Tag: vinyl

NME

Vinyl sales have reportedly increased by 51 per cent on National Album Day thanks to its 1990s reissues.

• READ MORE: Tricky on ‘Maxinquaye’: “I do appreciate it, but I can also see the damage done to my mind”

National Album Day, which took place on October 14 this year, was jointly organised by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Entertainment and Retail Association (ERA), and presented in association with audio partner Bowers & Wilkins and broadcast partner BBC Sounds.

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. The day would have also not been possible without the support of our artist ambassadors, record labels, distributors, retailers and digital services, and everyone who helped to make it such a fantastic success – we thank them all.”

National Album Day was celebrated with a number of events. On BBC Radio 2, host Steve Wright counted down the most-streamed albums from the ’90s, with Oasis taking the top two spots with ‘What’s The Story (Morning Glory)’ and ‘Definitely Maybe’. BBC’s The One Show also featured the event, and the day coincided with the BBC2 three-part series First Ladies of Hip-Hop, narrated by Neneh Cherry.

Furthermore, Oasis shared a new lyric video for their track ‘Listen Up’ exclusively on the National Album Day website. ‘Listen Up’, a B-side to ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’, is set to appear of their 25th Anniversary reissue of ‘The Masterplan’, their B-sides collection album, out November 3 (pre-order/pre-save here). Liam Gallagher also recently announced a 30th anniversary tour of ‘Definitely Maybe’ – you can purchase tickets here.

The post Vinyl sales increased 51 per cent thanks to National Album Day appeared first on NME.

NME

Independent record labels have expressed worries after a large vinyl distribution company, Utopia Music, has started to involve major labels in its finances.

• READ MORE: Vinyl sales up nearly 15 per cent in 2023

Utopia Music is a company which physically distributes vinyls and CDs to retailers. In September 2022, the company acquired what was formerly the biggest music distribution company in the UK, Cinram Novum. Earlier that January, it also acquired fellow distributor Proper Music Group. Due to these acquisitions, Utopia now has an estimated 70% share, making it the leading company for getting records to shops in the UK.

However, issues involving a warehouse move gone wrong have negatively impacted acts at indie labels. The Guardian reported that one British indie label said one of its biggest acts missed a Top 20 chart position. Additionally, stock for a September release was “temporarily unable to be located”, meaning nine months of work and thousands of pounds were wasted.

“It put a crack through the middle of the campaign. It could mean a knock of 50% off sales,” a senior executive from the label said.

The company is based in Switzerland, and has run into further financial problems this year. In the summer, Utopia called in liquidators for its Utopia UK (R&D) operation. It also requested financial help from major labels Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment for its separate distribution arm, UDS, in order to fund the warehouse move from Aylesbury to Bicester.

There are now worries that major labels are gaining an unhealthy level of influence on an independent sector. This echoed by the comments of Utopia VP of distribution services Drew Hill: “Part of me wishes now I hadn’t gone to [the majors] to say: ‘Do you want to come along for the ride?’”

Hill also spoke about the warehouse operation, which he says was a 12-16 month process that had to be cut down to 6 months due to the lease end date for the Aylesbury site. “Nothing went missing or got lost,” he said. According to Hill, 27 trailers of stock “were loaded without being properly manifested”, resulting in an unloading backlog. Furthermore, he reportedly stressed that major labels were not given preferential treatment during the move, calling the incident “a very unfortunate situation”.

Those fears may increase if Utopia has to divest its distribution arm. The company has already divested publishing tech company Sentric, Absolute Label Services, and music analytics platform ROSTR thanks to an acquisition frenzy in 2021 and 2022.

If Utopia divests UDS, then the most likely candidates to buy it out would be major labels. Hill claims this wouldn’t be the case: “Sony and UMG have no control over operational workflow on site,” Hill said. “I don’t think they’ve got any desire to get back into something” – physical distribution – “they spent years trying to get out of.”

The post Indie labels concerned as major labels intervene in vinyl and CD distribution appeared first on NME.

NME

Sales of vinyl have surged by nearly 15 per cent year-on-year for the first nine months of 2023, according to a new report.

