Category Archives: A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined

St. Petersburg, FL | St. Petersburg’s Daddy Kool Records says goodbye to the 600 Block with DieAlps! and final sidewalk sale. The shop re-opens in the Warehouse District on Record Store Day. The end really is near for Daddy Kool Records’ three-decade run on Central Avenue, and on Saturday the crew is having one last sidewalk sale to help make moving all of that inventory a little bit easier on their backs. Enjoy deep discounts on vinyl, CDs and other paraphernalia, and also make plans to come back on Sunday when Tampa-based indie-pop band DieAlps! plays a concert on Daddy Kool’s official final afternoon on The 600 Block (the store reopens in the Warehouse District on Record Store Day, April 13). Sat. March 23 (Sidewalk Sale) and Sun. March 24 (concert with DieAlps!). Daddy Kool Records, 666 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. daddykool.com.

Insider’s Guide To Jamaica From A Music Exec Who Carved Her Own Path To Success: …”When starting VP Records, I had to act as both an entrepreneur and a leader during a time when women were still trying to carve a place in the corporate world,” says Chin. Chin is a Jamaican entrepreneur who was raised in Kingston, the island’s cultural capital, by a Chinese mother and an Indian father. In 1958, she and her husband, Randy, opened a used record store called Randy’s that developed a cult following. Within a few years and with their fingers on the pulse of where reggae music was headed, the couple founded Studio 17, a production facility frequented by legendary artists such as Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. In the mid-70s, they moved to the U.S. to chase the American dream, bringing their business along with them to service the growing Caribbean market.

Marquette, MI | Group celebrates five years of vinyl record shows: The NMU Vinyl Club is preparing for its 20th Semi-Annual Vinyl Show over the last five years. The Vinyl Show will be at the Ore Dock Brewing Company from Thursday, March 28 through Sunday, March 31. Thursday will be from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday will be from noon until 1 a.m. Sunday will be from noon until 11 p.m. Jon Teichman says there will be tens of thousands of record up for sale during the event as well as tapes, CDs, and plenty of swag like t-shirts and posters. Teichman also says there will be plenty of knowledgeable people around to help you find your favorite artist or band, learn more about your record players, or just to nerd out about music.

Would You Buy A Vinyl Record Of Silence? [No. —Ed.] A new Kickstarter campaign is selling vinyl records of 20-minutes of silence. A Kickstarter campaign for a vinyl record that contains only 20-minutes of silence is the latest to go bonkers. It’s now officially competing for strangest campaign since that man who wanted $10 to make a potato salad. The geniuses behind this simple idea are Eric Antonow and his 15-year-old son Ben. Eric started meditating in 2016, and has been meditating every day since. Eric and his son thought it would be a fun experiment to record and sell silent vinyls, and initially only hoped to raise $600 through a Kickstarter campaign. They’ve now raised over $8,000 AUD. In keeping with silent fashion, they were speechless!

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York, UK | Shoppers could lose York HMV ‘by the end of the month’: Shoppers in York are set to lose another high street favourite, with the closure of HMV. The Coney Street store was at risk just weeks ago, after HMV went into administration, but 1,500 jobs around the country were saved when Canadian retailer Sunrise Records bought 100 stores around the UK. Although the York shop was thought to be safe, staff were told on Monday, March 18, that the store would be closing. Signs appeared on Tuesday which announced the store was to close, and ‘everything must go’, while The Press understands workers in York expect their final shifts to be the weekend of March 30/31. HMV Managing Director Neil Taylor would not confirm the closing date, but said it “will be closing, despite our best efforts to keep this store open,” and praised “superb staff.”

Pittsburgh, PA | Who moves across the country to open a record store in Pittsburgh? Most people popping up with new record stores in Pittsburgh will tell tales of shopping at Jim’s Records, Eide’s or The Attic as a kid. Josh Cozby doesn’t have those stories. The owner of the Government Center, a new shop on East Ohio Street in the North Side’s East Allegheny neighborhood, grew up buying records in Southern California and was living in Salem, Ore., when he decided to move his vast record collection 2,600 miles to make them the basis of his first retail venture. What makes one quit his job and switch coasts to open a record store? “First,” he says, “I owned a bunch of records and came to the conclusion that I have more records than I was ever gonna use. And second, I was burned out on being a public high school teacher. “I was realizing the only thing I was interested in talking to students about anymore was what kind of music they were into and how that interacted with them trying to navigate adolescence. It was a good set of clues that it was time to figure out something else to do.”

Toronto, CA | Tokyo Smoke cannabis dispensary set to open in former HMV flagship store: The latest application for cannabis retail shows that one dispensary is moving into the former location of HMV’s flagship record store. According to the ACGO’s website, an application has been submitted for a cannabis retail location at 333 Young Street by Tokyo Smoke. The owner is listed as one of the five retail license lottery winners in the city, Colin Campbell. Tokyo Smoke itself began as part of the city’s cannabis scene in 2015 as a coffee shop owned by Alan and Lorne Gertner. Since legalization, the store’s parent company HIKU Brands, has been purchased by Canopy Growth, the country’s largest cannabis producer by market cap, and runs four licensed dispensaries in Manitoba and two cafe locations in Toronto. According to the AGCO, public notice period runs until April 2, which means this location will not be ready to open by April 1, the earliest date for cannabis retail locations to open in Ontario.

Summerland, BC | ‘Our sales are hurting’ Kelowna music hub takes hit after big competition moves in: Milkcrate Records still taking a hit after Sunrise Records moved into town 2 years ago. At least four nights a week, Milkcrate Records provides space for local musicians and artists to perform at one of the only remaining early shows in Kelowna. Record sales have fallen by 40 per cent at the record store since Sunrise Records’ opening two years ago in Orchard Park Mall. “Our sales are hurting… even though vinyl is still on the increase. We are also being hurt by online shopping. It’s something that everyone needs to be aware of. Even though it may be more convenient we need to be aware of how we are putting these brick and mortar business out of business,” said owner Richard Rafton, with Milkcrate Records. Milkcrate Records is not just a store in downtown Kelowna, it has grown into a cultural epicentre for the music and arts scene.

