More #Butterfly25 goodies!” the singer announced on Twitter. “Pre-Order Honey: The Remixes – for the first time on vinyl! 2LP’s on honey colored vinyl.” (For the time being, the new vinyl is available exclusively through Urban Outfitters and is expected to ship in February 2023, because production delays are still a very real thing, dahhling.) Across a dozen tracks, the album features different interpretations of Butterfly‘s smash lead single like the “Bad Boy Remix” with Puff Daddy, Mase and The Lox, the “So So Def Mix” with pals Da Brat and Jermaine Dupri, the extended seven-minute “Mo’ Honey Dub” and more. The brand-new remix by David Morales will also be included on Side C of the two-LP set.

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Bristol, UK | Bristol record shop Idle Hands announces closure, launches crowdfunder for new location: According to a post by owner Chris Farrell, the shop has struggled since Christmas due to issues related to Brexit and the pandemic. Beloved Bristol record shop Idle Hands is shutting at the end of August, with the aim of moving to a more central location. The plan, according to a social media post by owner Chris Farrell, is to close the current City Road store “until something comes up” and in the meantime launch a crowdfunder to help with overheads and the move to a new premises. “Since Omicron hit just before Christmas the shop has struggled, with less people popping in and Brexit making EU trade pretty much unworkable for a business this small,” Farrell wrote. “These are tricky times, but I do believe Idle Hands still has a future.” He added: “When I decided not to renew our lease I had hoped to make a smooth transition to a new location—although there have been options I’ve been pursuing, the retail rental market is also in a bit of a state and that hasn’t been possible.”

Milwaukee, WI | Lilliput Records officially takes over for The Exclusive Company: After much anticipation — and some public anxiety — Lilliput Records will officially replace The Exclusive Company this Saturday at the store’s longstanding lower East Side location at 1669 N. Farwell Ave. Founded in 1956, The Exclusive Company made the sudden announcement in April that it would close all its stores, which encompassed locations in Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Greenfield and Milwaukee. The announcement on Facebook garnered thousands of comments and reactions. But plans were already in motion for Lilliput, spearheaded by former Exclusive Company employees Brian Kirk and Tanner Musgrove. They launched a GoFundMe in March to help launch the new endeavor, raising more than $22,000. “There is no way we would be at this point in Lilliput’s journey without everyone’s support, donations, words of encouragement and excitement for the new store,” Kirk and Musgrove shared in a social media post Friday. “Our goal is to continually grow and help support our community and we feel so grateful to be given the opportunity to do so!”

Madison, WI | Boneset Records plans to open August 21 on the East Side: Musician Maggie Denman aims to create a cozy basement space full of vinyl and VHS. Madison’s newest record store, Boneset Records, will open its doors at 222 North Street. Owner Maggie Denman plans to be open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays, “with the goal of opening more, but for now that’s what I can do.” Denman, a visual artist and Madison musician (she’s played in bands including No Question, Proud Parents, and her Margerat Dryer solo project), is setting up shop in a basement space in an office building at the corner of North and East Johnson Streets; customers will enter through a door on East Johnson. (Full disclosure: Denman has also contributed editorial illustrations to Tone Madison.) Boneset Records joins a tradition of charmingly tucked-away record stores, including The Door in Monona and the much-missed Resale Records and Ear Wax. Boneset began to take shape when Denman took over the remaining inventory at Atwood Avenue’s Sugar Shack Records, which closed in April. With that collection as her starting point, Denman says she plans to flesh out the store’s selection to encompass “the kind of music that I like, which is kind of all over the place.

