A scheme in HMV in Workington is music to the ears of local bands who can play their live music in-store.  

The shop based in Workington town centre has been a very popular place to visit for music, movie, and video game fans alike for many a year now. 

It is part of a nationwide chain and stocks a wide range of products including vinyl, memorabilia, games, and DVDs. 

The shop also has an incredibly popular Live and Local event which it runs regularly in-store in order to help promote local artists and show off the talent of north and west Cumbria. 

Russ Withey, the Cumbria manager for HMV said: "We have local artists and musicians who get in touch with us about playing in-store or selling their album in-store if they've got something available. 

"We give them a chance to play their music in the store to a large crowd and just get their music out there, get it heard, and get people asking about them. 

Times and Star: Musicians perform in-store at Live and Local Musicians perform in-store at Live and Local (Image: Supplied)

"So what they have to do is artists can get in touch with us via any of our social media channels via Instagram or Facebook and just request the opportunity to play in-store. 

"We get in touch with them and sort out a day, we try to make it every Saturday and have a band playing at two o'clock in Workington each week. 

"The event is called HMV Live and Local and it is an incentive to give local musicians a chance to showcase their music in a music shop and get their name known. 

"We're stocking a lot of records at the moment but also a lot of pop culture products, this is all the sort of stuff that is linked to media and film. We sell Kenji products and Japanese products, all kinds of things that are relevant in merchandise."

The Live and Local events that the store hosts are company-wide that have been going on for a couple of years at every HMV in the country. 

Russ explains that the stores in Cumbria have been playing live music in the stores for around five years now. 

As part of the HMV 1921 Records #hmvOnWax they will nominate an act that performed in-store in the last three months. Voting from employees and the public will then decide on a winner. 

The winner will then be the next signing 1921 Records and have their vinyl pressed on wax.