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Murfreesboro, TN | The Great Escape used media store opens location in the heart of Murfreesboro: If you have used media you’d like to sell or you’re looking for new items to add to your collection, you’re in luck. The Great Escape media store has opened in Jackson Heights Plaza at 810 N.W. Broad St., Suite 200, in Murfreesboro. This is the fifth location for the store, which opened in 1977 in Nashville. “(We sell) new and used records, new and back-issue comic books, CDs, video games, toys, movies and many more items,” said Rob Baker, who co-owns The Great Escape with his wife, Candace Baker. The store also pays cash for collections and collectibles, or trades with people bringing in items to sell…The Bakers have been residents of downtown Murfreesboro since 2012 and wanted to open a shop close by in their hometown.

Hanover, PA | Hunting for vintage vinyl records? Head to Vinyl Visions in downtown Hanover: For Perry Musselman, part of the fun of collecting and buying records is the hunt to find the exact one you want. On April 3, Musselman’s own record shop, Vinyl Visions, will be open at 10 York Street in Hanover. “I am 60 years old, and I never put away my turntable,” Musselman said. “I have been playing record albums all my life.” In the new shop, Musselman will be selling CDs, DVDs, rock and roll posters and other miscellaneous paraphernalia in addition to vinyl records. Two-thirds of the inventory at Vinyl Visions will be rock and roll and “the music I grew up with in the 70s, only because it’s what I like and have a passion for,” Musselman said. However, there will be records going as far back as the 50s and more recent content, too.

Berlin, DE | Inside the vinyl archives of Berlin’s biggest music library: Where almost everything is borrowable. Following our feature discovering incredible record libraries around the world, DJ and producer Max Graef uncovers an audio treasure trove at the Zentral- und Landesbibliothek BerlinZentral. The largest public music library in Germany’s capital boasts a huge range of sonic archives (salsa, Russian folklore, rap, medieval and more), music publications, over 43,000 CDs, over 95,000 pieces of sheet music, and a “piano room” where you can reserve your slot to tickle a Bechstein or Steinway piano ivories for up to two hours a week. As for vinyl? There are over 73,000 records in its collection, all housed in a closed storage container at the ZLB’s Berliner Stadtbibliothek location.

UK | Journalist Pete Paphides Launches New Label: Music journalist Pete Paphides has announced the launch of new label Needle Mythology. A noted scribe, Pete Paphides’ excellent Soho Radio show is a perennial spin in the Clash office, matching classics against lesser known gems. The latter certainly form the spine of new label Needle Mythology, with Pete Paphides aiming to bring sought after records to vinyl for the first time while expanding on the original CD format. The label’s name comes from a song by Stephen Duffy, with the indie legend’s 1997 album ‘I Love My Friends’ becoming one of the imprint’s first releases. Needle Mythology also launches with a rare 2004 solo record from Ian Broudie, seemingly recorded in a hotel in the wee small hours after he was finished producing The Coral. It sounds like an excellent project, with Pete Paphides giving a lengthy interview to Super Deluxe Edition about his motivations, and what lies ahead for the imprint.

Orrville, OH | Younger generation intrigued by technology from the past: Rotary telephones, 8mm video cameras and Atari video computer systems were once the talk of the town, but now they reside in places like the Old Technology Museum that was on display at the Orrville Public Library on Friday. Colin Daniels, a junior at Smithville High School, was shocked that some of the items in the museum, like the Nintendo GameCube, were ones he has actually used. “It is kind of cool how technology progresses,” he said. “The GameCube came out in 2002, I used it and I am not old. Even though it came out recently, it is now considered old.” …While some of the items on view appeared almost foreign to Daniels, he was drawn to the vinyl record display. “I have a record player,” he said. “There is a cool novelty about putting the record on the player and sitting back and listening to it. It even sounds better than digital music, it feels warmer and it is cool that people are getting back into (vinyl).”

Bologna, IT | Popular Discogs seller, Background Music, opens record shop in Bologna. The storefront is part of Gallery16, a new concept music store with a bar and event space. Background Music, a popular Discogs seller for the past seven years, is now part of a brick-and-mortar music concept store called Gallery16, opened last week. Owners Massimo Mandrioli Peccia and Lorenzo Lerry Arabia say the joint venture is “not just a record shop, but above all, a meeting place with a bar and open to DJ sets, live shows, presentations and much more.” The shop specializes in alternative styles, and it stocks new and secondhand vinyl. Check out their Facebook page for upcoming music events and exhibitions this month.

Binghamton, NY | Hundreds of people find musical treasures at annual record fair: The Broome County Farmers Market opened its doors Sunday, but instead of selling food, it was selling music for Binghamton’s annual record fair. Hundreds of people from across the Southern Tier went to check out the selection of more than 100,000 vinyl records, CDs, and DVDs for sale. Vendors came from across the northeast to sell their collections to the public. Event organizer, Jack Skutnik, says he has put the show together for the past 30 years and says it is always a big success. “It’s nostalgia for a lot of people. They relive their youth, old songs, new music. Some people collect baseball cards, some people collect silverware, some people collect records and CD’s so we fill that need.”

Steve Perry Soups Up ‘Traces’ Album for Deluxe Edition: Re-release contains five bonus tracks — “some of my most favorite songs,” singer says. Steve Perry will not let the flame go out on his comeback solo album, Traces. He’s reissuing it this spring with five bonus cuts for a deluxe edition. The record will be available digitally, on CD and on two, 180-gram vinyl slabs; he’s even souping up one of the double-LP versions with a 3-D lenticular cover. The updated versions are available now. “These bonus tracks — ‘October in New York,’ ‘Angel Eyes,’ ‘Call On Me,’ ‘Could We Be Somethin’ Again,’ and ‘Blue Jays Fly’ — are some of my most favorite songs in this 15-song collection,” Perry said in a statement. “I’m so glad they will now be available everywhere.”

