Sony's New Turntables, Louis Vuitton's Listening Room & Tiny Vinyl Comes to Europe. Plus, Tina Edwards On Crafting A Vinyl DJ Set
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Sony’s New Turntables Lean Into Vinyl’s Younger Buyers
Sony is releasing the PS-LX3BT(€299, £299, $399) aimed at first-time vinyl listeners, as well as the PS-LX5BT (€399, £399, $499), a model geared at those looking to upgrade their system. Both offer sleek, minimal design, with Bluetooth connectivity, Hi-Res Wireless Audio, and simple ‘plug and play’ options via a simple audio cable and built-in phono equaliser. What elevates the PS-LX5BT model to a premium audio experience is a high-grade cartridge, gold-plated audio jack and a more rigid, one-piece body designed to suppress vibrations with a heavy rubber mat for better damping. According to WhatHiFi, Sony meets the mark for creating a ‘fun, ridiculously user-friendly and resoundingly listenable’ playback device.
Our Take: Sony’s doubling down on accessibility for both new audiences discovering vinyl for the first time and those looking to upgrade their audio setup signals the sustained strength of the vinyl revival. Its integration of Bluetooth connectivity and ‘plug and play’ options make the experience easy and enjoyable. Rather than compete at the high end of the audiophile market Sony is making turntables that are stylish and affordable, with competitive sound quality.
Pharrell Williams Designs A Listening Room for Louis Vuitton’s Paris Fashion Show
For Louis Vuitton's Autumn Winter 2026 menswear show during Paris Fashion Week, the brand's men's creative director Pharrell Williams created a minimalist timber house featuring a dedicated vinyl listening room. As reported by Living ETC, the luxurious interior included ‘slick’ sound equipment, impressive vinyl record storage and Louis Vuitton-branded records, making it ‘the dream of audiophiles everywhere’. The house concept, developed with architectural firm Not A Hotel, was designed to embody the fashion collections idea of ‘timelessness’ in architectural form: ‘a vision of future living built on function, savoir fair, and human need’.
Our Take: As creative director of Louis Vuitton, Pharell Williams is fusing music and luxury fashion to create a high-fidelity lifestyle for the brand. In this context, owning a vinyl collection, and having a room dedicated to the experience of listening to records, has become an aspirational dream for luxury fashion houses and their followers. Coupled with Saint Laurent’s recent release of a limited-edition vinyl box set, there is a clear opportunity for the record industry to create ultra-premium editions that appeal to high-net worth individuals.
Tiny Vinyl Is Bringing Four-inch Vinyl Records To Europe in 2026
Following the debut success of its miniature collectible vinyl records in the US, Tiny Vinyl is entering the European market this year. To make this plan a reality the company has appointed Ruben Planting, an experienced strategic consultant in the music industry who has held leadership roles at Deepgrooves Vinyl Pressing, Making Vinyl, and Music Declares Emergency Netherlands among others. “Ruben brings a wealth of experience in international music distribution and revenue growth strategies and is uniquely positioned to connect US innovation and European retail,” Tiny Vinyl founders Neil Kohler and Jesse Mann told Music Business Week. “By connecting with the resurgent European vinyl market, he will continue our success abroad with dedicated partnerships with retailers and bespoke editions for artist fan clubs, gifting, and tours.”
Our Take: As vinyl increasingly functions as an expression of fandom, display, and identity, particularly among younger audiences, miniature pressings offer artists and retailers a new way to participate in vinyl culture. The 4-inch size and lightweight nature of Tiny Vinyl records make them a compelling merchandising opportunity, especially for artists on tour looking to release limited-edition, accessible collectibles for fans.
CUE BURN POLL: WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?
Q&A: Tina Edwards On Crafting A Vinyl DJ Set
When it comes to jazz, funk, leftfield club music and vinyl-only DJing, there are few people better placed to talk about it than Tina Edwards. An international touring DJ, curator of Bandcamp’s Jazz-ish Jazz Club, co-founder of music curation platform Re:sonate, and the Queer Jazz event series, Edwards is deeply plugged into what’s next for global record culture.
In this interview for CUE BURN, Edwards dives into how she builds bold, genre-blending sets that move both minds and dance-floors, her practical advice for new vinyl DJs, why 45s have become a secret weapon in her bag, and why the ritual of digging for records feels increasingly meaningful in a digitally saturated world.
Why do you love vinyl DJing?
