| Bull Moose (Retail) | |
| Logo Alt: | Bull Moose Logo |
| Former Name: | Bull Moose Music |
| Industry: | Retail |
| Key People: | Shawn Nichols (President)Chris Brown (VP of Finance)Manny Archibald (VP of Admin) |
| Products: | Physical media for music, movies, video games, and books |
| Founded: | 1989 |
| Founder: | Brett Wickard (Board Chair) |
| Hq Location: | Portland, Maine |
| Locations: | 11 |
Bull Moose is an independent retailer and record store chain based in Portland, Maine, USA. The chain has operated since 1989[1] and has eight locations in Maine and three in New Hampshire.[2]
Bull Moose 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. 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.
They were covered by Bloomberg[6] for using predictive algorithms to drive media sales.
On January 4, 2022, it was announced that Bull Moose would be sold to its 140 employees. Founder Brett Wickard will stay on as interim CEO and chair of the board during the transition.[7] In January 2022, Bull Moose became 100% employee-owned and created an employee stock ownership plan for its over 170 employees across 11 stores.[8]
In May 2022, Bull Moose named Shawn Nichols as its new President and CEO, with Wickard remaining on as Chairman[9]
In December 2022 it was announced that the Bull Moose Sanford location would be closing and that a new location would be opened in Biddeford, Maine. The new store is scheduled to open in early 2023. Bull Moose had previously occupied the Sanford location for 25 years.[10]
In 2007, when Brown was head of Bull Moose marketing, an email chain with Michael Kurtz, head of the Department of Record Stores,[11] sparked the idea for Record Store Day.[12] Each year the co-founders at the Department of Record Stores collaborate with multiple artists for exclusive releases made especially for Record Store Day.[13] The releases for 2017 included works from David Bowie, Prince, St. Vincent, and more.[14] The Department of Record Stores keeps a list of participating independent record stores.[15]
The Bull Moose Facebook account posted an image of a LEGO Fire Walk[16] they created at the South Portland, ME based store to promote sales of The LEGO Movie on June 19, 2014.[17] It was shared by famous Star Trek actor George Takei, and subsequently went viral. It was also covered by local[18] news.[19]
Bull Moose is locally known for their in-store music events with musicians like The Decemberists,[20] Mumford and Sons,[21] and Wilco.[22]
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[23] | Scarborough, ME | ||
| Regina Spektor | Live Performance on June 5, 2005[24] | Scarborough, ME | Spektor released a live EP of her performance in August 2005. | |
| 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[25] | Scarborough, ME | Kiefer Sutherland attended to promote Deluca. | |
| Amanda Palmer (of The Dresden Dolls) | Autograph Signing on September 17, 2008[26] | Portland, ME | ||
| Disturbed | Autograph Signing on April 18, 2009[27] | Portland, ME | ||
| Ani DiFranco | Live Performance on April 17, 2009 | Scarborough, ME | Ani DiFranco performed at 1pm. A live album, "Ani DiFranco/Live at Bull Moose 4-17-2009" was later self-released through DiFranco's Righteous Babe Records. | |
| Killswitch Engage | Autograph Signing on April 17, 2009 | Scarborough, ME | Killswitch Engage signed autographs at 4pm | |
| The Decemberists | Live Performance on January 30, 2011 | Scarborough, ME | The Decemberists released a live EP of their performance in March 2011.[28] | |
| Mumford & Sons | Live Performance on August 3, 2012 | Scarborough, ME | Mumford & Sons released a live EP of their performance in April 2013[29] | |
| Imagine Dragons | Live Performance on September 10, 2012[30] | Scarborough, ME | ||
| John Densmore (of The Doors) | Autograph Signing on April 20, 2013[31] | Scarborough, ME | This was a launch for Densmore's book, The Doors: Unhinged and also an event to promote Record Store Day.[32] | |
| Mike Mills of R.E.M. | Autograph Signing on April 19, 2014[33] | Scarborough, ME | This was an autograph signing to promote Record Store Day. | |
| Seether | Autograph Signing on May 9, 2014[34] | Bangor, ME | ||
| Against Me! | Autograph Signing on July 27, 2014[35] | Scarborough, ME | ||
| The String Cheese Incident | Live Performance on November 4, 2014[36] | Scarborough, ME | ||
| Grace Potter | Autograph Signing on August 19, 2015[37] | Scarborough, ME | ||
| Wilco | Live Performance on January 27, 2016 | Scarborough, ME | ||
| Graham Nash | Live Performance on April 16, 2016[38] | Scarborough, ME | This was a concert to promote Record Store Day. | |
| Gov't Mule | Live Performance on August 20, 2016[39] | Scarborough, ME | ||
| All Time Low | Autograph Signing on September 3, 2016[40] | Bangor, ME | Bull Moose released a limited run free poster for people who attended this event. | |
| Fozzy | Autograph Signing on April 7, 2018 | Portland, ME |