Iconic music retailer opens Towers Lab & relaunches Pulse
Tower Records, the iconic music chain that defined the retail music business in the pre-digital era, has unveiled a new creative space, Tower Labs, in Brooklyn, New York. Located on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, Tower Labs is designed to engage and stimulate music fans with a range of offerings including live music events, album listening parties, and a new speakeasy style “vinyl drop” window for limited edition music and merchandise releases.
The first events at Tower Labs include an intimate performance and meet-and-greet with singer/songwriter Caroline Rose on March 24th and a fan-focused event with R&B/Pop star Lolo Zouaï surrounding her sold out NYC show on April 27th. This will coincide the relaunch of Pulse!, Tower’s classic inhouse magazine. This new iteration will be digital, consisting of filmed interviews, performances, podcasts and events at Tower Labs. Pulse! will once again aim to chronicle music history and current events, while spotlighting both established and emerging acts.
“With the relaunch of Tower Records, our goal has been to bring fans a new music discovery experience while preserving the brand’s legacy and storied past,” says Danny Zeijdel, President of Tower Records. “The opening of Tower Labs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn marks a new era as the neighborhood has become a music and cultural hub. Our new space will not be a traditional retail store, rather a hybrid center for performances, pop-ups, listening parties, and content creation. Fundamentally, the intention here is to develop a blueprint for future Tower Records locations.”
Since the relaunch of Tower Records in 2020, the iconic music brand has been offering music and art fans exclusive merchandise drops including limited edition vinyl releases and branded products. Tower.com quickly rose to be a top online retailer for physical music in North America and the brand recently launched an additional online store in Europe.
Founded in 1960 by Russ Solomon, Tower Records developed from a business he founded as a teenager to resell 78 RPM jukebox records in his father’s Sacramento drug store, into a record retail behemoth that operated dozens of stores across the United States. Tower Records defined the retail music business in the pre-digital era and at its peak had nearly 200 stores across 15 countries, and more than $1 billion in annual sales. Known for its enormous volume and its audiophile behind-the-counter staff, Tower Records became the mecca for in- store performances and recording artist events, placing it at No. 1 among US music merchants. Today, Tower Records is transcending its historic past by creating online experiences and exciting partnerships with artists, labels and brands for all music fans to “Know Music, Know Life.”
