Hey Everyone,
Here are the charts for the week.
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Hey Everyone,
Here are the charts for the week.
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Ami Dang
Meditations Mixtape Vol. 1
(Leaving Records)
Blake Wimberly - CIMS/ThinkIndie Zen Master
From the artist: "Prayer (and moments of internal reflection) feel more important during this time--for too many reasons. We’re living in an unprecedented time of change: it’s difficult to plan anything this year, and a dark shadow has fallen over the world. Whether you or a loved one are ill, you’ve lost work, or are feeling general anxiety about the state of the world, these meditations are for you."
Hello Everyone,
Last Saturday marked our second RSD event and I am happy to say it was another successful event for our stores. I think the only downside for most were the allocations and cut orders on a few titles where there was just a lot more demand from the stores and their customers than supply (I am looking at you Fleetwood Mac). From the numbers I have gotten reports on, after RSD Drop #2 the stores were on average at about 76% of RSD 2019 sales which is great news!
This week I have included a few of the wrap-ups from our stores:
Twist and Shout
Record Store Day Drop #2 - September 26, 2020 at Twist and Shout
A little hard to describe this second RSD drop. Financially we did 88% of the August drop’s total with about half the number of titles. The customers still seemed pretty psyched. Our sell-through was strong. On the other hand, there was palpable exhaustion visible amongst the staff. The workload is similar, but the emotional payoff of the huge crowds and sense of event is lessened by the health and safety strictures we are forced to implement. This is nobody’s fault. This is the unprecedented time we are living through. Everyone’s exhausted by something right now. Hard to complain.
I remain grateful to the labels and RSD for making this happen - it is overall helpful and heartening. Doing something special for record store employees - like a really cool exclusive shirt or 7” just for employees - would be a super nice gesture for someone to do. All these good people working for us are on the front lines of the music industry, putting the best face on the bands, formats and experience of being in a physical record store. (Maybe advance copies of the Tool LP - Ha!)
The Allman Brothers were our big winner this time - but I’ll bet we could have sold 10 times as many Biggie if we’d had them. Customers really seem to dig the controlled nature of our system - unless they get a late time slot, then attrition starts picking up. But that’s really the nature of RSD - the stuff is limited and as we all know, there is no sales aphrodisiac like scarcity.
Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.
Paul Epstein
Record Archive
An absolutely gorgeous day in Rochester NY- can you say 80 degrees in September?
The lines were about 100 people when we passed out our timed shopping tickets. ( 8:30 pass out)
1 Food Truck, 2 live bands, " Spin the Wheel" For fun prizes, local celeb DJ Dino Kay on the mic, as well as rocking the Bar were all part of the scene. We are far more organized
Noticeably quieter and may I say that there was not as much enthusiasm in this month's list. We also discussed (internally) that due to current NYS Guidelines we cannot
" promote live music performance- it must be incidental to the dining experience." SO....
Now the numbers:
Sell through 75%
Best Sellers:
The Wall
McCartney
Fleetwood Mac- wished we got more!! damn allocations
Britney Spears
Brandi Carlile
Doors
Garcia
Replacements
Primus
Not so highly coveted or shall we say I was thoroughly covered with: black crowes, hendrix, tove lo, rolling stones
Since this is so difficult to compare, I have looked at our first 2 drops combined and am happy to say we are at 81% of RSD 2019.
The Sept drop was slower than August, only about 70% of what we did. However, sell-through was great~
All good, forever grateful to all those who made this possible! THANK YOU~
The Long Ear
Overall very successful RSD drops. Sell through around 75%, which is excellent for us. We ordered more carefully this year when orders were due last March due to the virus, so pleased with the results. Although sales were down a bit, profits were up. Customers had a great time & observed our safety precautions. Looking forward to RSD#3.
Take care & thanks for all of your efforts on our behalf, Terry
Easy Street
Again, we did about ¼ the biz as we’d normally do on RSD, but with that being said, it went way better than anticipated. We’ve had a range of local problems, wildfires, protests, and our West Seattle Bridge is still closed off to the rest of the city.
Being here in Seattle, one of the original COVID epicenters, we are still only in Phase 2, so health and safety have to be our first priority. We didn’t encourage browsing and had some sections of the store closed off.