Special Doctor Who Releases for Record Store Day: This year’s Doctor Who releases for the eternally popular Record Store Day have been revealed. Leading the way is the classic, and largely lost, William Hartnell adventure from 1965 – Galaxy 4. Peter Purves, who played companion Steven Taylor, provides linking adaptation for the original soundtrack. Two Heavyweight 180g discs of orange vinyl with purple splatter contain the classic adventure. The Doctor and Steven, as well as Maureen O’Brien’s Vicki, encounters the beautiful Drahvins led by Maaga (Stephanie Bidmead). But should they trust them or the gruesome Rills as both groups attempt to escape a dying planet? It’s joined by Destiny of the Daleks – the soundtrack of the 1979 adventure with linking narration by Lalla Ward. Ward, of course, features in the story itself as Romana, alongside Tom Baker’s Doctor and Davros, creator of the Daleks, as played by David Gooderson.

It was 70 years ago this month that the 45 RPM record was introduced, accidentally helping to give birth to rock’n’roll: For the first fifty years of the recorded music industry, everyone had to make do with scratchy, fragile 78 RPM records. These 10-inch discs dating from the late 1800s and generally worked fine. It wasn’t until 1948 when Columbia Records came along with its long-playing albums pressed on a new plastic called polyvinyl chloride that things began to change. Vinyl was much tougher than the shellac-based material used to make 78s, meaning they didn’t wear out after about 100 plays. More importantly, though, vinyl allowed grooves to be cut closer together (about .003 inches), greatly increasing the capacity of a side of a record. Instead topping out at around four minutes, an LP could store more than 20 minutes of music before anyone had to flip it over.

Portland, OR | ‘It’s been a real roller coaster ride for us’: Music Millennium celebrates 50 years: Music Millennium is the largest and oldest record store in the Pacific Northwest. In 1969, The Beatles released Abbey Road, the final album they recorded together before breaking up. That same year, in a small shop on East Burnside, Music Millennium opened their doors and 50 years later, they’re still selling records like Abbey Road. “It’s a little surreal, you know there’s not many record stores in the country that have made it to 50. It’s been a real roller coaster ride for us,” current owner Terry Currier said. “There’s been a lot of changes over the years.” That change has not only involved trends and technology but new owners as well. In 1979, the original owners, the MacLeod and Lissy families, sold it and within 5 years that owner almost filed to file for bankruptcy. The MacLeod family assumed a half a million-dollar debt and took the business back over. Currier bought out the MacLeod family in 1996 and has owned the store ever since.

Kingston, ON | ‘It’s about time’: Flood-damaged Kingston record store to reopen: Community rallied behind Brian’s Record Option after 2018 construction mishap. After a months-long repair and renovation project forced by a freak summer flood, a much-loved record store in Kingston, Ont., is opening its doors again. Construction work near Brian’s Record Option inadvertently flooded the Princess Street shop early last August, destroying tens of thousands of vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, posters and books. Owner Brian Lipsin wasn’t sure if he’d be able to reopen, but he said money from his insurance and community fundraisers covered the cost of the rebuild. The shop opens back up at 9:30 a.m. this Saturday. “It’s about time,” Lipson told CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning on Wednesday. “I’ve hated being in limbo for so long.”

Dayton, OH | Omega Music introduces “Skip the Bag” initiative to positively impact community: Omega Music is taking steps to become more sustainable and make a positive impact on the community. Their “Skip the Bag” initiative aims to help the environment and also support local charities. “We give customers an option to choose a bag or skip the bag. If they skip the bag, we give them a puzzle piece they can drop in one of our charity boxes,” Inventory Manager Mike Cooley said. Each puzzle piece represents the cost of the bag which is 10 cents. “At the end of the month, we total up the puzzle pieces and donate that amount to each charity,” Cooley said. Each month, Omega chooses different charities to support. “10 cents may not seem like much, but after 30 days it really adds up,” Cooley said.

Dundee, UK | ‘Phenomenal demand’ for tickets as city record store brings Foals and Idlewild to Dundee: As reported in SeeDundee, Foals will play two shows at Fat Sam’s on Sunday, May 26. And Scots rock band Idlewild will hold an acoustic session at Clark’s on Lindsay Street on Monday, May 27. The shows are being hosted by Assai Records, which is based in Broughty Ferry. The shop has attracted a string of major acts to the city in recent times with Tom Walker playing in their King Street premises in early March and Snow Patrol packing out Church in June 2018. The Foals gigs will celebrate the release of the band’s new album, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part One. It will be played in its entirety at the Dundee shows. Their late show in Dundee has already sold out following “phenomenal demand” for tickets. Idlewild’s gig at Clark’s on Lindsay Street will coincide with the launch of their new album Interview Music.

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Calgary, CSA | Westleaf Receives Development Permit Approval for its Flagship Prairie Records Cannabis Store in Banff, Alberta and Provides Retail Update: Westleaf is pleased to announce the Town of Banff has approved its development permit for a flagship retail location in the heart of Canada’s most visited national park. The location on Caribou Street just off famed Banff Avenue, will be developed as a flagship in the Prairie Records brand of cannabis stores. The town located one hour west of Calgary, attracts more than 4 million visitors annually and is Canada’s most visited national park and one of the top tourist destinations in the country. Westleaf remains on track to open approximately 20 locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan by the end of Q3 2019, subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals including receipt of cannabis retail licenses from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis and the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.

Ayr, UK | End of era as popular Ayr music shop shuts down: Big Sparra Vinyl in Ayr has announced its closure following a recent flood at the New Bridge Street store. It’s the end of an era for a much-loved record store which has touched the hearts- and ears- of many across the country. Big Sparra Vinyl in Ayr has announced its closure following a recent flood at the New Bridge Street store. The record shop has been selling golden oldies and modern mixes for half a decade. And Big Sparra has had its fair share of the limelight as it featured as one of the main filming locations in a TV advert as part of the National Trust for Scotland’s campaign, For the Love of Scotland. The store have been big supporters of annual Record Store Day in the past and even opened at 8am to allow vinyl collectors to get their hands on limited-edition discs. But it seems it’s not the end for co-owners Robert McKain and Ian Wallace as the pair move on to new ventures, with the latter half of the duo hoping to reopen in the same unit.