Newport, UK | Newport record shop owner to leave Hey Jude’s after ‘incredible journey.’ A record shop owner whose business has been at the heart of the Newport community for more than 20 years is selling up next month after a ‘wonderful journey.’ Jude Paton started Hey Jude’s in Newport Indoor Market in 1999 before setting up in Stafford Street. But she confirmed plans to retire this week and revealed, as of September 1, the shop will be under the ownership of Frankie O’Connor. “It has been a wonderful 23-year journey for me,” said Jude. “I have met so many amazing and loyal customers and have made many new friends. “When I was 13 years old I wrote an English composition under the title, ‘What do you want to do when you grow up?’ “I said then that my dream was to own a record shop and it’s been an amazing experience to have a job like that. It has been an absolute joy and, of course, I love what I sell. “I have had an instant connection with customers and have loved to chat to every single one of them, finding out about their different tastes in music. It has opened my eyes to other music interests.” Jude says she’s thrilled to be leaving the shop in Frankie’s hands.

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Eight Isle of Wight, UK | Eight Isle of Wight record shops for new and preloved vinyl: Record shops are the height of retro cool and where better to snap up vinyl than on the Isle of Wight? The industry celebrated its 14th consecutive year of growth in 2021 and records are flying off the shelves and onto our turntables – which these days come with helpful USB connections and built-in speakers. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), more than 5 million vinyl LPs were sold last year. It made 2021 the biggest year for record sales in three decades. Whether its for latest releases or preloved gems, the savvy shopper can be be found hunting through boxes of records, which range in price according to their condition. The Isle of Wight boasts perfect places to lose yourself among classic artwork and decades of music development. Here are eight Isle of Wight record stores to while away a few hours, as you search for your favourite 7″, EP, or LP…

St. Petersburg, FL | St. Pete artist Steve Madden is bringing flair to the bins at Daddy Kool Records: He’s brought life to the plain, white, thick plastic sheets the shop uses to categorize and separate its stock. If you’ve recently visited Daddy Kool, St. Pete’s premier record store located at 800 28th St S at The Factory, you’ve probably noticed some pretty eye-catching and artistic divider cards, colorfully indicating individual artists’ sections while browsing. The store’s manager and resident music expert, Manny Kool, enlisted the services of local artist Steve Madden to bring artistic flair to the plain, white, thick plastic sheets the shop uses to categorize and separate its stock. Madden, who is also a devout music lover, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay how the partnership came about and how he approaches each and every mini-art project he cranks out for usage around the record store.

Los Angeles, CA | Time Collapses In Dave Muller’s New Record Store Pop-Up: The artist has opened his second record store pop-up as the centerpiece of his recent solo exhibition. In the spring of 2017, the L.A.-based artist Dave Muller and local record purveyor-turned-music producer Ethan Swan created the P&B Records shop at The Meow, a pop-up exhibition-retail space for artist-run businesses located inside a backyard shed at the Mt. Washington home of Angeleno artists Lisa Anne Auerbach and Joel Kyack. “It was so popular it scared them. They were afraid too many people were gonna start showing up, so now it’s just a kind of yoga cottage,” Muller says with a laugh during a call from a road trip the week after he opened his second record store pop-up. This one is the centerpiece of his recent solo exhibition, Sunset, Sunrise (repeat) b/w The Record Pavilion, in the upstairs gallery of his L.A. dealer, Blum & Poe. “It’s kinda like the record store I’d like to go to, combined with an art installation that still works as a record store,” he says. “But I can paint on the ceiling, paint on the walls, all that stuff.”

Selangor Darul Ehsan, ML | Here’s an event celebrating music collector culture, vinyl lovers: The inaugural Kena Sound music collector culture event at Nero Event Space, PJPAC, 1 Utama, Petaling Jaya on Aug 6 promises a day out with a difference for music lovers who have not lost faith in physical music formats. It’s an event to celebrate listening to music via a physical format, notably vinyl, CDs, cassettes and more. Organised by the Kena Sound Crew (a collective of music lovers) and supported by PJPAC, the independent event aims to broaden and liven up the record-buying experience and give music collectors an opportunity to interact with kindred spirits and discover new developments in this niche music collecting scene, which is being propped up by independent record shops and online sellers nationwide. “…“Kena Sound is about bringing back the fun when it comes to music collecting. It will be presented in a laidback setting, with music conversations (on stage), pop-up music stalls, record shop storytelling, video screenings, open turntable sessions and more…”

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