We did a lot of Instagram/social stories throughout the day. https://www.instagram.com/easystreetrecords/
We had 98% sell-through, no previous RSD had we ever been in 90% percentile. Our orders were pretty conservative though. We could’ve certainly used more McCartney, Bill Evans, Notorious BIG, Currensy, Allman Bros, Meat Puppets, Tegan & Sara, but we’re not in a position to be taking chances right now. Before anyone gets their bustle in a hedgerow, just know we ordered 3,000 copies of the Brandi Carlile title…we wish we could’ve gotten em all. A Brandi + Soundgarden RSD project is about as mouthwatering a title as we could ever imagine here in the NW, especially at this store. Brandi is coming off 3 Grammys and is absolutely adored here at Easy Street and throughout Seattle. Also, as some of you know, Chris Cornell and his family had lived a few blocks from Easy Street. We hosted release parties for every Soundgarden record over the years. Chris was the first person to ever sit at our coffee bar. He had a beer instead of a coffee… if u were curious. This title holds a very special place in our hearts and was recorded at our friend's studio, London Bridge.
We posted all remaining stock online at 7 pm after we closed. There’s really nothing left. Thank u Broadtime, it all worked out, whew.
Next month, we’ll see how Seattle is fairing health-wise and what the state regulations are, but for now, we’ll continue to fix up, paint, and remodel the store during all this craziness.
Appreciate you all inspiring us. We see you.
Music Millennium
Hello All -
It was an interesting day for RSD Drops 2. Our first person in line showed up about 8 pm Friday night. Same person who was our first person for RSD Drops 1. We had put some canopies out on the sidewalk early Friday evening due to the heavy rains all week. Luckily for all that came, the rain did not arrive during the night.
I arrived at 5:30 am Saturday and handed out time slots to those in line. It was surprising to only see 30 people in line, 40 less than RSD 1 at the same time. It took till 7 am before we had that other 40. We again let 30 people in every 30 minutes and managed to have 5 minutes to spare to do some cleaning and sanitizing of the counter, pens, etc. Everyone snaked through the store and walked by every release from RSD Drop 2 as well as what we had leftover from RSD 1. There were people who had not made it to RSD 1 and we sold a fair number of the leftovers. Last time we gave away time slot tickets up to 2 pm and we kept store to RSD shopping only. This time we only gave time slots till 11 am, 3 hours into the day.
We planned on opening the store to full shopping at 2 pm but made the decision to go back to a limit of 10 people in-store shopping shortly after 11 am. I think it really helped the day out but created lines outside of 15 to 30 most of the rest of the day till 7 pm. We stayed open to 10 pm, up from our COVID hours of closing at 7 pm. This week we will expand to staying open till 8 pm.
We did not hand out gift bags or our traditional coffee and muffins due to COVID. Everyone was happy just to be able to get a chance to pick up some if not all the coveted titles from this Drop. Though we normally have live music events, we did air a live stream at 3 pm with Arlo McKinley, the last artist John Prine signed to his Oh Boy label.
Our sell-through was just over 70% for the first day and I’m sure we will see that go up with today’s business over 75%. Very happy with that. Our business was about 37% of RSD 2019 and 88.5 % of RSD Drops 1. We were happy with that as we were hoping for at least doing 30% of RSD 2019, based on the
amount of titles we had.
Titles the did not perform well were from Nahko & The Medicine Show, Ellie Goulding, Rolling Stones, Group Love, Son Volt and Batman & Robin.
Thanks to all of you in the industry that made these releases and helped make RSD Drop 2 possible. We and our customers are looking forward to RSD Drop 3 on October 24th. Special thanks to Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton as well as Andrea Paschal and Eric Levin for all you do to make this happen… especially making well thought out decisions in changing the structure to RSD in the year of COVID.
