Rapture Records

"He pays the rent for my 'darling little shop.' Which just happens to have everything Mr. Cohen here ever recorded. And some other people too&mdash;Sinatra, Billie Holiday"

- Silas Cobb

Rapture Records was a record company and record label with stores located throughout Rapture. The most well-known branch was owned by Silas Cobb in Poseidon Plaza within Fort Frolic. Another was located on High Street. The establishment was a subsidiary of Sonorous Inc.

BioShock: Rapture (Novel)
Several other artists are mentioned off-hand in the book.

BioShock
Much like the rest of Rapture, the Rapture Records store has fallen into disrepair by the time Jack sees it during the events of BioShock. The sign is crooked and flickering, and all the lights inside have gone out, making the only illumination that of the numerous fires throughout the store. Like most of Rapture, this section also shows signs of dangerous leaking.

Silas Cobb is a music devotee and one of Sander Cohen's disciples that must be killed and photographed to complete Cohen's "Quadtych". Cobb can be found in the record store, which has been rigged as a trap for the player.

Audio Diary

 * Anna Culpepper - Ryan's Stableboy - located behind the counter on the top level of Rapture Records.

Challenge Rooms
In the downloadable content, Challenge Rooms, Rapture Records is one of several stores operating out of Rapture's Grand Carnival during A Shocking Turn of Events. After the player picks up the Static Discharge Tonic, a Breadwinner Thuggish Splicer will hit the light switch (the only one ever seen in Rapture) for the shop's marquee and emerge from the store.

One cannot really investigate the place since, with the exception of the front entrance way, the inside of the store is shuttered by a security gate. It's too dark to see much of anything inside, but there is Coffee, a hypo of EVE, and a crate with the invention component Glue near the front.

There's Something in the Sea
In the storyline of the viral website There's Something in the Sea, Mark Meltzer came into possession of a record containing the song "Rise, Rapture, Rise" with a message hidden at the end of the track. This record came in a sleeve printed with the Rapture Records logo. Also, many fans who sent mail to Meltzer's New York City post office box received a copy of the aforementioned record.

Burial at Sea - Episode 1
In the BioShock Infinite downloadable content, Burial at Sea - Episode 1, Rapture Records is one of many shops operating out of High Street. The store is large and has a sizable collection of records for sale, including Why Even Ask?, Ryan's Songbird and a Rapture Radio record. In addition to LP records, the store sells musical instruments such as a guitar, cello, and a grand piano as well as a phonograph. The facility also repairs instruments as indicated by the number of fiddles in the back.

The store is one of the sponsors for Sander Cohen's Garden of the Muses, and therefore the owner is provided with a unique bunny mask as identification to enter the club. Booker and Elizabeth must visit the shop to look for the mask.

Storekeeper Quotes

 * "Welcome. Welcome!"
 * "Sir. Ma'am."
 * "Look around -- please."
 * "Well, hello!"
 * "So nice that you've found us."

The phonograph will continue to play Lew White's "Little Pal" until Booker approaches the shopkeeper. Then Django Reinhart's and Stéphane Grappelli's "La Mer" will automatically cue up. Elizabeth will distract him with the following conversation while Booker searches the backroom.

(phonograph transitions to "La Mer") (after returning to the shop floor)
 * Booker: "You see that dish I walked in with? Well you give her the star treatment, pal. And I'll make it worth your while."
 * Shopkeeper: "Of course, right away."
 * Elizabeth: "(humming along to music) What is this piece?"
 * Shopkeeper: "It's by Trenet, of course, but covered by Mr. Reinhardt."
 * Elizabeth: "Oh, it's lovely. Isn't it lovely?"
 * Shopkeeper: "Oh! Yes."
 * Elizabeth: "Oh, music does something to me...especially something in this vein..."
 * Shopkeeper: "Yes."
 * Elizabeth: "It's almost primal, isn't it? A part of us that exists before thought, before logic -- purely sensual..."
 * Shopkeeper: "The finest music...touches us...in places--"
 * Elizabeth: "--That we never knew existed..."
 * Shopkeeper: "Yes..."
 * Elizabeth: "Can you turn it up?...Oh it's so intoxicating...but also powerful and masculine. Oh yes, one has the urge to surrender..."
 * Elizabeth: "I must go...I must go. Even one more note shall prove my undoing."

Behind the Scenes

 * A proto-version of the record store can be seen in the BioShock Developer Commentary. Noticeably the interior shows the uncharred textures of the record bins and flooring. The yellow sign that usually hangs behind the counter can be seen on the storefront.
 * When entering Rapture Records, Cobb shouts to the player "Tell the old crow his music cooks better than it sounds!" This explains why the store is charred and burned out when the player arrives.
 * The area in the rafters of the store where Silas Cobb's "kittens" appear, before attacking Jack, is covered with backwards "Ryan's Songbird" posters. This Easter egg left by the developers can only be seen by using console commands to disable clipping (on the Mac or PC).
 * The stack of records in the back of the room uses the same model as the other record collections, which stand upright with the frontmost jacket leaning on the others. As a result, the top record in the stack appears to be defying gravity.


 * In BioShock Infinite, upon first entering the Lutece Labs, Booker will find a gramophone playing a disc with the Rapture Records label. Later, a similar record can be found when Booker opens the door to the cells in Comstock House.
 * Conversely, in Burial at Sea - Episode 1, the record playing on the phonograph, as well as the ones in the display case, bear the "Albert Fink's Magical Melodies" label. It is not known if this is intentional.
 * The file CombinedStreaming_DLCB_LOC-pck-1394 in Burial at Sea - Episode 1 reveals an unused line of storekeeper dialog: "If you're looking for popular music, try Sal's store in Poseidon Plaza. He carries that kind of stuff."