Sales of vinyl albums have seen an increase of 70% over the last year in the UK. The BBC has an in-depth report on the numbers and factors surrounding the reason for the rise in figures and sales.

Rival Schools have signed to Photo Finish/Atlantic Records. The band will release their sophomore full-length later this year.

The Constantines have entered the studio with producer Jeff McMurrich to record their forthcoming, full-length release. The album is tentatively scheduled to hit shelves next March courtesy of Arts and Crafts Records.

From HitsDailyDouble: Major label buzz building for Immortal band A Change of Pace. We hear that several majors are interested in upstreaming the act. Immortal has a distribution arrangement with RED, but they don’t have an upstream deal with them. And much credit to Immortal A&R guy Jason Markey for signing and developing the band. Markey’s other development project, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, is making noise as they start the Take Action Tour in February with Virgin act Red Jumpsuit Apparatus ... And label folks are expected to be at Tyler Read’s Knitting Factory show in N.Y. this coming Monday, Feb. 5.

Tune into the new Eyeball TV on Myspace and watch music videos from Pompeii, The Lovekill, New London Fire, and The Number 12 Looks Like You.

I will be conducting an interview with Don Rohr, an A&R representative at Virgin Records, this coming week. Leave any questions you'd like for me to ask him in the replies. Bands - this is a good chance to pick the brain of a major label A&R rep, so ask away.

Below is a message from Lucky Penny Records and Drama Sells Records regarding their upcoming partnership on a new compilation.

Announcement

Drama Sells Records & Lucky Penny Records have partnered up to bring you some of the best in independent music for Fall 2006. On November 14th, the two labels will release a compilation featuring some of the best up & coming bands from all over the country. The Fall album, Crossing Paths, can be purchased at any of the featured artist's shows or at the Lucky Penny Records Webstore.

Tracklisting
1. The Arrival - Inside of This
2. The Arrival - I..d Do the Same for You (Demo)
3. Trace Of Day .. 16 Days Is Too Long
4. Trace Of Day - I Did It
5....

One Eleven Records is currently having a contest featuring prizes like in-home performances by Rookie of the Year and Rory, CDs, and tons of Logitech goodies. You can view all the details at the label's official site.

Steve Soboslai of Punchline wrote and recorded a song a year ago when Punchline was working on their last CD in New York in honor of John "Beatz" Holohan, who passed away last October 31st.

Yahoo News has an article about how the liquidation of Tower Records may hurt indie label sales to the tune of 5 or 6 percent.

Emerald Moon Records (All Time Low) has sent in an update regarding the happenings with the label:

EMR Update

Everyone please welcome The Everyday File! Spawning from the creative and ever expansive mind of Benjamin Seaward Hirschhorn (Morning For The Masses, this project is something completely new and something extremely refreshing. Some call it electronica, and some call it pop. Others call it new wave, others do not. Either way, head over and find out for yourself. Digital EP to follow!

Spark Is A Diamond's new EP, Keep Your Eyes Off The Prize, is coming out November 14th. Make sure to catch a CD RELEASE PARTY WEEKEND with many EMR Family in the near future. Details coming...

After 22 Grammys and over 170 million records sold, U2 has left Island Records.

Tower Records will be liquidated, beginning tomorrow:

HitsDailyDouble Article

The chain that began in the back of a Sacramento drug store owned by Russ Solomon’s father and grew to be the leading record retailer in the world is shutting down.

Tower Records will be liquidated beginning tomorrow after Great American, the lead-bidder in a 30-hour auction, bid $134.3 million for the property.

The liquidator put together a consortium of other suitors who were bidding on different components of the retailer. Earlier in the day, it had appeared that maybe Trans World would acquire the famed retail chain, but that report was erroneous.

UMGD President Jim Urie told Billboard: “It's a sad...

Hellcat Records has launched a brand new website.

Valencia just wrapped up recording a complitlation song with producer Jesse Cannon (Houston Calls, Lifetime). Expect to hear the track this winter.