• READ MORE: What’s causing the vinyl delay? “Adele is not the problem”, say music industry insiders

The statistics were collected from the BPI (via MusicWeek) and highlighted that from the beginning of the year until the end of September, 3,952,262 vinyl LPs were sold – approximately a 13.2 per cent increase since 2022.

According to the report, this increase was even bigger for the three months of the Q3 period, which saw 1,237,620 records sold in the vinyl format; a figure which is 15.1 per cent higher than the previous year.

So far, artists majorly responsible for the resurgence of vinyl sales include Lana Del Rey, Taylor Swift, Blur and Kylie Minogue – all of which have released new LPs since the start of the year.

So far, Lana Del Rey’s ‘Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’ remains the biggest vinyl release of the year – with 33,568 copies sold on the format since its release in March. This is followed by Taylor Swift’s ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’, which was the biggest-selling vinyl release of Q3, with 29,649 sales.

In third place is Britpop icons Blur, whose ninth studio album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ has sold 26,894 copies, and Kylie Minogue’s ‘Tension’ isn’t too far behind, with 19,160 copies sold since its release last month.

Other albums paving the way in vinyl sales include Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Guts’, Wham!’s ‘The Singles: Echoes From The Edge Of Heaven’ and Lewis Capaldi‘s ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’.

What’s more, this figure is expected to rise significantly for the remainder of 2023, with albums from Take That (‘This Life’) and Taylor Swift (‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’) still set for release. Another artist set to make a huge mark on the figures this year is rock icons The Rolling Stones, who will be sharing ‘Hackney Diamonds’ – their first new album of original music in 18 years on October 20.

The number is also set to be inflated with Black Friday – Record Store Day’s sister event – on the horizon (November 24). This will see limited edition vinyl editions released for over 90 artists, including Joni Mitchell, Prince, The Doors and Post Malone.

As reported by MusicWeek, CD sales for 2023 have dropped by 6.3 per cent year-on-year, and physical sales as a whole are down by 0.5 per cent. Unsurprisingly, streaming continues to be the main way music is being consumed, making up 88.5 per cent of the market.

In other vinyl news, back in August it was reported that Scotland’s first-ever vinyl-pressing plant was under construction – set to open later this year.

Named Seabass Vinyl, is the family-run business of David and Dominique Harvey, and is set to open its doors in East Lothian, just outside Edinburgh, later this month.

The post Vinyl sales up nearly 15 per cent in 2023 appeared first on NME.

NME

The last surviving vinyl record shop in Teesside is set to close following the death of its owner.

Sound It Out has been under the ownership of Tom Butchart since 1998, but the owner passed away in June, and the shop will now close at the end of the month.

In a post on Facebook, Butchart’s wife Clare said of the closure: “It has not been an easy decision. The shop was Tom’s baby and his passion of which I am and always will be immensely proud.

“Sound It Out Records died with Tom that day. Tom’s memory will last forever in your hearts, memories and especially in the music you play.”

The shop’s staff added: “It was more than just a record shop. You helped to build a unique space of music and friendships. We would like to thank Tom for giving us an opportunity to work at Sound It Out and it makes us proud and honoured to be part of this music community legacy.”

See more

Statement from Clare ButchartIt is with great sadness I announce Sound It Out Records will cease trading from the 31st…

Posted by Sound It Out Records on Tuesday, August 22, 2023

See more

Statement from Sound It Out Records Staff:We would like to thank all our customers for their support and love over the…

Posted by Sound It Out Records on Friday, August 25, 2023

The “vast quantity” of the shop’s remaining stock will now go up for auction, with Joanne McDonald of Vectis Auctions saying: “We knew Tom, being local and his passion for vinyl being shared by us.

“We have given the given honour and responsibility of offering the ‘Sound It Out Records Collection’ for sale through our auction house. It will be sold over several auctions (as it is a vast quantity).”

Sound It Out was the subject of a 2010 documentary by Jeanie Finlay about independent record shops and the fight they face to remain open.

Elsewhere, Scotland’s first ever vinyl-pressing plant is under construction and will open later this year.