Here are the top sellers for the Day:
Full-Length Vinyl
1- Replacements - Complete Inconcerated Live 35
2- Fleetwood Mac - Alternative Rumours 33 (allocated - sold out)
3- Bill Evans - Some Other Time: The Lost Sessions 30 (sold out)
4- Allman Brothers - Fillmore West 1-31-70 27
5- Doors - Soft Parade: Stripped 27
6- Paul McCartney - McCartney 25
7- Roger Waters - Wall: Live In Berlin 25 (sold out)
8- Let Fields - Let’s Get A Groove On 20 (sold out)
9- Wilcovered - Wilcovered 20 (allocated - sold out)
10- Primus - Suck On This 20
11- Mark Snow - The X Files: The Truth 20 (sold out)
12- Britney Spears - Oops I Did It Again 15
13 - Dinosaur Jr. - Swedish Fish 15
14- Boy Next Door - Door, Door 15 (sold out)
15 - Jerry Garcia - Very Best Of Jerry Garcia 14
16- Tegan & Sara - Tonight In The Dark 12
17- Various Artists - Dance Craze 12
18- Various Artists - Behind The Dykes 12 (sold out)
19- Screaming Jay Hawkins - What That Is! 11 (sold out)
20- Screaming Jay Hawkins - Because Is In Your Mind 11 (sold out)
21- Coolio - Gangsta’ Paradise 10 (sold out)
22- Ramones - It’s Alive II 10 (allocated - sold out)
23- Queen & Slim Soundtrack 10 (sold out)
24 - Hackers Soundtrack 10 (sold out)
25- Johnny Thunders and Wayne Kramer - Gang War! (sold out)
12” Singles and 7” Singles
1- Brandi Carlile - Rooster Says 60 (sold out)
2- Unrighteous Brothers - Unchained Melody 20 (sold out)
3- Jimi Hendrix - Message To Love 20
4- Black Crowes - Jealous Again 9
5- Jesse Dayton - Texas 45 RPM Showdown 5 (sold out)
6- Mike Watt - In Quintessence 5
Schoolkids
We had an amazing day, up 17% for the weekend. 10% on Sat, and another 7% today. The amazing news is that both August and Sept have been two of the best months we have had in years. Sept being the best, not counting RSD we have had the best Sept since 2015 and up about 23% from last year. This is just counting instore sales, our online sales are up too I don’t have the figures yet to give a % but it's strong. We expect a big online day tomorrow. The momentum is strong right now.
We have turned a corner and we are going to finish this year really strong. I feel a complete renewed sense of energy.
-Stephen
Homer’s
We had about 75 waiting to get in. Good weather.
Good sales. After the 2 events, we are at 81% of last year's sales, so right on track to duplicate last year. Sell-through is at 64%. Under ordered jazz and hip-hop releases. Bought Garcia, McCartney, Waters, Black Crowes and Replacements heavy as we believe these will continue to sell, so overall, sell-through is very good. Only 6 titles with no sales and sold about two dozen of RSD Drops #1 titles. I believe customers prefer these less frantic events and RSD should have a discussion about whether there should just be the two events or whether we should consider a different approach. Not sure why we were allocated on Fleetwood Mac when the sticker says 16,000 were pressed, but that was #1 bestseller.
Others include:
Brandi Carlile
Replacements
McCartney
Doors
Primus
Unrighteous Brothers
Garcia
Britney
Bill Evans
Streetlight
Greetings, Everyone!
Both stores had another successful RSD Drops Day last Saturday. Everything went smoothly with our social distancing protocols at the Santa Cruz location and our appointment system in San Jose. Here are the vital stats:
San Jose's sell-through first day was 93% (we're at 85% of last year's RSD totals thus far)
Santa Cruz's sell-through first day was 77% (we're at 99% of last year's RSD totals thus far).
Bestseller lists are below for each store. Things we could've sold all day long: Primus, Fleetwood Mac, McCartney, any of the Rap/Hip-Hop titles.
We're quite happy with the results and looking forward to next month's event!
