Vinyl records have actually sold more than CDs for the first time since 1987

Mar 11 2023

In 2022, vinyl records outsold CDs in the United States for the first time since 1987, selling 41 million units as opposed to CDs’ tallied 33 million.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) shared this monumental information as vinyl records continue to enjoy as surge around the world, including Malta. In fact, vinyl record sales made 71% of all physical music format revenue, continuing their consistent increase over the past 16 years.

Vinyl sales also trumped CDs in the UK, with The Verge highlighting that the format’s resurgence continues to grow in countries like Germany, Japan and South Korea, amongst other countries.

The recent surge in vinyl sales has been attributed to factors such as the format’s authentic sound and nostalgia appeal, with Gen-Z-popular artists like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles emerging as the highest sellers, with a respective 1.7 million and 719,000 vinyl sales in 2022.

In Malta, music shops like Valletta’s D’Amato Records, Sunset Records in Sliema and Big Ron’s Records in Ta’ Xbiex have built quite the following for their vast vinyl offering, ranging from deep house cuts to all-time popular classics.

D’Amato Records, which is known to be the world’s oldest record store, had told Malta Daily that the worst days for music shops are behind them, expressing the family’s enthusiasm to carry on to another generation of music lovers.

Do you own any vinyl records?

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Strong winds of up to Force 8 to hit the Maltese Islands on Saturday & Sunday

Mar 11 2023

The public has been advised to brace for strong winds as various local weather pages are forecasting winds as strong as Force 8 to hit the Maltese Islands on Saturday and Sunday.

Local weather page ‘Malta Weather’ anticipates “rather cloudy skies becoming partly cloudy with STRONG winds across Malta and Gozo”, noting the arrival of Force 7 to 8 winds from Friday to Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Met Office via the Malta International Airport website forecasts two days of windy weather, with WNW winds of Force 6 becoming Force 7 on Saturday and WNW Force 6 Winds becoming NNW Force 5 to 6 on Sunday.

Temperatures are expected to reach highs of 19°C and lows of 14°C. Caution is advised when travelling to areas where wind may be a factor.

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Egg-xpensive Prices: EU sees a 30% Increase in Egg Costs

Mar 11 2023

Food prices in Europe have been on the rise, with eggs being one of the most affected food products. According to data for January 2023, the price of eggs in the EU has increased by an average of 30% compared to the same month in 2022. This is a significant increase compared to the smaller price increases recorded in the previous years.

Bar graph: Inflation rate for eggs in January 2023 in %, annual rate of change

Among the EU countries, Malta has also experienced an increase in egg prices, although not as high as other countries. However, other countries such as Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia recorded annual inflation increases of 85%, 80%, and 79%, respectively.

Germany, Luxembourg, and Austria also experienced an increase of around 18-19%. These substantial increases in egg prices may have been caused by various factors such as supply chain disruptions and increasing demand for eggs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Festa Dunks? Local AI creator shows what a Nike & Maltese Festa collab would look like

Mar 11 2023

In 2023, AI has effectively taken the world by storm and the ever-developing technology continues to provide surreal generations of things we’d love to see in real life, like a Nike X Maltese Feasts collaboration, for example.

Local artificial intelligence creator ‘Malta & AI’ is no stranger to fusing Maltese culture with the futuristic, weird & wonderful, and has now showed us what a Maltese festa-inspired set of Nike sneakers would look like.

Featuring traditional Maltese festa colours and embellishments, the AI creator shows what it would look like if a set of Nike Dunks got the ‘marċ ta’ filgħodu’ treatment.

“The Maltese have a great affection for their patron saints and annually honour them through the village festa, which is primarily a religious celebration. The colours used can vary depending on the specific patron saint being celebrated, as well as the tradition and history of the village”, the creator wrote in his most recent post.

Would you cop a pair of Nike festas?

#MaltaDaily