Discogs launches VinylHub database with every record store in the world, minus Urban Outfitters

Discogs launches VinylHub database with every record store in the world, minus Urban Outfitters

The cherished music catalog and online marketplace Discogs has announced its latest project, VinylHub, which aims to list information about every record store on Earth. This will be a much easier task than Discogs, of course, since record stores continue to be an endangered species and may only number in the thousands. Created for “diggers and travelers everywhere,” the new database helps reposition Discogs as an ally to record stores, rather than its main competition.

As of this writing, users have already uploaded info on 2,125 shops to VinylHub, and I was happy to learn that my day job — Bleecker Street Records in Greenwich Village — had already been added to the directory, along with details on legendary shops like Amoeba, Hardwax, Rubadub, and many others. Currently, the database allows members to enter a store description, address, phone number, hours of operation, a store URL, and a logo. There’s also an embedded Google Map that shows you exactly where the store is. Pretty basic, but it does the job. Anyone can sign up and contribute to the site, so if your favorite record store in the middle of nowhere still isn’t listed, you can create a page for it in a few minutes.

The most exciting aspect of VinylHub might be the “Explorer” page, which shows a map of the entire world and every record store documented so far. Right now, North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand are covered in red Google pins. Angola, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan — not so much. But that’s sure to change in the coming months, as Discogs users hear about the new service, and then you can finally get directions to that goth metal shop in Oman that you keep hearing about.

• VinylHub: http://www.vinylhub.com

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