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Friday, June 30, 2017

Sony Music will resume production of vinyl records in March 2018. Global vinyl revenue expected to hit $1 billion in 2017-BBC

6/29/17, "Sony Music goes back to vinyl records," BBC

"Sony Music, one of the big three global record companies, says it will start pressing its own vinyl releases again for the first time since 1989.

The firm will resume in-house domestic vinyl production at a Japanese factory south-west of Tokyo by March 2018.

The move comes amid renewed demand for old-fashioned black plastic records, which now occupy a key market niche.

At one time, the format had been expected to disappear after the rise of CDs, digital downloads and streaming.

During vinyl's long decline from the late 1980s onwards, many vinyl record factories closed down, with production confined to a few specialist independent firms.

But this year, global vinyl revenue is expected to hit $1bn (£770m), with many consumers swearing by its supposedly superior sound quality.


Analysis: Jonty Bloom, business correspondent

They said the CD had killed it and that digital downloads had left it dead and buried: but vinyl is back. Sony, which played a major part in killing off vinyl by developing CDs, has seen them replaced in turn by other music technology such as downloads and streaming, but vinyl is increasingly popular once again. 

The format has been saved by a resurgence in demand, as it attracts not only nostalgic older consumers, but also younger generations who have rediscovered records, especially in clubs and at music festivals.

Sony is even struggling to find older engineers who know how to make records. Part of the reason for the popularity of vinyl records may be that you can actually sell them in shops. In the UK, record sales brought in more money last year than streaming platforms - although the unit costs of vinyl is many times that of streaming.


Vinyl records have been growing in popularity again in recent years, boosted by events such as Record Store Day in April every year, for which record companies produce special limited-edition singles and albums.

Sony's move comes a few months after it equipped its Tokyo studio with a cutting lathe, used to produce the master discs needed for manufacturing vinyl records.

It has not yet said which titles it will be pressing in vinyl, but big sellers in the format these days are a mixture of classic back-catalogue items and modern releases by new bands."



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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Girls at their first Yankee game
























6/20/17, "The girls first game," Jimmie Johnson...Angels at Yankees



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Thursday, June 08, 2017

Asbury Park NJ named 'coolest small town in America.' More than a million people visited Asbury Park in 2016. The town's population is 16,000-Asbury Park Press

June 7, 2017, "Asbury Park named 'coolest small town' in America," Asbury Park Press, Austin Bogues, USA Today Network

"Budget Travel magazine recently named Asbury Park the "coolest small town" in America.

"We love Asbury Park’s cultural diversity, welcoming vibe, and year-round calendar of events: Fourth of July fireworks, Oysterfest, Zombie Walk, and so much more," the magazine said, in an article posted on its website.

"It's one heck of a recognition," said Asbury Park Mayor John Moor, who said his great-grandfather first moved to the shore community in 1888.

"It's a community-wide-recognition and really a great choice," Moor said. "It's really the residents, the businesses, everyone that made this happen."

More than a million visitors came to Asbury Park last year, according to the Asbury Park Chamber of Commerce. The city has a population of just under 16,000. It is about 1.6 square miles."... image of Asbury Park Boardwalk from Asbury Park Press

Editor's note: Jersey Shore summers and baseball are connected. My brother brought a small radio to the beach and tuned to the Yankee radio broadcast. That's how I first heard John Sterling's voice. He's been doing Yankee play by play since 1989. NYC AM radio stations that have carried the Yankees reach the Jersey shore pretty well.





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