
To music mavens, vinyl hoarders and those who love a leisurely afternoon spent expanding their record collections, Record Store Day is basically Christmas. Every third Sunday in April, record stores across the world throw parties, welcome bands, offer deals and stock limited-edition RSD-exclusive releases. Even if the Indie Rock Coloring Book is Greek to you, RSD is the perfect time to meet musicians, support local businesses and get familiar with new releases and rare retro finds. Scroll on for our 15 can’t-miss spots worth visiting on Record Store Day and every day after.
1. Criminal Records (Atlanta): Come for the records, CDs and tapes; stay for the comics, magazines and toys. Fun fact: Founder and owner Eric Levin was one of the co-founders of Record Store Day. (Photo via Criminal Records)
2. The Sound Garden (Baltimore and Syracuse): No word on whether Chris Cornell and the members of Soundgarden shop here, but chances are they’d have a blast rifling through this indie store’s used vinyl collection. (Photo via @sg_bmore)
3. Phonoluxe Records, Movies + Music (Nashville): It’s fitting that this old-school store, just outside of downtown Nashville, is right down the road from Woodlawn Memorial Park, where country legends Webb Pierce, Tammy Wynette and Porter Wagoner (Dolly Parton’s longtime duet partner) are all buried.
4. Rooky Ricardo’s (San Francisco): For 20 years, this colorful and quirky shop with a 1960s feel has held court in the Lower Haight, focusing on girl groups, soul and R&B vinyl. Stock up on 45s here, because they’re only two dollars. (Photo via Rooky Ricardo’s)
5. Euclid Records (New Orleans and St. Louis): Not only is Euclid’s St. Louis location home to a plethora of in-store performances, but the store also releases the recordings as limited-edition 45s. If you’re at the NOLA location, make sure to check out the hot-pink Ernie K-Doe mural. (Photo via @stcardiff)
6. Graveface Records + Curiosities (Savannah): You can find music at this tiny shop run by the Graveface record label and get your taxidermy fix too. Or, opt for the wide selection of bitters and cocktail supplies. (Photo via Graveface)
7. Waterloo Records (Austin): This Austin staple pre-dates SXSW’s coolness, but it’s always been a mecca for Texas music-seekers. CDs and records are simply filed A-Z (not by genre), so you don’t even need to know what you’re in the mood for when you shop, which is half the battle, right? (Photo via Waterloo Records)
8. Permanent Records (LA + Chicago): We love everything about these two stores, but this pizza slipmat for your record player kinda takes the cake — er, pie. If you’ll be near the LA store on Record Store Day, check out an in-store performance by John Doe and Exene of punk legends X. (Photo via @permanentrecordschicago)
9. Sugar Shack Records (Madison): Trekking down 1-94 with only a tape player for tunes? Stop at Madison’s Sugar Shack Records to stock up on classic-rock and country cassettes for the road. (Photo via Sugar Shack Records)
10. Wax Trax (Denver): This teeny-tiny store is a goldmine of old 45s, jazz, punk and classic country. Pro tip: Pop over to the nearby Kirkland Museum of Fine + Decorative Art for a fascinating tour beforehand. (Photo via For The Love of Punk)
11. Aquarius Records (San Francisco): Opened in 1970, the oldest independent record store in SF specializes in “cool, weird and wonderful” music, and claims to only stock what the staff really loves. (Photo via Gallivant)
12. Everyday Music (Portland + Seattle): You can find everything from Top 40 pop to obscure reggae at Everyday’s five Pacific Northwest locations. The downtown Portland location even has a separate store that houses jazz and classical. If you’re at the Seattle location, make sure to pop around the corner to visit the Jimi Hendrix statue. (Photo via @tryttenpnw)
13. Hymie’s Vintage Records (Minneapolis): This East Lake Street mom-and-pop shop (literally — owners Dave and Laura Hoenack have two babies) is also a record label. Wile away an afternoon sifting through retro rock, early R&B and oodles of other gems. (Photo via Hymie’s Vintage Records)
14. Shangri-La Records (Memphis): If rare blues, funk, psych and soul — and just about any other genre you can imagine — sounds up your alley, downtown Memphis’ Shangri-La will totally live up to its name. (Photo via Shangri-La Records)
15. Black Gold (Brooklyn): It wouldn’t be an indie-record-store list without a shoutout to BKLYN. This Carroll Gardens shop also has coffee and antiques. (Photo via Jacob Krupnick/AirBnB)
Where will you be shopping this Record Store Day? Did we miss your favorite store? Let us know in the comments below!
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
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Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
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You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures