Hi Everyone,

This week Music Biz held its Let’s Talk Physical Event. This event is held 3-4 times a year to highlight trends and issues in physical retail. This one covered a Q3 YTD look at physical retail and its contribution to the overall music industry. There was a discussion led By Carrie Colliton of Record Store Day, featuring John Weston of Streetpulse, our independent retail sales reporting source as well as Chris Muratore of Luminate where the importance of making your sales count by reporting sales figures was discussed. I also led a panel that featured Eric Levin, President of AIMS and owner of Criminal Records, Tobago Bonito, President of FAMS and owner of DBS Sounds, and Stephen Godfroy, Co-Owner of Rough Trade. Our panel discussed some of the big issues our sector of the industry is up against right now- the price of records, variants and availability in the marketplace, and street date parity. We also touched on the independent record stores and their unique role in the music ecosystem and maintaining their place in the industry for long-term success for all. It was a healthy discussion, and I am sure just one of many we will be having on these topics.

On that note, Park Ave in Orlando Florida just celebrated a big anniversary- 40 Years in business! So, for this week’s chart, I wanted to share with you all a note from the Park Ave crew sharing how they celebrated this milestone.

Andrea

It’s crazy to say…but Park Ave CDs turned 40 last month.
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First off, we want to say THANK YOU to our incredible customer-base, dedicated staff and supportive partners that have kept the PACDs spirit alive throughout all these years. The shop has always been a true reflection of the crew and patrons that walk through our doors. We can’t thank everyone enough for helping shape Park Ave into what it is today.⁣

We just kicked off the celebrations on October 19th with a big 20% OFF SALE and then kept the party rolling the week after with a special Hot Water Music In-Store Performance! This was the band’s first performance at the shop in 20 years! On top of that, HWM is celebrating 30 years as a band AND they received the keys to Gainesville just a day later — celebrations all around!

We’re excited for what the future holds and look forward to celebrating the next 40 years. There are already some big changes in the works here at Park Ave, with a shop expansion being the top priority. With everything else currently on our docket we're aiming to spread our 40th celebrations across the next 12 months (taking a page out of Disney's book). We'd love to take this opportunity to collab with our friends both near and far that have helped shape Park Ave into what we see today. We’ll be reaching out about some ideas in the coming weeks.

It’s a rollercoaster being an independent retail shop. It certainly comes with its fair share of challenges (often daily), but we are BEYOND appreciative of being able to open our doors each day and serve our community. We hope to continue being your local record shop (or shop from afar) for many years to come. ⁣
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❤️ - your PACDs Crew