--Paige
SJ Best Sellers
603497848300 ALTERNATE RUMOURS FLEETWOOD MAC
603497848256 SOFT PARADE: STRIPPE DOORS
603497848263 COMPLETE INCONCERATE REPLACEMENTS
821229000189 FILLMORE WEST 1-31-7 ALLMAN BROTHERS
888072155817 HACKERS / O.S.T. HACKERS / O.S.T
194491759063 SUCK ON THIS PRIMUS
602508677519 MESSAGE TO LOVE / CH HENDRIX,JIMI
602508538506 WALL: LIVE IN BERLIN WATERS,ROGER
603497848270 IT'S ALIVE II RAMONES
823134906211 LET'S GET A GROOVE O FIELDS,LEE
4050538596199 MARCH OF DIMES WILLIAMS,HANK
602508464720 MCCARTNEY MCCARTNEY,PAUL
880882396015 VERY BEST OF JERRY G GARCIA,JERRY
602508728297 STEEL WHEELS LIVE (L ROLLING STONES
SC Best Sellers
603497848300 ALTERNATE RUMOURS FLEETWOOD MAC
194491759063 SUCK ON THIS PRIMUS
888072157613 COSA NUESTRA COLON,WILLIE
602508677519 MESSAGE TO LOVE / CH HENDRIX,JIMI
607396701919 UNCHAINED MELODY / Y UNRIGHTEOUS BROTHERS
602508538506 WALL: LIVE IN BERLIN WATERS,ROGER
603497848256 SOFT PARADE: STRIPPED
603497848263 COMPLETE INCONCERATE REPLACEMENTS
603497848270 IT'S ALIVE II RAMONES
821229000189 FILLMORE WEST 1-31-7 ALLMAN BROTHERS
767981174419 HI TIDE GROOVE VARIOUS ARTIST 1
096802280283 SOME OTHER TIME: THE EVANS,BILL
602508464720 MCCARTNEY MCCARTNEY,PAUL
638302585514 WELCOME TO THE RECOR DEATH PIGGY
8055515231694 LIVING IN DARKNESS AGENT ORANGE
602508738548 JEALOUS AGAIN BLACK CROWES
823134906211 LET'S GET A GROOVE O FIELDS,LEE
664425144512 GOD'S SON NAS
020286230649 MEAT PUPPETS MEAT PUPPETS
Dearborn
RSD drop 2 was a huge success. We were about 5 times busier than a normal Saturday in September. Sales were down 15% from RSD drop 1, but I attribute that to fewer titles. We did wish lists and pulled RSD product for our customers. Everything went pretty smoothly and our customers were very happy. Selling product on our website at 1:00 helped move some product too.
Sales for drops 1&2 are very comparable to RSD 2019. If drop 3 sales are strong I believe that sales will be up 3-10% for the combination of all 3 drops vs RSD 2019.
-Kevin LeAnnais
Strictly Discs
Drop 2 was 81% of Drop 1
Drop 2 combined with Drop 1 represents 76 % of RSD 2019
We have gone the menu route and we fill orders and customers checkout outside as long as we have a line which has worked very well. We've definitely seen an uptick in mail order pieces which isn't represented in the above "front door" numbers.
I am very thankful that we can start selling online the afternoon of the drop dates; that has been a real lifesaver. Especially with so much uncertainty about future restrictions as Wisconsin and Madison are seeing a bit of uncontrolled Covid spread.
Allocations this month were a real factor with HARD cuts on much of the WEA product. AEC also continues to be slow with shipping (i.e. I received the Yardbirds RSD title today)
Lou’s
RSD Drop #1 + RSD Drop #2 = 14.9% higher that RSD 2019. Yea!
Rhino Records
Sales were about 10% down from Drop #1.
Staff felt releases were not as exciting.
We had 15 or so titles sell in the 25 to 50 range in Drop #1.
The biggest title for us was 26 of The Wall in Drop #2.
Felt like I was cut/reduced on the Fleetwood Mac.
Similar to the Wall and other titles.
Split my orders equally between AEC/AMS except where they were AEC direct titles.
Biggest Suprise– Britney Spears! Sold out of 15 in the first hour and we really are not a POP store.
Numbers-wise, if Drop 3 comes in around the same it will equal One Record Store Day from THE PREVIOUS YEAR.
And then I had 2 stores and were open for 14 hours a day for each store. 2019 is 1 store for 9 hours.
I consider that great and am very thankful that RSD is playing out this way this year. I would almost like to see something once a quarter
-----------------------------------
Thanks again to everyone that plays a part to make this event possible.
Here are the charts,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Hey everyone,
Here are the charts for the week.
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Nation of Language
Introduction, Presence
(Self-released)
Nick Campbell - ThinkIndie Warehouse Manager
A friend of mine turned me on to this band the other day, and I’m not sure where it comes from other than Brooklyn. However, I can see them making a splash in the near future. Their debut album fits with the sounds of contemporaries like Black Marble and Lust for Youth – (almost) club-ready synth-pop with hints of post-punk. At one point, I felt a bit like I was listening to Matt Berninger of The National fronting Future Islands. Dig it.
Hello Everyone,
This week my thoughts are with everyone that has been affected by the storms and fires. The amount of displacement, loss, and destruction is devastating. I don’t know about you, but as we work our way through another week, I find myself inching further and further away from the television and retreating to books and music for just a little escape from all that is wrong in the world right now.