Auckland, NZ | In a spin for music charity: Ever wondered how music is created and captured on a vinyl record? With the renaissance for affection of the vinyl record in mind, a unique event is giving music enthusiasts the chance to see great original Kiwi songs played, recorded — and that work cut on a vinyl record – in three hours. Musician, songwriter, producer and now vinyl-cutter Jesse Wilde, is staging Journey to My Vinyl Destination, on Saturday, March 16, from 1pm. “It’s for vinyl record lovers and anyone who enjoys good music,” says Jesse, a former long-time Bucklands Beach resident. “You will see a live music performance recorded, mixed, and mastered and cut to vinyl right before your very eyes. The whole process of vinyl lathing, mixing and mastering for vinyl will be explained in this three-hour event.”

Stroud, UK | Groove Armada DJ Tom Findlay to perform at Stroud record shop: One of the world’s best DJs has chosen to celebrate World Record Store Day in Stroud this year. Tom Findlay, one half of the UK electronic dance and chill-out duo Groove Armada, will be playing two intimate DJ sets on Saturday, April 13 as part of the celebrations in the town. The famous DJ, who has released eight studio albums and singles such as I See You Baby and Superstylin with his musical partner Andy Cato as part of Groove Armada will be joined by Stroud’s own DJ superstars Mr Mulatto and Frank Situation from Situation Sounds to celebrate their own collaboration. Love on the Attack will officially be released by Tom AKA Sugar Daddy on Record Store Day, and he will be taking to the decks alongside Mr Mulatto and Frank Situation at Trading Post Records at 3pm to the delight of fans.

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Tokyo, JP | The tenth floor of Shinjuku’s Tower Records store will specialize in vinyl from the end of March. A new record store called Tower Vinyl Shinjuku is set to open inside of Tokyo’s flagship Tower Records store. From March 21st, the tenth floor of Tower Records will stock more than 70,000 vinyl records. 30,000 of those will be new inventory, including new releases, reissues and limited edition items from both Japanese and Western artists. The other 40,000 records are secondhand, a collection that ranges in style but will have an emphasis on soul and rock. The new space’s interior is covered in glass and features a large vintage speaker for an enhanced shopping experience. There will also be in-store events and vinyl pop-up shops in the future.

Paris, FR | 10 of the best independent record shops in Paris: As a major music exhibition opens in Paris, a local DJ uncovers these treasure troves for collectors, offering new recordings, rare gems and, in some cases, live events too. Paris has a vibrant secondhand record scene, with stores all over the city stocking rare vinyl of everything from Ghanaian Highlife to calypso, classic chansons françaises – Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, Georges Brassens, Serge Gainsbourg – plus electronic music and techno. With a new exhibition, Music Migrations (palais-portedoree.fr, until 5 January 2020), dedicated to the multicultural influences that transformed the Paris and London music scenes from the 1960s to the 80s, this is a good time to discover the top disquaires unearthed by local DJ and record dealer, Gwen Jamois.

NY, FL | VP Records Retail Locations Now Official Record Store Day Locations: On Saturday April 13th, VP Records will celebrate Record Store Day 2019 with VP Record’s annual Sound System Showcase at its retail locations in Jamaica, Queens and Miramar, Florida. This year, both VP Records retail stores have received the distinct designation as official Record Store Day Locations. To commemorate the annual celebration of vinyl culture, the free event is a day for fans and consumers to experience authentic Jamaican Sound Systems while being able to purchase classic, new and exclusive titles. For the first time, the event will be streamed on the VP Records YouTube channel and archived for future viewing.

UK | Beatles ‘Love Me Do’ demo worth £20,000 handed to a charity shop by unwitting owner who gave the ‘not for sale’ vinyl to British Heart Foundation: A rare Beatles record thought to be worth £20,000 has been put up for auction – after its owner unwittingly donated it to a charity shop. British Heart Foundation staff were shocked to uncover the 7in demo of The Beatles’ first single Love Me Do, which had been placed in a carrier bag with 25 other vinyls and given to the store in Midhurst, West Sussex. The record features a misspelling of Paul McCartney’s name, with the words ‘Lennon–McArtney’ appearing on the label instead. The words ‘Demonstration Record’ and ‘Not For Sale’ are also on the label. Around 250 of the demos were pressed by Parlophone Records and sent to the BBC for radio airplay when the Fab Four were virtually unknown.

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Dallas, TX | A Dallas artist is selling his work out of a vending machine at Good Records: A Dallas artist is selling his work out of a vending machine. Multimedia artist Matthew Brinston has an upcoming solo exhibit in Austin and a residency in France, but he started the year by purchasing a vending machine online. “It’s just an off-the-cuff idea that caught on,” he says. “It’s a nontraditional way to sell art and make it more accessible. Some people get intimidated by the gallery scenario.” Brinston filled the “Vending Vessel” with his prints and small paintings — as well as packs of gum — and put it at a Bishop Arts clothing store. Pleasantly surprised by the response after a few weeks, he recently moved the machine to Good Records. Now that the Greenville Ave. record store is relocating after closing its doors on Sunday, Brinston says he plans to move his vending machine to Dibs on Victory, the Victory Park bar and restaurant opening soon.

Kingston, ON | ‘What keeps me here are the stories.’ Brian Lipsin is busy at work readying his store for its grand reopening. After being closed for seven months, Lipsin is ready to throw open the doors of the record store and receive customers for the first time in 2019 this coming Saturday. Brian’s Record Option was closed unexpectedly in August 2018 after a flood damaged the store, located in the Hub are on Princess Street, and destroyed some of his inventory. The cleanup and rebuild have been tedious, but the work is paying off — the store will be ready in time for Saturday. The flood last year not only halted Lipsin’s business, it also catalyzed an outpouring of love and support from the Kingston community and beyond. Benefit concerts, online crowdfunding campaigns, donations of records, and hundreds of messages of encouragement have gobsmacked Lipsin in the more than half a year his doors have been closed. “People have been good all through this, not just August and September,” he said. “As I said to people, ‘How do I thank you guys? I don’t expect all this.’ Everyone says, ‘Open.’

