Vinyl has continued its surprising comeback and has become one of the most popular media formats. Despite a sales low during the dark days of 2013, vinyl is once again the music lover’s medium of choice. outselling physical CDs in the UK for the first time in 35 years (opens in new tab) according to the ERA.
To celebrate the format’s continued mainstream popularity, online documentary series Behind the cornerproduced as a collaboration between Record Store DayClassic Album Sundays and Bowers & Wilkins, has returned for a fourth series as we take a look at the top independent vinyl distributors powering this ongoing resurgence.
The 12-part series returned this year on January 31, once again celebrating the vendors and enthusiasts who continue to drive the surprising rejuvenation of a once-threatened format. New episodes have already been released, and the 12-part series will run weekly ahead of this year’s Record Store Day on April 22. Every Tuesday at 10am GMT, each episode is released and can be viewed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube.
Series four includes the following assorted shops: 81 Renshaw, Liverpool; The Vinyl Whistle, Leeds; Voxbox, Edinburgh Music from Big Blue, Glasgow; Sister Ray, Soho; Sound Records, Stroud; Vinilo Record Shop, Southampton; Ventnor Exchange, Isle of Wight; Winyl, Manningtree; Soul Brother, Putney; Starr Records, Belfast; Truck Shop, Oxford.
Behind the corner clearly shows that the hunger for a personal connection to the music we buy has only grown in this impersonal era of limitless streaming, digital downloads and other non-physical formats. “I don’t think there’s a community unless there’s a record store in it,” claims Ian Smith, owner of Music From The Big Blue in Glasgow, one of the stores featured in the series.
The show’s official partners, British audio heavyweights Bowers & Wilkins, agree: “We’ve been thrilled to see the popularity of vinyl continue to grow,” said Giles Pocock, Vice President of Brand Marketing at B&W. “It’s such an important format and we value the unique role independent record stores play in bringing these records to music fans.”
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