Bull Moose Music
Bull Moose is an independent retailer and record store chain based in Portland, Maine, USA. The chain has operated since 1989[1] and has nine locations in Maine and three in New Hampshire.[2] It has been featured in various newspapers throughout Maine and New Hampshire. It was founded by Brett Wickard in Brunswick, Maine in 1989,[3] though he did not file it as a Business Corporation until 1995.[4] Bull Moose was started with $37,000.[3] Chris Brown[5] was hired in 1991 as a clerk and later became the creator of Record Store Day, and the company's Vice President.
Bull Moose Logo | |
Formerly | Bull Moose Music |
---|---|
Industry | Retail |
Founded | 1989 |
Founder | Brett Wickard |
Headquarters | Portland, Maine |
Number of locations | 12 |
Products | Physical media for music, movies, video games, and books |
Website | bullmoose |
Wickard and Brown often appear[6] on local news channel WCSH[7] to discuss the latest media trends. They were covered by Bloomberg[8] for using unique predictive algorithms to drive media sales. The retailer defies rumors of a dying physical media industry[9] with its increased sales, sparking interest from media outlets in how Bull Moose manages to make a profit in tough times[10] for other record stores such as Tower Records. The Portland Press-Herald has also covered Bull Moose Music and Wickard's business journey several times.[11]
Record Store Day
Bull Moose promotes local involvement and independent retailers, and is known in Maine[12] as a business that creates community.[13] The retailer is often cited in Maine as "the best record store."[14] In 2007 when Brown was head of Bull Moose marketing, an email chain with Michael Kurtz, head of the Department of Record Stores,[15] sparked the idea for Record Store Day.[16] Each year the co-founders at the Department of Record Stores works to collaborate with multiple artists for exclusive releases made especially for Record Store Day.[17] The releases for 2017 included works from David Bowie, Prince, St. Vincent, and more.[18] The Department of Record Stores keeps a list of participating independent record stores.[19]
LEGO Fire Walk
The Bull Moose Facebook account posted an image of a LEGO Fire Walk[20] they created at the South Portland, ME based store to promote sales of The LEGO Movie on June 19, 2014.[21] It was shared by famous Star Trek actor George Takei, and subsequently went viral. It was also covered by local[22] news.[23]
Music Events
Bull Moose is locally known for their in-store music events with musicians like The Decemberists,[24] Mumford and Sons,[25] and Wilco.[26]
Bull Moose has hosted the following artists:
Artist | Date of Performance or Signing | Bull Moose Location | Noteworthy Information |
---|---|---|---|
The Dresden Dolls | Live Performance on February 6, 2005[27] | Scarborough, ME | |
Regina Spektor | Live Performance on June 5, 2005[28] | Scarborough, ME | Spektor released a live EP of her performance in August 2005. |
Click Five | Live Performance in early 2006 | Scarborough, ME | Click Five released a live EP of their performance in March 2006. |
Rocco Deluca | Autograph Signing on July 16, 2006[29] | Scarborough, ME | Kiefer Sutherland attended to promote Deluca.[29] |
Amanda Palmer (of The Dresden Dolls) | Autograph Signing on September 17, 2008[30] | Portland, ME | |
Disturbed | Autograph Signing on April 18, 2009[31] | Portland, ME | |
Ani DiFranco | Live Performance on April 17, 2009[31] | Scarborough, ME | Ani DiFranco performed at 1pm |
Killswitch Engage | Autograph Signing on April 17, 2009[31] | Scarborough, ME | Killswitch Engage signed autographs at 4pm |
The Decemberists | Live Performance on January 30, 2011[24] | Scarborough, ME | The Decemberists released a live EP of their performance in March 2011.[32] |
Mumford & Sons | Live Performance on August 3, 2012 | Scarborough, ME | Mumford & Sons released a live EP of their performance in April 2013[33] |
Imagine Dragons | Live Performance on September 10, 2012[34] | Scarborough, ME | |
John Densmore (of The Doors) | Autograph Signing on April 20, 2013[35] | Scarborough, ME | This was a launch for Densmore's book, The Doors: Unhinged[36] and also an event to promote Record Store Day.[37] |
Mike Mills of R.E.M. | Autograph Signing on April 19, 2014[38] | Scarborough, ME | This was an autograph signing to promote Record Store Day. |
Seether | Autograph Signing on May 9, 2014[39] | Bangor, ME | |
Against Me! | Autograph Signing on July 27, 2014[40] | Scarborough, ME | |
The String Cheese Incident | Live Performance on November 4, 2014[41] | Scarborough, ME | |
Grace Potter | Autograph Signing on August 19, 2015[42] | Scarborough, ME | |
Wilco | Live Performance on January 27, 2016[26] | Scarborough, ME | |
Graham Nash | Live Performance on April 16, 2016[43] | Scarborough, ME | This was a concert to promote Record Store Day. |
Gov't Mule | Live Performance on August 20, 2016[44] | Scarborough, ME | |
All Time Low | Autograph Signing on September 3, 2016[45] | Bangor, ME | Bull Moose released a limited run free poster for people who attended this event.[45] |
Fozzy | Autograph Signing on April 7, 2018 | Portland, ME |
References