Charlottesville, VA | Oh, dear! Where to put 40,000 vinyl records when we move? Most of us might wonder where to put our pots, pans and dishes when we move into a new home, but the folks at WTJU 91.1 FM face a unique problem as they move into their new digs between now and March 23. Where do they put their priceless collection of tens of thousands of vinyl records? “We’re up to our eyeballs building shelves for our 40,000 vinyl albums,” said General Manager Nathan Moore of WTJU, the University of Virginia’s public radio station. Amid the shelf-building, Moore found time to construct his own Scandinavian-style desk. “We’re a DIY group,” he said with a laugh. “We have a handful of paid staffers, but the station could not exist without its hundreds of volunteers, including 170 UVA students.”

North Shuswap, BC | Beloved vinyl record collection stolen: Owners would like cherished records taken with trailer returned, no questions asked. The thief or thieves of a trailer from Lee Creek in the North Shuswap stole cherished musical memories of the owners, most likely without knowing or caring. Jim Carter reports that a nine-foot, 2001 grey Pace Maker cargo trailer was stolen sometime between the late evening of Thursday, March 7 and Saturday morning, March 9. Inside it were items with sentimental value: 700 to 1,000 vinyl records. He inherited some, he says, while others were from people getting rid of records who would just say, ‘take them all.’ The clincher, Jim says, is that there were some old 78 RPM records, “probably nothing anybody would want.” His spouse Andrea explains Jim has been an avid collector and lover of music for many years.

Pueblo, CO | Solar Roast spreads wings; expansion into Colorado Springs next up: Solar Roast Coffee co-founder Mike Hartkop jokes that his original vision for the company’s restaurants was perfect — right up to the moment the first customers walked into the first coffee shop. “The first day customers showed up they had a completely different idea for what they wanted to use the space for. So the space we’ve created now is more with the customer in mind. … It’s more of a vision of what the community demands and requires from the space. I never would have made any money if it had been exactly what I wanted,” he says…The main counter is long and stocked end to end and top to bottom with a wide selection of packaged coffees and other drinks and gift items. Just like with the original coffee house, a large supply of new and used vinyl record albums are available for purchase.

Dallas, TX | Good Records moving from its Lower Greenville location: After 14 years, Good Records is moving out of its locations on Greenville Ave. The owners of the record store and music venue say they’re most excited for the new beginnings they’re going to get at their new location on Garland Rd. Before they move out, Good Records is having a massive sale as they pack up what’s left. This sale had co-owner Chris Penn reminiscing about all the great times that people have shared at this location. “Everyone has a good memory of a good show they saw out here, or they had a first date, or they bring their kids here to play and now their kids are 18 years old,” Penn said. “I kinda get teary-eyed thinking about it” Good Records first opened in 2000 on Good Latimer Expressway. Their new location will be on Garland Rd., in what’s currently their offshoot boutique, The Good Pagoda.

New York, NY | NYC’s Good Records is closing; Stranded Records will take over the space: Good Records has been selling records at 218 E. Fifth St. in the East Village since 2005, but is sadly closing its doors on March 24. As EV Grieve points out, owner Jonathan “Jonny” Sklute posted the news on Good Records’ Instagram on Sunday, but also added that there was a silver lining: Stranded Records, which has two shops in the San Francisco area and is run by the people behind the Superior Viaduct label, will take over the spot on April 1 and most of the staff (and the store’s inventory) are staying: “After nearly 14 years of serving the record collectors and music lovers of New York City and beyond, I am closing Good Records NYC on Sunday, March 24th. on April 1st, the shop at 218 East 5th Street in Manhattan’s East Village will re-open as @strandedrecords, a vinyl shop owned by the record label @superiorviaduct…”

Auckland, NZ | Journey to My Vinyl Destination ‘Vinyl Music Lovers Charity Event’ Ever wondered how music is created and captured on a vinyl record? With the resurgence of the vinyl record in mind, a unique event is giving music enthusiasts the chance to see great original Kiwi songs played, recorded – and that work cut on a vinyl record – in three hours. Auckland musician, songwriter, producer and now vinyl-cutter Jesse Wilde, is staging Journey to My Vinyl Destination, on Saturday, March 16, from 1pm. “It’s for vinyl record lovers and anyone who enjoys good music,” Jesse says. “You will see a live music performance recorded, mixed, and mastered and cut to vinyl right before your very eyes. The whole process of vinyl lathing, mixing and mastering for vinyl will be explained in this three-hour event.” All the proceeds are going to music therapy charity Music Helps Awhina Puoro.

Winnipeg, CA | Into the Music closing Osborne location due to lack of 2nd-hand record supply: Into the Music is closing its Osborne Street location, a year after returning to its roots in the Village. The mainstay of Winnipeg’s music scene bought the Music Trader location in January 2018, but now plans to shutter it by the first week of June. Owner Greg Tonn said a dearth of second-hand collectible records has forced the business to reassess having two locations. “Osborne was not able to support itself in the sense that it wasn’t able to purchase enough quality vinyl,” he said in a Saturday interview with CBC News. As a result, the record store has been constantly shifting stock from its McDermot Avenue location to the Osborne Village location, which is not good for either store, Tonn said. “Without that volume, we’ve had to reassess our ability to keep the store going — so better to have one healthy [store] rather than two that are struggling to move forward.”

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Pocatello/Idaho Falls, ID | Record swap: Collectors talk appeal of vinyl as medium hits 30-year high: To Mike Steinberg, collecting records is about music and also not. He can point to many of his thousands of records that fill his house and tell a story. Each one, he said, is “a physical artifact of my life and has meaning.” Steinberg, the executive director of the Roxy Theater, has a KBGA radio show where he plays from his deep collection of vintage soul and R&B 45-inch records. His specialty? Singles by groups that often never recorded a full-length album. Many of the tracks don’t exist online, save for bootleg versions posted on YouTube. He grew up around records, because his father and aunt ran a music shop, The Disc Connection, in his hometown of St. Louis, for about 25 years. He counts among his irreplaceable records a Kinks promotional LP that his father played on the radio. Like many DJs, he circled a few songs on the back to recommend them as radio-worthy. Steinberg could probably find another copy of the album if he wanted, but it wouldn’t be the same. “I can’t replace that,” he said.