Stefanie Reines of Drive Thru Records has responded to the slight changes of the Drive Thru / Rushmore Records roster:

Drive Thru Records Respond

There are various reasons that labels and bands part ways. It's no big deal. We are focusing on streamlining our roster to ensure that every single band gets the attention they deserve. We wish all of the bands the best of luck.

Here are the dates for the upcoming 111 Records tour, which features This Day & Age, Rookie of the Year, Inkwell, and Rory:

Tour Dates

OCT 5 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballroom 6:00PM All Ages
OCT 6 Detroit, MI @ The Shelter 7:00PM All Ages
OCT 7 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen 5:00PM All Ages
OCT 9 Madison, WI @ The Journey Music 6:00PM All Ages
OCT 10 Minneapolis, MN @ Ascott Room 7:00PM All Ages
OCT 12 Kansas City, MO @ The Journey Music 7:00PM All Ages
OCT 13 St Louis, MO @ Creepy Crawl 7:30PM All Ages
OCT 14 Little Rock, AR @ Juanita's Cantina Ballroom 7:00PM All Ages
OCT 15 Joplin, MO @ The Foundry 6:00PM All Ages
OCT 17 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In 6:00PM All Ages
OCT 19 Gainesville, FL @ 1982...

Click here to check out Virgin Records' ten-song digital sampler on purevolume; the sampler includes tracks from Over It, The Summer Obsession, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Ima Robot, and 30 Seconds to Mars.

Lucky Penny Records, an independent label based out of Tampa, is currently searching for interns.

Intern Information

-Street Team Management
-Web Development
-Marketing

If you are interested, send an e-mail with a resume to intern@luckypennyrecords.com. Local and national candidates will be considered.

P.O.D. has left their long-time label Atlantic Records:

Statement

We've been proud to be Atlantic recording artists, but it’s not the same place anymore," read a statement from the band. "For most of our stay, we were blessed by a staff that was gracious towards their vision, faith, and love of music... It's time to dream again with a new staff and we leave with grateful hearts.

Source: HitsDailyDouble

Mono Records is featuring two unsigned bands, Morning Drive and Bury Me At Makeout Creek on this week's Mono Records podcast on iTunes.

If you want to see your band featured on the podcast, send an email to: Chase at Chase@mono-records.com.

Equal Vision Records is looking for street teamers. Below is a message from Team EVR:

Message

TEAM EVR is being revamped and revitalized and is now searching for hard working and dedicated new street teamers to help spread the word about the label and its bands, their releases and their tour dates, and anything/everything else going on at Equal Vision Records. If you'd like more information or want an application to join, shoot jeff an email at streetteam@equalvision.com.

EVR is especially interested in finding teamers in the following major areas:
NYC
NJ
Boston
Los Angeles
San Diego (insert your anchorman jokes here)
San Francisco
Chicago
Philly
Vegas
Detroit
D.C.

... read more

Mono Records created a podcast on iTunes containing videos and songs by Mono Records artists. Tomorrow they will release 4 exclusive tracks from 2 different unsigned bands they think you should know about.

Submitted by MonoRecords

Tower Records has been put on credit hold by all its major distributors. Click here to read an LA Times article regarding the situation. (Source)

By Autumn's End and DKLIMB will be embarking on the Hand of Hope Records Tour in mid-September. The tour dates are below, and venues will be announced shortly.

Hand of Hope Records Tour Dates

Sept 17th- Albany, NY TBA
Sept 18th- Trenton, NJ TBA
Sept 19th- Baltimore, MD TBA
Sept 20th- Richmond, VA TBA
Sept 21st- Raleigh, NC TBA
Sept 22nd- Conway, SC @ The Lower Warehouse
Sept 23rd- Hinesville/Augusta, GA TBA
Sept 24th- Hinesville/Augusta, GA TBA
Sept 25th- Jacksonville, FL TBA
Sept 26th- Daytona Beach, FL TBA
Sept 27th- Tallahassee, FL TBA
Sept 28th- Montgomery, AL TBA
Sept 29th- Nashville, TN TBA
Sept 30th- Louisville, KY TBA
Oct 1st- Cinnicinatti, OH TBA
Oct 2nd- Columbus, OH TBA
Oct 3rd-...

