Lancaster, UK | Lancaster independent record store to reopen bigger than ever: An independent record store in Lancaster is about to move to a bigger premises and will now be selling drinks as well as music. Forty Five Records will reopen at 7 Kings Arcade on Thursday, January 16. The new bigger store is just a stone’s throw from the previous shop in Kings Arcade, which opened in 2023 and closed in October while the new premises was refurbished. Forty Five Records is run by Martin Collins and Liz Crane, and Martin said they have put in a “big investment” to expand the business. “The new space came up and it’s so much bigger, around seven or eight times the size of the old shop”, said Martin. “It means we can offer more records, and we can also sell coffee, other hot drinks, soft drinks and non alcoholic beers. When we first opened, our plan was to sell every genre of music. I think, over time, we have seen what works really well.”
Austin, TX | Austin’s Waterloo Records changes ownership, relocates: One of Austin’s staple record stores will change ownership and relocate to a larger location this spring, current owner John Kunz announced Jan. 2. Waterloo Records served as a home for Austin’s music scene for 42 years, including 35 years at its current location along West 6th Street and North Lamar Boulevard. The new owners, Caren Kelleher, the CEO of Gold Rush Vinyl, and Trey Watson, CEO of Armadillo Records, will move the store five blocks away to 1105 N. Lamar Blvd. “I would love this company to live on long after me, and I think we are on the runway to be able to do exactly that,” Kunz said. Kunz said he began searching for a new location in 2019 when his landlord sold the building to Endeavor Real Estate Group. He said he was not interested in signing a five-to-ten-year lease for a new building since he wants to retire soon, and if the ownership did not change, Waterloo would have to close entirely.
Lima, OH | Groamy’s music store hopeful for return after fire: Groamy’s CDs and Tapes was hit by a fire early Sunday morning, causing an estimated $200,000 in damage. Lima Fire Department was dispatched to the store at 1206 W. Robb Ave., Lima, at 4:47 a.m. Sunday. According to LFD investigator and inspector Shawn Allgire, the department had the fire under control approximately 30 minutes after they arrived. The total estimated losses are $75,000 for the building and nearly $125,000 for contents inside. The report is not finalized, and investigations are still ongoing, according to the LFD. Owner Gene “Groamy” Frueh explained the uphill battle could’ve been worse. “It’s not a total loss,” he said. “People keep saying that, but it’s not a total loss.” He is encouraging the public to follow the store’s Facebook page for upcoming information as he learns it. Frueh is hopeful to re-open soon, aiming for Record Store Day on April 12.
Victoria, BC | Come for the Records, Stay for the Dad Jokes: Hang out with owner Gary Anderson at Victoria, B.C.’s The Turntable. Spend a little time with Gary Anderson and you’re apt to conclude that the guy has all the attributes of a natural-born entertainer: big smile, massive moustache, big personality, booming voice, gifted storyteller—and a huge laugh. In fact, early in his adult life Anderson spent a fair bit of time on stage—playing drums and providing backing vocals while touring with aspiring Canadian rock bands Hellhound, Fable, and Task Force. For the past four decades, he’s brought music to his customers’ ears as the owner/operator of The Turntable, a record store in the Canadian city of Victoria, B.C. And more recently, he’s added another schtick to his repertoire as the handwritten message on a piece of paper taped to the front window of his store explains: Free Dad Jokes Inside!
Remember that ’60s TV show Branded starring Chuck Connors, who played a soldier in the Wild West? Who, wrongly convicted of some crime, had his shoulder epaulettes ripped off and his sword broken in half during the opening credits, which ended with him standing stoically outside the closed fort gates, facing the grim prospects of surviving in the savage wilderness the best he could? Well that’s what happened with these albums. They were branded, given the bum’s rush, and left shivering in the rock wilderness, while Beefheart fans tried their level best to forget them.
Stroud, UK | Record shop of the year says vinyl ‘here to stay.’ A Gloucestershire-based record store has won Record Store of the Year 2024. Sound Records, in Stroud, won the accolade despite being up against well-established independent shops such as Rough Trade and Piccadilly Records in Manchester. Owner Tom Berry said he thinks the success of his store lies in selling cheaper records. He said: “The key is having good records—new released and second-hand stock—and making sure we price our records fairly.” Sound Records have been trading for about six years in Stroud and now has three stores. Mr Berry told BBC Radio Gloucestershire he sees people of every age coming into the shop. “We get the 50-something man that comes in and he’s buying the records from his youth,” he said. “But we do actually get 
Salt Lake City, UT | How 2 record stores are fostering Salt Lake City’s all-ages music scene: They’re part of an effort to establish “third spaces” for people under 21 to hang out and create community. A crowd of young adults nod their heads in time to a jazz trio as it weaves through its set on the stage at Fountain Records. The dimly lit underground venue at 202 E. 500 South in Salt Lake City buzzes with energy. The place is small enough to create an intimacy that seems to unite the room. While timeless music and old brick walls elicit the past, the space allows young adults to connect, live and in person. …Terry, the store’s owner and founder of the creative label FOUNTAINavm, said bringing musicians and audiences back together has been crucial to redeveloping a community around music after the pandemic pulled many people into solitude and dependence on technology. “I hope these third places 
The Soft Bulletin is a warm and fuzzy album for warm and fuzzy people looking for an uplifting musical experience. Earlier Flaming Lips albums featured songs like “Talkin’ ‘Bout the Smiling Deathporn Immortality Blues (Everyone Wants to Live Forever),” Unconsciously Screamin,'” Jesus Shootin’ Heroin,” and “Evil Will Prevail.”
Washington, DC | Adams Morgan’s Smash Records celebrates 40 years of being a communal hub for the D.C. punk scene: When Bobby Polsky opened Smash Records on July 17, 1984, Prince’s “When Doves Cry” was the number one song in the U.S. and Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA was the top album. While conventional retail strategy might say opening up a record store devoted to the burgeoning punk and new wave scenes in the era of these 80s music blockbusters was risky, convention has never been the punk ethos. Smash first set up shop at 3324 M Street NW in a 300 square foot storefront, now occupied by a custom window treatment retailer. …Ian MacKaye, co-founder of the D.C. punk label Dischord Records and seminal bands like Minor Threat and Fugazi, recalls that the neighborhood was full of pizza parlors, movie theaters, and new wave spots like the iconic Commander Salamanders that made it an ideal after-school hub for 
US | 5 Must-Visit Record Stores In The US: The humble record store never really left the high street. Sure, many of the big names, like Sam Goody’s, have closed their doors forever, but there are still some indies left. If you want to pay homage to the home of music culture, then check out some of these must-visit record stores around the US. The record shop has doubled down on what it is that made them great in the first place. Where the large commercial chain record stores focussed only on sales, indies remembered why they were so special in the first place. A great record store is a hub for music lovers to rub shoulders with peers. Record stores today, to remain successful, need to offer the full package. Not only do they need to sell the best and rarest of new and second-hand records, but also host events, advertise local shows, and introduce their shoppers to new music. This is what makes for 