Liverpool, UK | Yvonne Page, Dig Vinyl : A day in the life of working in a record shop: “…To be honest I’m a bit spoiled because of working in a record shop, I experience a bit of the “Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon” when it comes to vinyl! So, this is “the illusion in which a word, a name, or other thing that has recently come to one’s attention suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency shortly afterwards” – basically, when I decide I really want a record, or hear something that I’m a bit interested in, chances are it, or something very similar, will end up in the shop, and subsequently back home with me, in the near future! A few weeks ago I decided I really wanted a copy of the Tom Tom Club debut LP, and one turned up in the racks that very same weekend. Unfortunately sometimes a record turns up that I’d love to have, but I need to come to terms with living without because it’s just well beyond my means – like the first Mazzy Star album and the original Nick Drake – Bryter Layter that still haunt my dreams. Someday…”

Brockport, NY | Trader Shag’s Emporium to celebrate vinyl on Record Store Day: Boyz II Men had the hit song of the month and CDs reigned supreme when indie music store Trader Shag’s Emporium opened on Main Street in Brockport in October 1997. Twenty-one years later, the chart-toppers and the way we listen to them have changed, but the beat goes on at the store owned by Geoff Dwyer, a Brighton native who now lives in Sweden. “When I opened we had no vinyl or DVDs,” said Dwyer, who was a baker for Wegmans with his wife, Coleen, before they decided to become entrepreneurs (Coleen owns Coleen’s Kitchen down the street from Trader Shag’s). “Used CDs were the big, viable thing.” Dwyer, whose childhood nickname was Shag, found the Rochester area saturated with record stores at the time so he chose Danbury, Connecticut, to open his first store, Compact Disc Exchange. He ran that store for seven years, but its location in a strip mall was not ideal and he and Coleen missed the Rochester region.

Alkhobar, SA | Exploring the creative café scene in Saudi Arabia’s Alkhobar: There is no shortage of cafés in Alkhobar. However, the recent boom in creative cafés — combining co-working spaces, Instagram-worthy food, and art — seems to have found a cult following. You can expect to mingle with Sharqiyah’s art patrons, local college students, community groups, and coffee aficionados. In the midst of an artistic movement, here are three distinct spaces that offer coffee and solace for your creative soul. Inspired by the record-store culture in London, former college students Fawaz Alsulaim and his partners founded Bohemia Art Café, a multipurpose venue that operates as a co-working space, record store, coffee and vegan-food shop, and art gallery. Its minimalistic and DIY aesthetic might leave you underwhelmed, but “it’s all part of the bohemian brand, inspired by the need to be unconventional…”

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German recorded-music revenues fell slightly in 2018: In lots of countries around the world, the recorded-music industry has bounced back to growth. Last week, for example, the RIAA announced that US revenues grew by 12% in 2018. In the UK, the growth last year was 8.9% according to the BPI and ERA. The story in these countries is that the growth in record labels’ revenues from streaming – and particularly streaming subscriptions – is more than making up for the continued sharp decline in sales of CDs and downloads. What about countries where CDs are still the main source of revenues for labels? It’s not quite as rosy a picture, as figures published this morning by German industry body BVMI show. Revenues in Germany from CDs, downloads, vinyl and streaming fell by 0.4% in 2018 to €1.58bn. The message from BVMI is that this isn’t necessarily bad news, though, as the German market reorients itself around streaming.

San Francisco, CA | Old Time San Francisco Record Store to Close: When you step into 101 Music in San Francisco’s North Beach, it’s as if time peeked in the door and bolted the other direction. Stacked everywhere are a cacophony of vintage stereo equipment, 8-track tapes and old guitars. Make your way through the warren of vintage hi-fis, down the stairs into the basement and you’ll encounter 50,000 records divided into categories, but otherwise not in any particular order. “It’s a little overwhelming for a lot of people,” admitted store manager Christian Jung. But these days, the banner above the front door of the Green Street shop’s iconic crumpled sousaphone breaks the bad news for record collectors who’ve made pilgrimages to this funky neighborhood shop for the last 24 years — “Store Closing; Everything Must Be Sold.”

Brighton, UK | Sister Sledge to headline Crate Diggers music festival and record fair: Sister Sledge will close Crate Diggers, which comes to the Brighton Centre on Saturday, May 11. The American girl group, who rose to fame in the Seventies with hits such as We Are Family and He’s The Greatest Dancer, have continued to perform across the world…Alongside the music festival, a record fair will take over the Brighton Centre on the same day. Record sellers from Sussex and beyond will be in attendance, along with collectors and general vinyl fans. There will be more than 100 tables of LPs to look through, with all kinds of genres represented. The entire event is sponsored by Discogs, which claims to be the third largest online music website after YouTube and Spotify and the biggest seller of vinyl in the world.

Manawatū, NZ | Palmerston North’s Black Plates record fair spins up once again: Music enthusiasts from around the country are heading to Manawatū to make new discoveries and expand their collections at a Palmerston North vinyl record fair. The Black Plates record fair is returning for its sixth instalment at Brewers Apprentice on Saturday. Organiser and DJ Matt Davies, aka Mr Dirty Hairy, created the event four years ago to give Manawatū vinyl enthusiasts a chance to meet and trade for rare records, or simply round out their collections. Collectors and dealers from around the country are coming to town for the fair – including Brian Wafer, who is responsible for organising 90 per cent of New Zealand’s record fairs and swap-meets, Davies said. The fair grew out of Davies’ passion for vinyl, which he picked up along with a broad and eclectic taste in music from his audiophile parents growing up in England…

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Other Music Documentary to Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival: While the words “legendary” and “record store” may fall together a bit oddly for some, one that truly lived up to the billing was New York’s Other Music, which closed in June of 2016 after more than 20 years in business. Renowned for the kind of fringe and hard-to-find and next-big-thing music that its name suggests — this writer (who eulogized the store at the time of its closing) bought the first Strokes EP there on consignment in 2000 — the store was known and revered by music-heads all over the world; it was the epicenter of several local scenes, its employees included members of Animal Collective, Anti-Pop Consortium and multiple DJs and future industry executives.

