March 18, 2020 Update
Variety has reported that Amazon.com has stopped accepting CD and vinyl shipments to concentrate their efforts on the distribution of essential goods.
It should be noted that marketplace items on this site and on Amazon.ca are shipped independently by sellers and should not be disrupted, for the time being.
By the way, don’t forget to check Facebook for impromptu performances by your favourite artists. Burton Cummings, Jann Arden and P!nk are only three of the artists that have had live feeds up to entertain their fans.
Enjoy. And be safe.
Record Store Day Postponed
Record Store Day has been postponed to June 20th, 2020. And multiple tour dates have changed, including some by Celine Dion and Thom Yorke of Radiohead:
Due to restrictions put in place to minimise the spread of COVID-19, we regret that the North American leg of the Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes tour is postponed.
— Thom Yorke (@thomyorke) March 13, 2020
Ticket holders, please standby for information on a new routing for later this year. Apologies for the inconvenience.
You should probably keep an eye on your favourite artists for changes to their upcoming tour schedules.
UPDATE: Schools, Museums, Libraries and City Facilities in Ottawa will be closed from March 14th to April 5th. Please consult your local municipality’s schedules.
Music Industry – Spring Stall Expected
The year started off with a fire that threatens the production of vinyl records worldwide. And now meet and greets, fan gatherings, record conventions and concerts in Canada and the United States may be cancelled or delayed because of concerns over the COVID-19 virus.
Events that were scheduled for this spring have already been pushed back, including several tours, sports championships and film releases. But some events, like the upcoming Record Store Day events in Canada on April 18th, 2020 and Ottawa Bluesfest appear to be on schedule, as are most of the summer music festivals throughout Canada.
If you were planning on attending an event that was scheduled in the spring and summer of 2020 you should probably keep an eye out for updates on their official site and social media accounts.
Specific precautions may be taken at certain upcoming events and trip cancellation insurance is now recommended if you are travelling to an event, with clarification from your provider in regards to coverage in case an event is cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus.
UPDATE: The Juno Awards have been cancelled.
Fire Threatens Vinyl Supply
A major American lacquer disc provider was lost to fire on January 7th, 2020, threatening the world’s supply of vinyl records.
Apollo Masters was one of two facilities that produced acetate discs in the world, the other being in Japan. But experts from the record pressing industry have told Billboard that the real effects of this loss won’t be known for some time, although a “major hindrance” is predicted due to the Japanese producer’s current backlog.
Vinyl record sales had recently surged worldwide so some members of the industry are worried that this may cause the sales to drop, as the labels struggle to manufacture and release their recordings.
In the United States alone, sales of LPs and EPs had grown by 7.9% to US$419.2 million in 2018 according to the Recording Industry Association of America. And here in Canada, we saw a 3.1% increase in sales in 2019, to 973,891 vinyl albums sold according to Nielsen.
There should probably be no delays for most Record Store Day releases this April 18th. But next year’s selections could be slim, unfortunately.
Superbowl Discounts
It looks like Amazon Canada is discounting quite a few televisions and soundbars for Superbowl 2020, which will air on the second of February.
Not an American football fan but I’m going to keep an eye out for some deals, including at bestbuy.ca and Newegg Canada.
Brr…
I just thought you’d like to know that Canada Post warns people of service disruptions via their official site: Click here for this information.
Stay Warm.