Vinyl: Last News

Resident Advisor, clients of Deepgrooves, including Into The Deep Records, Clutching At Straws and Rocco.fx, are now claiming that they are owed thousands of Euros for vinyl deliveries that never arrived in what amounts to a fraud by the pressing plant.Into The Deep boss Arthur Lastmann says he sent £3,500 to the plant in January this year for a vinyl order of an upcoming release, but only received a defective test pressing. He was then sent a series of email contacts but did not receive his order before the bankruptcy notice was filed.Brian Ring, owner of the Clutching At Straws label, has said, “I think Deepgrooves knew back as early as 2023 it was in a dire financial state and still took orders it could never complete.”Ring paid the company in June this year, but experienced faulty communications before learning of the bankruptcy.Deepgrooves’ affairs are now controlled by a trustee, Wybe Molemma, who told Resident Advisor: “Products that have already been produced are available and can be delivered.

Wu-Tang Clan have announced a new album ‘Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman’, to be released for Record Store Day 2025.The legendary hip-hop crew have not released a full-length album since 2017’s The Saga Continues, but that will change on April 12 when a limited edition run of 5000 copies of the new record will be available in participating Record Store Day retailers.It sees Wu-Tang reunite with producer Mathematics, who has been associated with the group since their earliest days, and includes contributions from all nine surviving Wu-Tang members, as well as Kool G Rap, Kurupt and Benny The Butcher.The album will be officially credited to ‘Wu-Tang and Mathematics’, and the producer has said: “Wu-Tang has always been about pushing boundaries – musically, artistically, and culturally. With ‘Black Samson, The Bastard Swordsman’, I’m giving fans not just an album, but a piece of history – something truly one of a kind.”“This is more than music; it’s innovation, storytelling, and legacy all in one.

Record Store Day 2025.Titled Behind The Counter, the 12-part series is premiering every Tuesday leading up to Record Store Day itself on April 12. Each episode will showcase the vibrant culture surrounding a different independent record shop.The series is made in partnership with the audio equipment brand Bowers & Wilkins, as well as Classic Album Sundays and Record Story Day UK itself.The first two episodes have already gone live, profiling London’s Dash The Henge and the Isle Of Man’s Sound Records.

pic.twitter.com/VmMbHwWf38— Rough Trade US (@RoughTradeUS) January 23, 2025“It’s clear that the ethos of Rough Trade – to narrow the gap between artist and audience – has struck a tremendous chord here in New York. Creating an even larger mecca for the music lover is an exciting prospect, especially for our intimate live events, where the world’s most exciting artists perform in-store for the admission of purchasing their new album.

vinyl record.The popularity of vinyl has been on the rise in recent years. Back in April, for instance, it was confirmed that vinyl sales enjoyed their highest weekly total sales in three decades, and later in the summer it was announced that sales of physical music on the whole were on track to see their first increase in two decades, following years of being overshadowed by streaming.Now, it seems that fast food chain KFC has gotten involved in the trend, and announced that it is giving away bucked lids that double as a playable vinyl.It announced the update in a new social media post, where it showed an image of the new invention and confirmed that each comes with a collection of ‘Kentucky Fried Carols’.

Omeara, London8.12.24 pic.twitter.com/WfNDtK4dzG— 4AD (@4AD_Official) November 28, 2024As well as 4AD and Third Man, Chess Club Records, Speedy Wunderground, Erased Tapes, Partisan Records, So Young Records, Drag City, State51 and Sonic Cathedral are all slated to be involved in the fair.Record shops including Rough Trade Records, Dash The Henge and Honest Jon’s are also advertised, as is jewellery store Tatty Devine and the lifestyle brands Arkive and Unified Goods.Third Man Records was founded by Jack White, alongside Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank, in 2001, and currently has three locations – Nashville, Detroit and London.In July, lucky customers are the three branches were the first to hear White’s latest solo album ‘No Name’, after copies of the unannounced release were slipped into their bags at checkout.The album received a wider physical release in August. It scored a four-star review from NME‘s Andrew Trendell, who wrote: “This is an ode to the mystique of rock’n’roll and to the joy of music at its most physical and playful.

vinyl sales in the US have dropped by a third.The latest figures come as part of Billboard’s latest music consumption report, and show that record sales across America saw a 33 per cent decline in 2024.In 2023, vinyl sales were at 34.9million units, however, the latest statistics show that this has dropped to 23.3million in 2024.It isn’t just vinyl sales that have been impacted. Both CDs and digital albums have taken a hit this year too, with the former dropping by 19.5 per cent compared to 2023, while the latter is down 8.3 per cent from where it was last year.According to the outlet’s report, album sales on the whole have seen a drop by 23 per cent – declining from 75.5million units sold in 2023 to 57.7million in 2024.