Here are a few links with some ways to help out those in need at this time:
Four Easy Ways to Chip In for Hurricane Relief
American Red Cross: Hurricanes Sally & Laura Disaster Relief
Global Giving: California Wildfire Relief Fund
Eight Ways to Help People Affected by the California Wildfires
American Red Cross: Western Wildfire Disaster Relief
It is also so important to continue to support small businesses and since this is coming from me, especially independent record stores.
For some of you that support comes from buying records, or making records, and for some of you it is getting those records onto the shelves so that we can sell some records! Let’s all do our part.
2020 has not given me much else to talk about, so that is all I have, but since the music is what we are here for, I have thrown together a playlist of some songs that keep me moving.
I would love to hear what is on your lists.
Here are the charts,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
A playlist featuring Heartless Bastards, Jamiroquai, Temples, and others
Hey everyone,
Here are the charts for the week.
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Scott Register - ThinkIndie A&R
Normally, I would be getting ready to spend a week with some of my favorite artists, industry folks and music fans at Americanafest in Nashville. But what the Hell is normal anymore? Instead, I’m very excited for the lineup that the Americana Music Association has come up with for their virtual conference, Thriving Roots. The lineup up is impressive, engaging and fun. While it won’t be the same (How many times have we said that this year?) I think it’s going to be wildly successful and will make the conference accessible for that many more fans of the genre around the globe. I know it had to be difficult to put together but my hat is off to Jed Hilly and the staff at the AMA. Looking forward to attending next week!
Here’s the description for Thriving Roots from their website (www.americanamusic.org) and a link to get passes:
Thriving Roots: A Virtual Community Music Conference is a three-day music industry conference slated to take place Sept. 16, 17 and 18, 2020. Presented by the recently announced Americana Music Association Foundation (AMAF), the educational initiative brings the Americana music community together from across the world for three full days of engaging insight from its leading artists and industry professionals. With a wide variety of online programming including stimulating panels and immersive special events, attendees are in store for a unique experience that will go beyond today’s webinar-style conferences. Passes are on sale here.
With that in mind, there has been some amazing music released from Americana artists so far this year. New releases from better known Americana artists Kathleen Edwards, Rustin Kelly and several more pop into my mind but I thought I would call out three releases that I didn’t see coming that have been living with me and I just can’t get enough from them.
Emma Swift– Blonde On The Tracks (Tiny Ghost)
Full disclosure, ThinkIndie is the distributor of record on this one. With that said, I’d still be loving her take on Dylan tunes and listening to it over and over. This record sounds exquisite and is getting rave reviews across the board.
Carolina Story– Dandelion (Black River Americana)
I’ve been familiar with this husband-wife duo and I’ve liked their music but I LOVE this album. Fantastic songs, lovely harmonies and they wear their influences on their sleeves which works out well. This record is delightful.
Kenny Roby– The Reservoir (The Royal Potato Family)
The Six String Drag co-founder presents an advanced class in songwriting on this album. I’ve read where Roby was in a very dark place and The Reservoir was his therapy, his way out. What resulted is an incredible collection of songs produced by Dave Schools and dedicated to his dearly departed friend, Neal Casal. My sleeper album of the year. This record speaks the truth.
Hello Everyone,
RSD Drop #1 is in the books and I am happy to report that across the board it was a success for all. That is huge and says a lot for our stores because there was a lot of work to be done to make that a reality. First of all, you have the fact that this RSD was the first of its kind. You add to it that there were going to be issues and/or circumstances that would be specific to individual stores. We come in all shapes and sizes, so this was never going to be a one size fits all solution. However, we got proactive- holding weekly calls leading up to the drops for stores to discuss their plans of action, and most importantly, we got creative. It was so great to see how the stores came up with all sorts of ways to make the day safe but still fun and keeping the spirit and excitement of RSD alive and well. It was also really amazing to feel that sense of community echoed through the sharing of those ideas with others.
For CIMS, our stores ran the full range of scenarios and each crafted their own unique approach to the day. We had a few stores that out of either choice or necessity only did online RSD sales, we had some that booked appointments, we had some that had lotteries, some that had order menus. We had some that were large enough and had enough accommodations for social distancing to be able to go with a mostly traditional RSD approach. The one thing that I know was universally kept top of mind for each store as they crafted their plan for the day, was making their staff and customers feel safe- which was also one of our main goals when we decided to take the drop approach.
