Local Rhythms – Love Builds a Record Store

It takes a combination of brave and crazy to break into the music business these days.
With everyone from FYE to Music Matters going under, you need that and a side of fries to open a record store.
But that’s what Karie Shattuck is doing – with a twist.
Her new business opens Saturday in Enfield.  The Local [...]

Local Rhythms – Keeping The Live Music Flame Alive in Southern Vermont

As the 2006 Roots of the River Festival wound down, Charlie Hunter told me he was ready for a rest.  Half a year later, he was still promoting shows in Bellows Falls.
But Charlie was working on a graceful exit.
“There’s a guy in town who is very eager to learn about how one presents stuff, and [...]

Local Rhythms – ITMS Drops DRM? BFD

Last week, Apple behaved more like Detroit of years past , with new fins, bells and whistles adorning their computers and software. But there was no iPhone-level breakthrough at the annual Macworld Expo.
The biggest news proved just how underwhelming the whole show was.
In April, the iTunes Music Store will go DRM-free, stripping file locking from [...]

Local Rhythms – Turntable Turn-on

Everything old is new again.
For example, the downward trend of the music business’s general state remains unchanged, but one rare bright spot is a throwback – turntables.
Digital track sales are up, while CD sales are down – no surprise there.  But the biggest industry growth area is a bit shocking.  Vinyl album sales have nearly [...]