HMV announces Vinyl Week details

HMV’s Vinyl Week runs between 7-16 June. Pic: Wikimedia Commons/Alex Liivet

As HMV prepares to celebrate Vinyl Week, the company’s focus towards the platform is positively affecting profit margins in 2019

HMV operates its own week-long celebration of vinyl which starts on 7 June. Since the retailer was taken over in February by Canada’s Sunrise Records, HMV has placed an emphasis on vinyl sales which is helping to turn around profit loses suffered before the takeover.

The high street music giant doesn’t take part in Record Store Day (RSD) due to the Entertainment Retailers Association’s (ERA) stringent rules that dictate a store can only participate if it is regarded solely as a record store, which HMV isn’t. But new owner Doug Putman is actively pursuing lines of enquiry to secure HMV’s involvement in RSD.

Speaking to Music Week in March, Putman said: “In Canada, we’re part of it – we actually brought Record Store Day to Canada. The rules of Record Store Day aren’t centred around how many stores you have, it’s really about being owned individually. I am the owner, we only have one owner, so of course I’d like to think that we could be a part of that [in the UK]. I think it’s actually good for the industry.”

For now, however, vinyl fans and collectors have two weeks dedicated to the platform, and HMV is stocking some limited edition gems. Among the first wave of titles to be announced are Queen’s The Works on clear vinyl, The Clash’s Combat Rock on moss green vinyl, Amy Winehouse’s Frank on pink vinyl, Black Sabbath’s 13 on orange flame vinyl and DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing on blue vinyl. Other titles from John Coltrane, Fairport Convention, Primal Scream, Queen and The Yardbirds will also be available.

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