Music Week in a new interview that the chain – which currently has six shops in the UK and one in the US – was looking to open more stores, particularly in London.“We always keep an eye on opportunities in the UK but we are respectful to the great indie stores around the country, so we are very specific when looking at opportunities,” Montgomery said. He also added that the chain were “assessing a couple opportunities in London, where we have a strong team and operational set-up.”It follows a huge resurgence in the vinyl industry, in which the number of independent vinyl stores hit a 10-year high in March this year and vinyl outsold CD for the first time in 35 years in 2023.“We are selling more than double the number of records and CDs so far in 2024 than we did five years ago,” Montgomery told Music Week.

vinyl industry.Titled the ‘First Carbon Footprinting Report,’ the document details the various stages of vinyl production and explains how each stage contributes to the overall carbon footprint of a record.By measuring the carbon impact of everything in the vinyl production process from “cradle-to-factory-gate”, this report found that the footprint of a vinyl record is in the region of a 1.15kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) – that production of a vinyl record has apparently less carbon emissions than an 8oz steak, but more than a load of laundry or pint of milk.Half of those emissions originate from the PVC compound used in producing the records. An additional 30% of emissions result from the factory’s energy consumption, and 13% from the print packaging such as jackets and sleeves.Distribution, particularly air freight, greatly amplifies the carbon footprint.

Hot Press, O’Mahoney said the record store is intended as a space for “the local music community.”“We hope to welcome anyone with an interest in records and music to stop by and hang out, chat music, buy music and meet other people interested in a wide variety of sounds,” he continued.Downbeat Records also features an in-store listening deck to assist customers in their shopping and will be open Wednesday-Sunday.A post shared by Downbeat Records Limerick (@downbeatrecords.limerick)The news follows an upward trajectory for vinyl sales this year, which has seen a handful of new record stores open. Earlier this week, Grub Records, a new record store and music venue, opened in Sheffield with hopes of becoming a “worthy addition to the city’s wonderful scene”, launching a Crowdfunder in a bid to raise £2500 to “hit the ground running”.In January, Rubber Ducky Records, the Manchester record store on a canal boat, reopened after sinking last year, while the classic record store chain Our Price has reopened this year after two decades.

launched a Crowdfunder in a bid to raise £2500 to “hit the ground running”. The money will “help us make the shop beautiful, and jump-start plans for the interior decorating, as well as stocking the shelves with as many killer records as they can fit.”They went on: “Overall we’ve donated around £10ks worth of equipment, records, and cash, but helping us get up and running faster will mean a wider range of genres on the shelves from day one, allowing us to diversify the selection of styles available and create a space with something for everyone.”A post shared by Grub Records (@grub.records)Among those involved in the launch of the space are Apricot Ballroom, Control, Groundwork, Footprints Jazz Club, Mondo Radio, and DJ duo Wow & Flutter.Grub Records is bucking the UK-wide trend that has seen numerous small venues forced to close for financial reasons – there are just 835 music venues left in the UK, with a new study from A2D2 showing that 19 closed last year in the North West of England alone, followed by 17 in London.In December, Mark Davyd, the CEO of the Music Venues Trust (MVT), told NME that 2023 had been the “worst year ever for venue closures,” while a report from the Trust earlier this year showed that grassroots venues are facing a “disaster”.But there are still some positive stories too – like Grub Records.

pic.twitter.com/xcJuKDgX46— Memorial Device (@memorialdevice) August 3, 2024If you want to sell your records, do not use this serviceGenuine record dealers care about giving you a fair price (while making a fair profit themselves) and care about finding your records a good homeThe prices Rough Trade are offering here are exploitatively low https://t.co/F1Wtu6NjNu— Cheap Indie Vinyl (@CheapIndieVinyl) August 2, 2024This is a potentially fatal own goal for @RoughTrade What on earth were they thinking?— Phil S (@BigDerbyMan) August 3, 2024I read about this last night. Utter disaster for them.— Steve Robertson (@ScotsBear1973) August 3, 2024Absolutely disgraceful prices and you should be ashamed to have partnered with them.

Fleetwood Mac‘s ‘Rumours’ has been named as the best-selling vinyl of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.The seminal record by the band, which was originally released in 1977, was revealed to have sold just under 280,000 copes on vinyl in this millennium alone. Pink Floyd‘s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ made it into the top five of the best-selling vinyl records, along with Nirvana‘s ‘Nevermind’ and Oasis‘s ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’.

Countdown’s ticking and we’re pumped. And (if I’m honest) pretty jittery.