Emerald Moon Records has some updates on their new merch and some of their bands. Read below to get the scoop:

EMR Update

EMERALD MOON RECORDS just signed a deal with MERCHDIRECT so be
on the lookout for their online store to be up very shortly with all new merch!
Also look for somenew signings and some new releases very soon at EMR
Headquarters! Head over to EMR's brand new website to check out all the details very soon!

HOMETOWN ANTHEM just returned home from their tour with The Summer
Obsession and Settings, and now have a bunch of local shows coming up,
including a Warped Tour date. Check out their for more details. Also listen
to two new songs from their upcoming EP. More...

Triple Crown's signing of The Secret Handshake is now official. Press release below:

Press Release

Triple Crown Records signs The Secret Handshake – New Disc Scheduled
for a Spring 2007 release.

What is the Secret Handshake? Luis Dubuc is the one man musical
mission known as The Secret Handshake. It's pop. It's electronic. It's
indie. And it's all written and played by Luis with his Wurlitzer
piano and Apple computer. Triple Crown would like to welcome you to
Luis' world.

Triple Crown Records (Brand New, As Tall As Lions, TREOS, Hit The
Lights) welcomes The Secret Handshake to their family. They will be
recording their debut full length with Cory Kildruff,...

Rhino Records will be releasing A Life Less Lived - The Gothic Box, a four-disc boxed set that will be out on September 19th. The set features revolutionizing music from bands with that label, such as Joy Division, The Cure, Bauhaus, Skinny Puppy and more.

Tracklist

Disc 1
1. Joy Division - "Dead Souls"
2. The Cure - "Charlotte Sometimes"
3. Bauhaus - "She's in Parties"
4. The Sisters of Mercy - "Temple of Love"
5. Tones on Tail - "Christian Says"
6. The Birthday Party - "Mutiny in Heaven"
7. Siouxsie & the Banshees - "Spellbound"
8. The Southern Death Cult - "Fatman"
9. Love And Rockets - "Mirror People"
10. Fields Of The Nephilim - "Power"
11. Alien Sex Fiend -...

This morning the boys from Jack's Mannequin flew into a secret Los Angeles location to shoot their new music video for the song "Dark Blue." The swinging 50's beach party-esque video has a big crew and an even bigger director behind the piece.

ECA Records is releasing the debut double album by Christians & Lions, More Song For Dreamsleepers and The Very Awake, and new solo material from Steve Brodsky of Cave-In.

Agent Records will be releasing Greetings From Norcal - The Northern California Compilation (Volume 4) on August 8th, available in independent record stores and Hot Topics throughout the US.

Tracklist

01. Push To Talk – “Problems”
02. The Matches – “Didi” *
03. Scissors For Lefty – “Next to Argyle” *
04. Boyskout – “Lobby Boys” *
05. No More Stereo – “The Same Thing”
06. Maldroid – “He Said She Said” *
07. Birdmonster – “ Alabama”
08. Brilliant Red Lights – “Numb Songs”
09. Day One Symphony – “A Vicious Circle”
10. M.C. Lars – “Geeked Out” *
11. Minipop – “Generator”
12. Von Iva – “Soulshaker”
13. Furlong – “Watch Your Goose“ *
14. The Wildlife – “Pestilence“
15. Loquat – “Swingset...

Willowtip Records has announced the signing of death/grind outfit Malignancy. The Yonkers, NY based band is set to record their Willowtip debut full-length, Inhuman Grotesqueries, in mid-August at The Carriage House studios in Connecticut. It will contain twelve tracks of what the band promises to be their most accomplished, complex, and overall, most brutal work to date. Artwork is being created by Tony Koehl. The album is expected to hit streets late this year.

