Mumbai, April 12: The first Vinyl Pop Up, to be hosted here for music lovers later this month, will offer over 2500 titles, rare box sets and more on sale.
Though cell phones, tablets and music streaming media are becoming the most preferred mediums for music lovers, the youth is also warming to an old music form -- vinyls, which are phonograph disc records.
Recognising that it is the only physical format of music that has consistently seen a rise in demand, global music company Sony Music is set to host a one-day Vinyl Pop Up at The Quarter - Royal Opera House Mumbai on this Record Store Day on April 21.
"The renewed interest in vinyls is very encouraging as vinyl collectors and owners are music buffs and lifelong fans of artistes and music. We are seeing increased interest in India and with The Vinyl Pop Up we are giving the music lovers of Mumbai a rare chance to go through a first of its kind experience," Shridhar Subramaniam, President India and Middle East - Sony Music, told IANS.
"The range is massive with some rare collectibles thrown in. Our plan is to roll out this initiative in a city at a time and we are hoping that young fans discover the charm of listening to vinyls and building a collection," he added.
There will be classic and contemporary titles, ranging from Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Pearl Jam, Eagles, The Doors, Santana, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Boney M, A.R. Rahman to Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Jagjit Singh and more.
"We are making many titles available. This will actually be the first time in 30 years that India will see such a huge range of titles available... that is over 2,500 titles. We will also be launching a few exclusive Record Store Day releases," said Subramaniam.
People can also spend their day at the BYOV Session (Bring your Own Vinyl), a DJ Scratching Workshop, Vinyl Listening Sessions, Curated Wine and Dine Experience and vinyl-only sets by DJ Uri and DJ Skip.
But why only in Mumbai?
"We are beginning with Mumbai and will look at other cities as well," Subramaniam said.
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Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