Newport, UK | City is set for Record Store Day: Newport Now Business Improvement District is supporting Record Store Day UK for the third successive year. Last year the BID joined forces with Newport independent record store Diverse Vinyl to produce a free music and spoken word festival in the city centre. The event was so successful that we are repeating it next month. Newport’s Record Store Day festival on Saturday, April 13, is funded by Newport Now and curated by Charles Street-based Diverse Vinyl. The festival takes place across five city centre venues and all performances, mainly from Welsh acts, are free of charge. Prior to the live shows, Record Store Day will kick off at Diverse Vinyl’s shop from 9.30am until 4pm. Limited edition vinyl releases from top artists will be available to buy. The vinyl rarities are the basis of Record Store Day, encouraging people to use their local independent record store.

Hoodoo Gurus’ Dave Faulkner, Kate Ceberano and More Announced As Australian Record Store Day Ambassadors: JUST IN: The 12th Australian Record Store Day is set to be a big one. The internationally recognised celebration of supporting recorded music has named Hoodoo Gurus Dave Faulkner, Australian music legend Kate Ceberano and NSW rock band Hockey Dad as Australia’s 2019 ambassadors. Held on Saturday 13th April Record Store Day has sales, rarities and pop up gigs across the world in your favourite record store. Internationally, Pearl Jam have been named as the international ambassadors. For more info visit: www.recordstoreday.com.au

Can a 34-year-old Canadian business school dropout rescue Britain’s HMV? British newspapers are calling Doug Putman a “saviour” who will rescue the nation’s iconic music brand, HMV. But don’t tell him that. “I’m starting to blush,” says the 34-year-old entrepreneur with a shy smile, standing inside one of the 85 Sunrise Records stores he owns in Canada. “I just keep saying I feel lucky that we were able to do it.” Just how lucky he is, though, remains to be seen. He’s gambling millions of dollars, betting he can turn around the fortunes of 100 failing stores on the other side of the ocean, in what many experts consider a dying industry. The young businessman, soon to be a first-time father, is making regular trips to London to meet with HMV staff at its head office. He needs to get everyone at the company on board with his strategy to restore the ailing brand to health.

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Generation Rent: Streaming Subscriptions Now Account For Over 60 Percent Of All UK Music Sales: The growing popularity of music subscription services like Spotify, Amazon and Apple is turning British music fans into “generation rent,” says U.K. trade group the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA). In 2018, streaming subscription revenues in the U.K. climbed to just over £829 million ($1 billion), a rise of 38 percent on the previous year, reports the ERA Yearbook, published today (March 5). In contrast, combined spending on owned formats like CDs, vinyl LPs and digital downloads dropped to £505 million ($662 million), representing 38 percent of all recorded music sales. Of those formats, CD album sales totaled £289 million ($379 million), down from £368 million ($482 million) in 2017. Download albums fell 25 percent to £73 million ($96 million) with digital download singles sales generating just over £49 million ($64 million). Meanwhile, more than 4.3 million vinyl albums were sold in the U.K. last year, the equivalent of £91 million ($119 million) in sales.

Dallas, TX | After 14 years on Greenville Avenue, Good Records moves next week to Garland Road: Saturday afternoon, around 4 p.m., I was cc’d on the following tweet: “Good Records is moving to Garland Rd. Great job, people of Dallas, for officially ruining everything great on Greenville Ave,” wrote Lee Cothran. Say what now? I texted co-owner Chris Penn for confirmation, and sure enough. “Yep. March 11th. Steve Earle first instore new spot.” Then came another: “Time to reset the chakras.” Shortly after that a text thread turned into a phone call. But, yes. It’s true. Good Records, which turned 19 last month, is moving to its third location, this time to Garland Road — 9026 Garland Road, to be exact, in the space currently occupied by its offshoot boutique and event space The Good Pagoda. Which also happens to be next door to the always-packed Lounge Here, whose co-owner is Julie Doyle, co-founder and member and manager of Polyphonic Spree, which is fronted by her husband Tim DeLaughter, who, along with Doyle and Penn owns Good Records.

10 appointment-only record shops you have to visit: From Detroit to Jo’burg, we’ve selected the apartments, lock-ups and converted camper-vans, that offer a personalised record shopping experience like no other. While there’s no shortage of record shops at street level, opening up a brick-and-mortar space is only for the brave. Behind closed doors however, more and more sellers are setting up their homes, shipping containers, basement warehouse spaces and mini-vans to share their collections with the world. It makes sense. After all, why spend time digitising your collection and listing it online when you can simply invite people over for a dig, a brew and a biscuit? Appointment-only spots are also on the increase as they offer a more personal experience than your average shop. By the same token, they tend to be a bit more elusive to track down. Thankfully, we’ve done the hard work for you and have collected some of our favourites…

Ontario, CA | Bud’s Records Spins to Life in Cornwall: Bud’s Records recently opened its doors at 375 Eleventh Street East in the Leduc Shopping Centre, providing music lovers and collectors with a new venue to discover new and used records, CDs, equipment and other cool items. The new record shop represents the next step in a long love affair with music for owner Bud O’Byrne. The Cornwall resident has been collecting seriously for about six years and selling online. Fellow collectors had even started to visit his home to check out his collection and make the odd purchase. “My wife said ‘I want my living room back’,” Mr. O’Byrne joked. Between his own growing collection and other collections he purchased along the way, Mr. O’Byrne decided the time was right to make the full dive into entrepreneurship and open his own store.