Seabass Vinyl is set to open its doors in East Lothian, just outside Edinburgh, in October and is the family-run business of David and Dominique Harvey.

The post Sound It Out: The legendary last surviving vinyl record shop in Teesside will close following owner’s death appeared first on NME.

NME

Scotland’s first ever vinyl-pressing plant is under construction and will open later this year.

• READ MORE: What’s causing the vinyl delay? “Adele is not the problem”, say music industry insiders

Seabass Vinyl is set to open its doors in East Lothian, just outside Edinburgh, in October and is the family-run business of David and Dominique Harvey.

Speaking to Resident Advisor, the Harveys said of Seabass: “We’re artist-centric with an emphasis on quality and sustainability.

“We offer fair prices, short production runs and optimised production lead times. Our ambition is to become a valuable partner to artists and the music industry in general, as well as our local community.

“We’ve recently been announced as a partner of the Scottish Album of the Year award and will be pressing the records for the winner of the Sound of Young Scotland award free of charge.”

The pressing plant are taking orders from September and you can find out more here.

See more

Back in 2021, figures from the music industry spoke to NME about what’s causing the delays in manufacturing vinyl and artists getting their albums made.

Reports emerged of a crisis facing vinyl-lovers, with sources telling Variety that more than 500,000 copies of Adele’s album ’30’ had been pressed – causing a huge backlog and problems in the production line for others wishing to get LPs manufactured with the world’s limited resources.

As even Ed Sheeran told Australian radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O about getting his recent album ‘=’ pressed: “So you have to do it like really upfront — and Adele had basically booked out all the vinyl factories, so we had to get a slot and get our album in there. It was like me, Coldplay, Adele, Taylor [Swift], ABBA, Elton [John]: all of us were trying to get our vinyl printed at the same time.”

A music manager told NME: “I don’t think Adele is the force making that happen! Her record label, quite correctly, understand that although she probably makes quite a nice chunk of money from streaming, she’s going to make a lot more by selling vinyl. It’s the same calculation that the rest of us have made, but she’s just doing it better!”

The post Scotland’s first ever vinyl-pressing plant is under construction appeared first on NME.

NME

Scotland’s first ever vinyl-pressing plant is under construction and will open later this year.

• READ MORE: What’s causing the vinyl delay? “Adele is not the problem”, say music industry insiders

Seabass Vinyl is set to open its doors in East Lothian, just outside Edinburgh, in October and is the family-run business of David and Dominique Harvey.

Speaking to Resident Advisor, the Harveys said of Seabass: “We’re artist-centric with an emphasis on quality and sustainability.

“We offer fair prices, short production runs and optimised production lead times. Our ambition is to become a valuable partner to artists and the music industry in general, as well as our local community.

“We’ve recently been announced as a partner of the Scottish Album of the Year award and will be pressing the records for the winner of the Sound of Young Scotland award free of charge.”

The pressing plant are taking orders from September and you can find out more here.

See more

Back in 2021, figures from the music industry spoke to NME about what’s causing the delays in manufacturing vinyl and artists getting their albums made.

Reports emerged of a crisis facing vinyl-lovers, with sources telling Variety that more than 500,000 copies of Adele’s album ’30’ had been pressed – causing a huge backlog and problems in the production line for others wishing to get LPs manufactured with the world’s limited resources.

As even Ed Sheeran told Australian radio hosts Kyle and Jackie O about getting his recent album ‘=’ pressed: “So you have to do it like really upfront — and Adele had basically booked out all the vinyl factories, so we had to get a slot and get our album in there. It was like me, Coldplay, Adele, Taylor [Swift], ABBA, Elton [John]: all of us were trying to get our vinyl printed at the same time.”

A music manager told NME: “I don’t think Adele is the force making that happen! Her record label, quite correctly, understand that although she probably makes quite a nice chunk of money from streaming, she’s going to make a lot more by selling vinyl. It’s the same calculation that the rest of us have made, but she’s just doing it better!”

The post Scotland’s first ever vinyl-pressing plant is under construction appeared first on NME.