Taylor Swift fans for “putting words into my mouth” after she seemingly shaded Swift for not being environmentally conscious. “Okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what I said in that billboard article,” the 22-year-old singer wrote in an Instagram story.

Billie Eilish has responded to the backlash against her recent comments on artists releasing multiple vinyl variants.In an interview with Billboard discussing her climate activism, Eilish made headlines for criticising the practise of releasing multiple vinyl variants to boost album sales, calling it “wasteful”. “It’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favorite artists doing that sh-t,” she added.Some outlets such as TMZ and The New York Post interpreted Eilish’s comments as a dig at Taylor Swift, who is known for releasing multiple variants of her albums.

Billie Eilish has criticised artists who release multiple vinyl formats to boost album sales, calling the practise “really frustrating”.The artist made the comments in a new interview with Billboard, where Eilish and her mother Maggie Baird discussed their history of environmental activism – and in particular, their work towards making vinyl more sustainable.“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging,” Eilish began, “which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money.”After Baird interrupted to point out vinyl sales “counts toward No.

BBC).The ERA’s 2024 Yearbook (published today, March 6), which contains statistics on the music, video and gaming sectors, also found that the UK music market was worth £2.2billion last year. 84 per cent of this was attributed to streaming subscriptions.The number of shops physically selling music, however – like supermarkets and specialist chains – fell from 10,391 to 2,486 in that period.The demand for vinyl records, meanwhile, continued to increase for the 16th year in a row.

Taylor Swift, new figures have shown.New data from Billboard shows that 49.61million vinyl records were sold in the States last year, of which Swift accounted for a huge 3.484million of those, or 7 per cent.The new numbers come after it was revealed that one in every 78 song streams in the US last year was also a Taylor Swift track.In results from the BPI in the UK, female musicians were shown to have dominated the best-selling albums and singles over the past 12 months, however, concerns were raised about new talent finding it harder to emerge on the charts.Elsewhere, Swift’s concert film The Eras Tour has officially become the highest-grossing concert movie of all time – overtaking Michael Jackson‘s This Is It with an overall global taking of $261.6million (£206m) – and a course on Taylor Swift at Harvard University has proved so popular that the institution is seeking more teaching assistants to help deliver it.Matthew Vaughn, the director of upcoming spy action comedy movie, Argylle, has also had to deny the theory that Taylor Swift is responsible for the book on which the movie is based.On January 9, a novel titled Argylle was released, written by a pseudonymous author going by the name Elly Conway. The book involves a spy novelist who gets roped into the world of espionage, assassins and feuds, all accompanied by her cat, Alfie.Some fans of Swift have been theorising that the mysterious novel was written by the US singer.

Enter Shikari, Napalm Death and Carcass are set to be re-released as eco-friendly ‘Greenyl’ vinyl records.Record shop Rude Cares has teamed up with Greenyl to release the album as part of a new Be The Change initiative, for which the LPs will be made at the first eco-friendly vinyl plant.Enter Shikari’s ‘Common Dreads’, Napalm Death’s ‘Harmony Corruption’ and Carcass’ ‘Heartwork’ will be printed on PVC-free Greenyl, made from 99 per cent recycled plastic compound which has zero emissions during the production process.Other bands taking part include The Dangerous Summer, Less Than Jake, Chiodos, Polyphia, Sydney Sprague and Graphic Nature. You can find release dates and links to pre-order here.We're thrilled to present 'Common Dreads' by @ENTERSHIKARI – an Emerald Green & Black Nebula @greenylrecords LP.

Music Week reported that the Official Charts Company recorded a 51 per cent increase in vinyl sales on National Album Day compared to the previous week.Nearly half of the 40 best-selling vinyl albums over the last weekend were releases exclusive to National Album Day, such as Blur‘s ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’, Jeff Buckley‘s ‘Grace’, and Paul Weller‘s ‘Wild Wood’.There were over 40 classic albums that were released or reissued in limited editions, including Tricky‘s ‘Maxinquaye‘, The Cranberries‘ ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?’ and Fatboy Slim‘s ‘You’ve Come A Long Way Baby‘.A spokesperson for National Album Day said: “From Britpop and Girl Power to ground-breaking trends in genres such as dance, rock, rap and hip hop, the 1990s was an exceptional era for music, so it’s fantastic that this year’s National Album Day has enabled fans to reconnect with some of their favourite albums from the decade or make new discoveries. The popularity of the theme is underlined by the uplift in vinyl sales thanks to the incredible array of classic albums that were re-issued or appeared for the first time on the beloved format.”“Coupled with this was activity around the event to celebrate the art of the album, including with our partners Bowers & Wilkins and BBC Sounds.