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Brookline, PA | Rather Ripped Records in Brookline closes: Another iconic Pittsburgh record store has gone out of business. Rather Ripped Records in Brookline closed its doors for the last time on Thursday. The store had been in business for 50 years, after South Side native Russ Ketter opened at his original location in Berkeley, California in 1969. He moved back to Pittsburgh in 2012 and opened a store on Butler Street in Lawrenceville. In 2015, the store moved to Brookline Boulevard. Ketter said multiple factors led to his decision to close the store. “We had a lot of problems with the Liberty Bridge being closed and the Liberty Tunnel being closed for almost two years,” said Ketter. “We lost business because of that. I saw the change in the pattern immediately.”

UK | HMV re-opens three Scottish stores after ‘successful negotiations’ with landlords. The company’s managing director confirmed the move was “the best outcome for our staff and customers.” Music giant HMV has re-opened its shop in Ayr Central shopping centre. The move follows what the company described as “successful negotiations” with its landlord. Canadian firm Sunrise Records bought HMV out of administration but Ayr was one of 27 stores which initially closed, seeing the loss of 10 jobs. But the company said the news about Ayr was “the best outcome for our staff and customers”. HMV managing director Neil Taylor said: “I am extremely proud of our staff who are the most knowledgeable and committed people you will meet, and so it is extremely gratifying to see this store open again. “I greatly appreciate the support of all our customers and the landlord which made re-opening this store possible.”

Coventry, UK | MUSIC MATTERS: Keeping vinyl records alive in Coventry: It’s with personal excitement to learn of a new record shop in Coventry. Alan Roberts at Just Dropped In is based at Fargo Village (container 5, to be exact). It caters for all tastes – jazz, rock, electro, pop, retro – you name it and I reckon he will have the genre covered. He certainly knows how to use all his space wisely, and there’s a great vibe to the place. Little wonder the place was Store of The Month in Mojo magazine. Great news that Coventry’s HMV will be saved, and don’t forget the record stall Vinyl Destination in Coventry Market and Frank Harvey’s in Spon Street. In Warwickshire we have The Leamington Record Store, Head and Seismic Records in Leamington, Just For The Record in Rugby and S.J. Records in Stratford. Sorry if I have missed any out. Let’s keep vinyl records alive.

Manila, PH | Score affordable and rare vinyl records at these record stores in Manila: Listening to music today only requires one click. As long as you are connected to the internet, you can play music through streaming platforms like Spotify and Soundcloud. But recently, it seems like more and more people are reviving the tradition of playing vinyl records. To anyone who thought this is a hipster trend that belonged to the late 2000s, revoke your audiophile card right now. It looks like physical vinyl records are here to stay for a long time. According to Forbes, 50 percent of record players are bought by millennials. The Economist, on the other hand, said that the same group makes up 50 percent of vinyl record purchases. So, if you’re planning to start your collection, you’re not too late on getting a head start. But the chain record stores at malls are slowly closing. Where do we go to start our collection then? The answer: independent record stores. Scattered around the metro, their stocks range from freshly minted to pre-loved.

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US music fans throw more money at vinyl, CDs than iTunes downloads now. Streaming is king though, bringing in 75 percent of the US recording industry’s revenue. How the mighty have fallen. Digital downloads, typified by the 99 cent iTunes tracks that ruled the music industry as recently as four years ago, now make less money for US labels than CDs and vinyl records. Downloads represented just 11 percent of US labels’ revenue last year, a music industry trade group said Thursday. Physical sales — the term for music formats you can actually hold, which are mostly CDs and vinyl at this point — booked 12 percent. Instead, streaming music has been asphyxiating demand for downloads. Streaming sales were 75 percent of revenue last year, according to year-end data from the Recording Industry Association of America, or RIAA.

Leeds, UK | The world’s best record shops #141: Tribe Records, Leeds: Leeds has quietly been cultivating its under-the-London-radar dance music scene for decades. Cosmic Slop, Outlaws Yacht Club and KMAH Radio are just the tip of the iceberg in a city that gave us Back 2 Basics, Iration Steppas and Nightmares On Wax. Among them, and equally as vital, is Tribe Records – the brainchild of Simon Scott, who founded the shop in 1995. “We opened the shop in the Corn Exchange, which went on to be the foundation for such UK institutions such as Subdub, Outlook and Dimensions Festival, all of which have flourished under Scott’s stewardship,” says Tribe’s Alex T, who also DJs on Rinse FM. “Subdub is now the longest running sound system party in the country.” If that nugget of musical history isn’t enough to entice you inside, then their selection of house, techno, electro, reggae, dancehall, disco and everything in-between, will. “We cater specifically for club and radio DJs,” says Alex.

Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Queen highlight Record Store Day releases: Record Store Day, the annual event celebrating independently owned brick-and-mortar music outlets, has unveiled its list of this year’s limited-edition releases. With nearly 400 (mostly) vinyl options available, there’s seemingly something for every music fan. Some of the many artists contributing work include Bob Dylan, Prince, Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, Peter Gabriel, Elton John, John Lennon, Roxy Music, R.E.M. the Rolling Stones and many more. “We’ve got amazing support from all the labels again this year,” proclaimed Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz. “It’s sort of separate from the music business in general, which is pretty much all streaming now, with some effort being put into vinyl.”

Jack White’s Third Man Records Announces 3-Inch Singles Box Set. The Record Store Day release features six tiny singles from the White Stripes’ back catalogue. After teasing the release of a 3-inch single from the Raconteurs back in January, Jack White’s Third Man Records has revealed that its Record Store Day 2019 plans will feature an entire box set of the tiny records, in addition to an accompanying turntable. To mark the day of vinyl celebration on April 13, White’s label will offer up a box set of six 3-inch records containing select singles from the White Stripes’ back catalogue, in addition to four other Third Man singles in mystery sleeves. A new Third Man Records-branded “Triple Inchophone” turntable will also be available, as you can see above. The box set will contain White Stripes singles “Let’s Shake Hands,” “Lafayette Blues,” “The Big Three Killed My Baby,” “Hello Operator,” “Lord, Send Me an Angel” and “Conquest.”

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