It is still too early to be able to do a complete wrap up of 2020 vs. 2019 (that will come after all three drops) and I think we all know this year may just look different because we are living in a completely different world, however I received very successful feedback from the stores which is wonderful news. I don’t have numbers from everyone, but for those that did provide info, the overall average was that sales for RSD Drop 1 were about 45 percent of RSD 2019, which is a very hopeful sign. These events are so important to the success and vitality of our stores so again, thank you to everyone that was a part of it, and hats off to all of the stores for working so hard to keep this event a success and special for their customers and community.
Here are a few snaps from the day and of course the charts.
Thanks,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Hi everyone,
Well, this has been quite a week. It kicked off with the very sad news that we lost another musical talent, Justin Townes Earle. I remembered seeing him play to a packed crowd at a Grimey’s instore (I think it was when Music Biz first came to Nashville). Despite the fact that we were all crammed into the aisles, (I am really missing live music right now) there was just something about his voice and his songs that made you feel that he was singing just for you. I always appreciated the honesty you felt in his music and I immediately thought of one of my favorite JTE tunes, Mama’s Eyes. You don’t get much more honest than that one. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, our friends at New West and to all those that loved him and are feeling this loss.
Then, we add some weather to the mix with Hurricane Laura. I feel for the people of Louisiana as they always seem to be in the path of these monster storms. Watching the damage from last night / this morning has just been heartbreaking. Over the years of planning our conference in New Orleans, I have had lots of conversations with the people that call that city their home. Many of them lived through Katrina and other terrible storms as well. I have heard some absolutely tragic stories; people forced out of their homes and businesses, losing everything they had and loved ones as well. The thing that always amazed me was that they returned- to start over, to rebuild. I always ask the same question- why? Why return and do all that work and know that the same thing could happen again? The answer is always the same; “Because this is my home and the city I love.” That strength and resilience has always been an inspiration to me and proof positive that home really is where your heart is.
Finally, this Saturday is the first RSD drop. A day we have been anxiously awaiting and planning for months. This has been no easy task for any of us, especially the stores as they figure out how to pull this off. I know that things feel very different this year, that is because they are, but we have all put a lot of thought and effort into trying to retain the spirit of RSD - Celebrating music in the physical format and the stores that are the centers of that.
I realized that the reason we felt New Orleans was the right place for our conference wasn’t just the amazing food, drink and music, but because our stores are cut from that same resilient cloth and it felt like home.
I would like to say thank you to everyone that has worked through this with us these past months- you have all played important roles and we could not do this without all of you. I would especially like to thank Carrie as she is the glue that holds us all together in this thing called “Record Store Day” in whatever forms or fashions it takes.
I hope that we all have a safe and successful day on Saturday, and I look forward to getting and sharing the reports.
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Hey everyone,
Here are the charts for the week.
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Hi everyone,
Last week we all got together for the second round of Summer Camp “Couch Camp edition” - our virtual conference. I really enjoyed seeing and connecting with everyone as well as the discussions that were had.
One of the highlights for me was the “Black Lives in Indie Retail” panel moderated by Kendra Swinton (WMG). It was an honest and insightful discussion and brought to light many issues we need to work on within our industry. I hope that we can keep those conversations going within our indie community and be a part of the change that needs to happen. I also really enjoyed the interview with Jim James by our own Scott Register; excellent discussions there as well.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Summer Camp event without some live music and despite the virtual nature of this year’s conference, there was no shortage of music. There were performances by Taylor Goldsmith from Dawes, Margo Price, beabadoobee, and Taylor Bryant & The Shakedown. Thank you to our Universal family for bringing some music to our ears.
I would also like to say thank you to everyone that was a part of this event; all the panelists, the people that took the time to attend the event and participate in our discussions, and to all of the people that provided support to make this event possible. Special thanks to the Music Biz team for all their hard work which made it all look easy and to Carrie Colliton for keeping us all on task!
All in all a fun and successful week, but let’s hope that next year we will all be able to celebrate together properly in New Orleans.
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Kathleen Edwards
Total Freedom
(Dualtone)
Scott Register - ThinkIndie A&R
Welcome Back, Kathleen! I knew I’d missed her music but I didn’t realize how much until listening to Total Freedom. Guess it takes stepping away and gaining more perspective to deliver some of your finest work to date. Kudos to her for having the guts to quit and then summon the strength to return and deliver. Highlights include “Glenfern,” “Birds On A Feeder,” “Simple Math,” “Options Open” and “Who Rescued Who.”
Hey Everyone,
I have gone camping this week… Couch Camping that is. Hope to see you there.