Submitted by xalexislegendx

As most of you know by now, Ferret Records launches a new imprint: New Weathermen Records. Heavy Heavy Low Low is the label's first signing and you can find the official press release below.

New Weathermen Records

Ferret Music has announced the formation of a new imprint to the label to be known as New Weathermen Records. The imprint is the brainchild of Nick Storch, booking agent to high profile artists such as Atreyu, Coheed And Cambria,Unearth and As I Lay Dying. Inspired by bands he works with such as Fear Before The March Of Flames and The Number Twelve Looks Like You, the new imprint will focus on bands that are heavy but have an arty component to their
music as well. The...

TDR Records is having a huge sale on everything in their store!

Sale!

This week we have everything on sale in our store section. CDs are $4-6, Shirts $8, and Hoodies are $16. All orders come with free stickers (posters w/ The Prize Fight/Mayfield CD & Punchline/Over It 7"). Take advantage of this before its over! Hurry up, this sale ends Friday June 23rd. All mail orders for the summer sale must be postmarked on or before June 23rd.

Submitted by kidinthecorner

Nitro Records is looking to assemble a street team. If you are interested check out their MySpace page for more information.

The Capitol Records street team is looking for members to cover Warped Tour in the cities that are listed below. If you are interested in attending any of these Warped Tour dates, go here.

Cities

6/19 Bonner Springs, MO
6/21 Nashville, TN
6/26 Ladson, SC
7/02 Selma, TX
7/03 Las Cruces, NM
7/14 Eagle, ID
7/22 Salt Lake City, UT
7/26 Cincinnati, OH
8/9 Virginia Beach, VA
8/10 Bristow, VA

Fearless Records and AbsolutePunk have teamed up to offer you the brand new Fearless summer sampler as a completely free download. Be the first to enjoy new rock from Gatsby's American Dream, A Static Lullaby, and The Outline as well as hot tunes from every Fearless artist, all on us. Look for the sampler at the Warped Tour and don't forget about all of our ABSOLUTExclusives.

Below is the press release annoucing the arrival of Brave New World Records (The Wedding, Deas Vail).

Press Release

There is much to be explored in the Brave New World... Brave New World Records, an independent label based out of Nashville is the label home to the bands The Wedding and Deas Vail. The Wedding's debut self-titled album sold over 21k units. The Wedding will have immediate appeal for fans of Taking Back Sunday, Relient K, and Anberlin. Deas Vail is in the same genre as Copeland, Mutemath, and Coldplay and will identify with that audience. Both bands are gearing up for busy fall tours in support of new EP's. We are still busy getting things going, but BNW will be selling both...

Emerald Moon Records have launched a new web page.

Immortal Records and AbsolutePunk have joined forces to bring you an ABSOLUTExclusive and totally FREE sampler. Download and enjoy 7 songs from this summer's Immortal releases (Waking Ashland, Agent Sparks, The Bleeding Alarm, and The Finals) and let us know what you think! All the free tunes and all the info can be found right here.

World Artist Records has launched a new website.

Fearless Records is looking for some summer interns. If you live in southern California, can drive, and be available at least 2 days a week please email: interns@fearlessrecords.com.

Lujo Records is in the process of starting a full street team department and wants you to be a part of it. If you're interested, then you can drop an email to: streetteam@lujorecords.com Tell them where you're from, what kind of music you like, and what you think you should be on the team.

To kick off summer, Victory Records announces “Super Tuesday” as albums from The Junior Varsity, The Forecast, The Sleeping, and Silverstein hit shelves on May 30th.

Victory Records' "Super Tuesday

The Junior Varsity- The Great Compromise
The Forecast- In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen
The Sleeping- Questions and Answers
Silverstein- 18 Candles: The Early Years

Pluto Records has joined the East/West family.