Tina Edwards: When you collect vinyl, you attribute value to it. There’s a different experience to downloading an MP3 or WAV compared to digging for a record, deciding to purchase it, and finding a physical home for it where you live.
There are memories attached to it, whether it’s where you found it, who introduced you to it, where you’ve played it, a moment where you’ve played it out and it went down really well. I find that you add emotional value to records in that way.
It also makes me more decisive when I’m DJing with vinyl because you have to pre-plan a journey or narrative beforehand. You can do that with USBs, but there’s a kind of decision paralysis that can get in the way when you’ve got thousands of tracks in front of you. So when you’re playing only with vinyl it helps you streamline what it is that you intend to do with a set.
What goes into building your vinyl DJ sets?
I begin with a mood, theme or a sub-genre. For example, I’m preparing a set for a recorded on film performance next week, and at the moment cumbia is piquing my interest. So I’m using that as a starting point to be like: ‘right, what do I have in that realm in my vinyl collection? What can I add that compliments what I already have, and help me become a student in this area of music?
Last year I only bought 45s as a challenge to myself because when you travel with LPs, it’s really hard work. I was gifted bad balance in life, so I have to be really cautious about how I pack because having a suitcase and a trolley, that alone is a real challenge for my balance in itself.
So I’ve been buying plenty of 45s recently to try and counteract that and that has been a really fun brief for myself and has also saved my chiropractor bill a little bit.
How many records do you usually carry on tour?
If I’m doing an international gig then I’ll bring my Phonica backpack, which can fit about 40 LPs, and I’ll bring a nice small vintage leather case which can fit about eighty 45s.
But, if I’m gigging at home and I can just hop on a train, then I can take my pulley case and my backpack and my little box. So then it’s 150-200 maybe.
I did 30 flights last year for gigs, and whilst that’s a privilege, and I had the best time, I’ve got to be really methodical about packing because of my small frame. It’s important for me to be quite focused on which records will help me to tell what story.
Has searching for 45s changed the type of music you’re getting into?
It’s easier to take a punt on a 45 because there are two tracks to listen to. The B-sides are often the ones that stick out to me because they’re a little bit quirkier or alternative.
I’ll tend to buy a 45 if I like both tracks, whereas with an LP, I’ll tend to buy one if I like three or four tracks. Obviously the ratios are off, but instinctively it just means that I end up taking more 45s home with me. They win me over a bit more quickly.
In Zurich, there’s a really great store called ZERO ZERO near club Kasheme, where I had a residency, and I went there and spent hours just digging through the boxes under the crates, and came away with loads of quirky disco.
Wherever it is that I’m shopping, I will try and lean into what it is that the city excels at. So in Bilbao last year, I was looking for Spanish and Latin leaning records, and found some great stuff that I wouldn’t have easily found elsewhere outside of the country. So it kind of means that I go a little bit more specific and niche when I’m digging for 45s.
Are there any record stores that you would recommend for jazz or funk in London, or around the world?
Phonica is an obvious one that comes to mind. In the 45s area they stock some really brilliant jazz, dance records. Sounds of the Universe is obviously a good one to go to. I’ve also been lucky enough to go to a few places in Tokyo and to have dug around in Disk Union. Tokyo is such a mecca for jazz, and Japanese pressings are really sublime.
When I’m clicking on Bandcamp and Discogs, I’m being a bit more strategic and straightforward with my time, finding it online and ordering. I know what I’m looking for. Whereas when I’m digging, I’m looking to discover something that will be completely new to my ears, usually amongst Latin or disco or more left-field sounds.
What are you searching for when you are digging for records?
When it comes to vinyl releases, for me it’s the music itself which is capturing my attention and everything else is a bonus that enhances the experience.
Liner notes, a particularly interesting design or an inner zine are all beautiful to add, but I just get straight into the music. I put a lot of my records online on Instagram, and I share my recommendations, but I do find collecting records quite a personal experience in a way. When I get a record, I sort of just tear into it and go straight to the music.
How many records do you think you have in your collection now? How do you organise them?
I’ve got about 750 LPs and probably two-hundered-and-fifty 45s. I need more shelves. A lot of records are on the floor now in small piles against the walls, which my wife is very sweet about, but you do have to climb over certain things from time to time. So she’s very forgiving.
In my house my records are categorised alphabetically. I do it by first name, controversially, because there’s so many artists that just go by one name. Björk is my all time favorite artist, and I’ve got everything she’s released on vinyl. So I feel like if it’s literally the first letter of the artist’s name I know where to look for it.
What would be your number one tip for people who would want to get into vinyl DJing?
If you’re starting to get into vinyl DJing, then you’re probably only just starting to collect records, or figuring out how to curate them into a cohesive set. So try to expand your collection in a way that makes sense for playing live.
I like to use the analogy of buying a capsule wardrobe. People buying pieces that you can wear multiple times with multiple different things. So if you put that analogy onto vinyl DJing, you start looking for records where you think, ‘I love this’ and ‘This would work really nicely with this 45 that I have’. That way you’re going to get good use out of your record.
So if you’re starting out, buy things that make you excited, but also try and piece it with what you have already because you’ll be able to get gigging a bit sooner.
Then in terms of creative advice, just follow your instincts and do what feels good for you because if we do manage to ‘crack a formula’ for something like DJing, then everything quickly gets boring.
What makes sense to me as a DJ putting together a set might not make sense for someone else in their process. It’s the distinctive way in which a DJ or selector connects the dots that helps to make you who you are and makes your offering unique.
So I wouldn’t want to over advise a brand new DJ. I would more just offer the practical advice of how to build their collection.
Do you find your vinyl only sets are attracting a younger audience?
Yeah, I’d say a lot of interest comes from online. I hear from a lot of people on Instagram and TikTok, looking to start collecting records or want to start gigging out, and asking: ‘What advice do you have?’
With my live sets, I find my audiences tend to be multi-generational. Sometimes, I’ll get older heads coming over and wanting to talk about the track IDs, the sleeves or talk about the music generally.
Whereas I can tell some younger people are watching quite intently, and they’re studying a little bit, (which I like to see), but maybe they’re a little bit shy about approaching me. They’re welcome to, though!
But there’s definitely been a slight increase in younger heads looking a bit more interested in records over the last few years.
Why do you think vinyl digging culture is so relevant today?
People are increasingly looking to go back to the experience that you get in a record store. It’s a reaction to screen fatigue, and the amount of noise we receive about what we should be listening to. Vinyl digging culture is reclaiming the autonomy to choose to discover something for yourself, and take yourself on that journey independently. It’s rewarding because we can get playlists and recommendations from radio shows, but when you choose to set aside time to physically look for something that sparks your curiosity, and then you get excited about it because you found this little gold nugget of treasure that you want to take home and make it something you own… that’s just a very different experience to the status quo at the moment.
Lastly congratulations on becoming an official Bandcamp Curator for its Clubs initiative. Can you tell us more about how the Jazz-ish Jazz Club is going?
Bandcamp are really good at finding new ways to get people to engage with independent music, and Clubs is a really cathartic alternative to the music landscape we have right now, which is: ‘consume, consume, consume’.
With Clubs, I get to pick an album that members then obsess over for a whole month. First, that comes in the form of an interview with the featured artist. Then, there’s a listening party with special guests. We had Kamasi Washington drop in for a listening party a few months ago, which is wild. Everyone gets a download of the record, and there’s a lot of conversation on the forum, and a lot of music recommendations being exchanged with people sharing their own music as well. So It’s just a lovely corner of Bandcamp I’m really happy to be a part of.
To stay in touch with Tina Edwards check out her latest radio show with DJ Gilla on Bandcamp Weekly, and follow her on Substack where she posts music recommendations, events and updates
This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. The views expressed are solely those of the featured creators and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Vinyl Alliance.
Have a vinyl industry story to share? We’d love to hear it! Email us at cueburn@vinylalliance.org and let’s start the conversation.
Gen Z & Vinyl Report: One Year On
It’s been one year since the Vinyl Alliance published our comprehensive Gen Z report offering deeper insights into why this generation is drawn to vinyl and willing to pay a premium, even as rising prices impact their purchasing power. Whether it’s to express identity, create moments of relaxation, or connect with a wider community of collectors, vinyl records are making a powerful impact on youth culture today.
Beyond our membership’s enthusiastic reception to the report at our biannual Vinyl Alliance members meeting in Vienna, the report has gained significant global traction with features on CNN, CNBC, and Music Week, as well as presentations at Reeperbahn Festival & Conference (Germany) and Music Biz (USA) among others. If you haven’t seen the findings yet, you can download a free preview of the report right here.
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