- "In his new company, Bull Moose's Brett Wickard uses statistics to infer customer buying patterns". Mainebiz. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- "Bull Moose. Store Locations And Hours". www.bullmoose.com. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- "With a Little Help from His Friends - Bowdoin Magazine". www.bowdoin.edu. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- "Search Corporate Names". icrs.informe.org. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- "Here's the email thread that launched Record Store Day 10 years ago - News - Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- TEGNA. "2016 trends in entertainment with Chris and Brett from Bull Moose". WCSH. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- TEGNA. "New movies and music with Bull Moose - 082916". WCSH. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- "This Small Media Store Chain Has a Big Data Edge". Bloomberg.com. 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- "Bull Moose defies the music odds". 10Best. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Bull Moose bucks trend in age of Internet commerce". Press Herald. 2013-05-20. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- Writer, Edward D. MurphyStaff (2013-05-27). "Bull Moose is a place to hang out and find cool stuff - Portland Press Herald". Press Herald. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- "Portland, Maine Record Store Review II – Bull Moose Music". For the Record - South Jersey. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Partnership with Bank of Maine puts focus on Gardiner's downtown". Mainebiz. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "The Supportive Nature of a Local Music Scene | Carpe Diem Online". carpediemonline.org. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Department of Record Stores". deptofrecordstores.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- Dow, Mike. "Just take those new records off the shelf". Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "RECORD STORE DAY - Home". www.recordstoreday.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Record Store Day 2017: Exclusive Releases Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "RECORD STORE DAY - Stores". www.recordstoreday.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- Diaz, Jesus. "Nobody can survive walking barefoot on the diabolical Lego Firewalk". Gizmodo. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "LEGO 'fire walk' photo from South Portland's Bull Moose goes viral - mainetoday". mainetoday. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Could You Survive the Bullmoose 'Lego® Walk of Fire'?". Q97.9. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- Elias, Alyssa (2014-06-20). "'LEGO Firewalk' picture from Bull Moose goes viral". WMTW. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Decemberists Played Bull Moose [1.30.11] « Hilly Town: The Portland Maine Music Blog". hillytown.com. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Mumford & Sons perform, plan to eat lobster". Press Herald. 2012-08-03. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Wilco treats fans to an in-store concert at Bull Moose". Press Herald. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Dresden Dolls In-Store SHOW - Sheri Hausey Pix". sherihausey.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Regina Spektor - Live At Bull Moose". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- Thoits, Erica (2006-07-19). "'24' star visits Scarborough - Keep Me Current". Keep Me Current. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls) « Hilly Town: The Portland Maine Music Blog". hillytown.com. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "A Portland dream spins worldwide". The Forecaster. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "The Decemberists | News 3.7.11 | The Decemberists". www.decemberists.com. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- www.girafficthemes.com, Giraffic Themes |. "Mumford & Sons: Live from Bull Moose Recorded... |". mumfordandsonsblog.tumblr.com. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Watch: Remember That Time Imagine Dragons Played For About 100 People in Scarborough". 94.3 WCYY. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Bull Moose, others, plan statewide celebrations for sixth annual Record Store Day". Culture Shock. 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- Cheerleading cop goes viral at a high school football game, retrieved 2017-09-21
- "The Doors' John Densmore at Bull Moose - mainetoday". mainetoday. 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- "R.E.M. bassist to celebrate Record Store Day at Bull Moose in Scarborough". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Seether Promotes Rise Above Fest at Bullmoose". Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- PR. "Against Me! to visit Bull Moose in Scarborough for in-store signing". Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "See The String Cheese Incident at Bull Moose in Scarborough, ME (Acoustic Performance) Friday, NOV 14th at 5pm". Loud And Proud Records. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "Meet and greet Grace Potter at Scarborough Bull Moose on Aug. 19! - mainetoday". mainetoday. 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Record Store Day brings Graham Nash to the Scarborough Bull Moose store Saturday for autograph signing - mainetoday". mainetoday. 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
- "Warren Haynes & Matt Abts Play Rare Acoustic Set In Maine". JamBase. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
- "'All Time Low' In Store Signing This Saturday At Bull Moose [VIDEO]". Z 107.3. Retrieved 2017-09-20.