Tower Records has opened a new space in Brooklyn but details are scarce

By Gabe Friedman

Tower Records’ ongoing comeback has taken its iconic brand to Brooklyn — but don’t expect a return of the flashy red and yellow signage or the hundreds of record shelves just yet.

The company, resurrected by new ownership, opened its first new physical space in 16 years in Williamsburg earlier this month. The location, called Tower Labs, is far from a traditional record store: The small space plans to host intimate concerts, pop-up sales (through a window opening onto the street), artist interviews, and album releases and signings.

No specifics about the events — or the space’s exact address on Kent Avenue — are listed publicly yet. Purchases of vinyl records and certain, uh, NFTs will get buyers into exclusive events, such as one series called “Industry Nights,” according to the company’s Twitter account.

The Tower Labs organizers also want to recreate the “backstage experience” for local bands and fans before and after concerts at other venues. A Brooklyn-based band called Gooseberry played the first invite-only concert at the space.

“Tower is working with live venues across the Brooklyn area to establish an intimate space for performing acts to convene and socialize before and after shows. The intention is for artists and bands to host a more personal gathering with core members of their community. This may consist of listening parties, jam sessions, podcast interviews, gear demos, and more,” the Tower Labs site reads.

Most early reports on the space describe it as a “warmly lit” lounge, and press photos bear that out. According to The New York Times, the room was co-designed by architect Louis Rambert, who designed the upscale homewares and specialty market Beverly’s on the Lower East Side.

The Tower Records chain formerly operated around 200 record stores in 15 different countries before overexpansion and the internet’s effects on the industry led to the shuttering of all of its physical locations by 2006 (except in Japan, where CD collection is still a thing and where a telecoms giant owner has shepherded the brand to continued success). The company relaunched under new ownership and opened an online store —and restarted its Tower Pulse! magazine — in 2020.

If it expands its public offerings, Tower Labs could fill the void left by the Rough Trade record label’s brick and mortar store-plus-indie-concert-venue, which left Williamsburg for Midtown Manhattan last year, after eight years in the neighborhood.