Here are the charts.
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Hey everyone,
Here are the charts,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
The Chicks
Gaslighter
(Columbia)
Scott Register - ThinkIndie A&R
Can’t stop listening to this album. Brilliant! Beautiful! Brutal. I get emotional each time I hear it.
Hey everyone,
Here are the charts for the week,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Fontaines D.C.
A Hero's Death
(Partisan)
Russell Cothran - ThinkIndie Sales & Marketing
Sits at the top of my list for Best of 2020 (so far).
Hey Everyone,
I want to give a shout out to Haim (and Columbia Records) for topping our charts this week with Women in Music Pt. III- They have really outdone themselves with this one. I have loved this band from the first note, so I am particularly happy to see this album in our number one spots this week. Haim has mastered the art of creating “Songs for the Summer” and some of these seem to be tailor-made for THIS summer in particular ("I Know Alone").
My Current Fave: "3 AM"
Hope you are all staying sane, keeping safe out there, and remembering to support Indie Retail as much as you can… and oh yeah, if you haven’t listened to the new Haim, check it out.
Here are the charts,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Julianna Barwick
Healing Is A Miracle
(Ninja Tune)
Nick Campbell - ThinkIndie Warehouse Manager
I’ve been diving into a lot of ambient and electronic music while walking around my neighborhood during this Time of Great Uncertainty – Cavern of Anti-Matter’s In Fabric OST, Emeralds, Steve Hauschildt, and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. It’s not super-distracting music or designed for fast-paced activity, so ideal for walking. Julianna Barwick’s fifth album fits this pattern perfectly – shimmering, drifting, and blissful. She collaborates on several tracks with harpist Mary Lattimore, Sigur Ros alum Jonsi, and beat-oriented electronic artist Nosaj Thing. It’s a short ride at 33 minutes, but effectively dreamy for a sundown trot about town.
Hey Everyone,
I am excited to announce that RSD Summer Camp and Music Biz will once again be partnering together to bring you Couch Camp Pt.2. The dates are August 5-7th so mark your calendars! By now, we are all getting used to readjusting to the world we are living in and although I am certainly going miss the heat and the fun of being with everyone in The Big Easy for our usual Summer Camp festivities, the Couch Camp series is a great way for us all to connect virtually until we can be together again. Be on the lookout for more information coming from RSD and Music Biz (there should be some info coming later today) as to how to participate, get involved, as well as this editions programming. Feel free to reach out to me or Carrie with any questions. We look forward to seeing many of you next month. I hope you all are staying safe out there… and remember: Wear your mask!
Thanks,
Andrea
Here are the charts:
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Hey Everyone,
Hope you all celebrate that independent spirit this weekend and have a safe holiday.
Here are the charts,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Gigi Masin
Wind
(The Bear On The Moon / Music From Memory)
Blake Wimberly - CIMS/ThinkIndie Windwalker
Remastered reissue of the 1986 landmark ambient album from the king of chords, Gigi Masin. A soft focus atmos perfect for night swims and day dreams.
I have been thinking a lot about history lately and how we are in the process of writing new chapters right now. In my opinion, nothing tells history truer than music. You can read a stack of books about struggle, but nothing makes you understand it like a song when you can truly hear the fight or the pain and sorrow in a person’s voice. If you share my opinion, then there is no better historical library than your music shop. They guard and protect that history and much like our ancestors before us, they pass that knowledge and history on. They very often are the ones that help provide a platform to the voices of tomorrow as well. I like to think of our stores as cultural discovery zones, and it is more important than ever to protect those places.
This week I wanted to share a link to the Smallbiz live interview between Brandi Carlile and Matt Vaughan of our Easy Street Records. I remember seeing Brandi perform so many years ago for our group and Matt saying to me, “this girl is the real deal, she is really gonna be something.” He was not wrong… and that is just the thing, there are so many stories like that. I can’t tell you how many record store owners/employees that I owe thanks to for tuning my ear to something new, and I like to think over the years I have paid that forward as well… contributing to that all-important oral (and sonic) history.
This interview touches on so many of those points, and Brandi and Matt are a perfect example of that relationship, so I will just let this video speak for itself. You can tell there is a lot of love, and when you are watching the interview, it is actually hard to tell who is the bigger fan of who. I love to see that, it means we are still doing something right.
Here are the charts,
Andrea
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Haim
Women in Music Part III
(Columbia)
Andrea Paschal - CIMS/ThinkIndie Executive Director
There is a new Haim album so maybe just maybe, summer is going to be okay. I can’t even tell you how much I Iove Haim other than to say I love these girls like they were my own sisters… (I once got asked by a girl at a festival if I was “one of the Haim girls” and I have to confess, it was VERY hard to say no). Plus, they are hella talented too with their songwriting, craftsmanship, and those sister harmonies…. enough said.
Last week was RSD Couch Camp, Summer Camp’s first virtual conference. I would like to say thank you to Music Biz, Portia Sabin, Nick Maiale, Nicole Hennessey and Evelyn Dichter, without you, we could not have pulled this off! Also, a very special thanks to my Co-Camp Counselor Carrie Colliton for all of her hard work to make this event come to life. Of course, it is not quite the same as us all being together in person in New Orleans or Nashville, but it's wonderful to get a chance to connect with many of you, so thank you to everyone that participated in this event. I also had the opportunity to participate on a panel to discuss Indie Retail as part of the annual Secretly Distribution Label Hang, I really enjoyed those conversations, so thank you to Shelly and Irene at Secretly for the invite.
We also took a moment for Blackout Tuesday. For some of our stores that meant taking a pause, for some it was getting into the streets, making contributions and taking an opportunity to acknowledge and assess the work that needs to be done in our communities.
This week George Floyd was laid to rest. There is so much for me to take in and I am still processing all of it. Mr. Floyd’s life was wrongly taken from him like so many others before him. I have been thinking of his family and friends and the loss they are suffering. I hope they are able to find a small bit of comfort in knowing that he will not be forgotten. He is a part of something much bigger now. People far and wide have come together to unite and say his name with the demand for justice and change. That gives me hope for a better tomorrow.
I recognize that this is a movement, not just a moment, so I am taking the time to listen, reflect, educate myself, to understand others and to take action to be a voice for positive change.
I have been reflecting on the many Black lives that have changed my life.
Black teachers- that challenged my way of thinking and taught me lessons I will never forget
Black friends- that accepted me without judgment, despite the color of MY skin
Black Leaders-that showed me what it means to be fearless
All of the Black Artists, Musicians and Creators that have influenced and shaped me and have made/ are making the world a more beautiful and inspiring place for us all.
It is time for me to give back.
Andrea
Here are the charts
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
Sade
Soldier of Love
(Epic)
Andrea Paschal - CIMS/ThinkIndie Executive Director
Listening to this one a lot. If we must fight, let us be soldiers of Love.
Hi Everyone,
We are heading into day two of RSD Summer Camp- Couch Camp Edition.
Yesterday was a great kickoff with lots of great programming and I hope to see more of you today. I would like to thank MusicBiz for partnering with us to make this event possible and helping us to bring everyone together, especially at this time.
More on everything else next week, but let’s all keep working together to bring positive change. The time is now.
Thanks,
Andrea
Here are the charts:
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
For the last few years, we have brought you Summer Camp, the only Conference that's designed around record stores and focused on all areas of Independent Music Retail. This is something I have been a part of building from the ground up, and it is one of my favorite projects to work on. Each year we have grown the conference and this year we were set to have our biggest Summer Camp yet, but sadly this year we are not able to do that.
We are however still committed to Indie Retail, so this year we have partnered with Music Biz to bring some of the elements of Summer Camp online. The programming has been designed to be especially focused around helping stores navigate the times we are in and hopefully to come through this even stronger. We are working as fast as possible on this because time is of the essence.
If you are a store, label, distributor, vendor, or service provider that touches indie retail in any way, we hope that you will still choose to Camp with us this year.
Here is some important info:
COUCH CAMP
We're taking SUMMER CAMP--the only conference for record stores--ONLINE! June 2 through 5
We'd love to have you join us! Register for the conference here: bit.ly/couchcamp
And if you'd like to help us support and educate record stores, please consider a sponsorship--going fast, only a few opportunities left!!! Reach out to carriecolliton@recordstoreday.com for more details!
Thanks so much, and I hope to see you at Couch Camp next week.
Your Camp Counselor,
Andrea
Here are the charts:
Andrea Paschal
Executive Director
Coalition of Independent Music Stores
ThinkIndie Distribution
3738 4th Terrace North
Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: 205.595.1932 x.208
Fax: 205.595.1938
Email : andrea@cimsmusic.com
cimsmusic.com
#cimsmusic
