Blog: Is Record Store Day still working?
Ah, Record Store Day. Christmas for vinyl junkies. We are dragged from our pits by the god-like temptation of limited edition records and stand in the freezing cold for hours on end.
The day is brilliant. The excitement, the new music and the feeling of getting your hands on what you’ve been after.
But is Record Store Day still working?
Undoubtedly, the feeling when you’ve queued since 6am to get your hands on those prized items on your list is second to none.
If you’re like me, to get this far you’ve already spent hours online trawling through a list, mostly infiltrated with nonsense releases from irrelevant bands.
When bands like Aha (yep) are releasing picture discs in 2015 (…yep,) it kind of makes you wonder whether it’s still working. Are these records really worth it or is it filling space for the sake of it?
Yet – to even stand a chance of getting one of the more limited releases you have to be outside the store before the sun rises.
And this doesn’t make it as accessible for everyone as it should be.
Pricing
Record Store Day is ultimately the best day of trade for every high street record store and with the limited runs of records comes slightly inflated prices – which to be fair, is expected. After all, the stores have to make a profit to keep going.
But at what point does charging £13 for two tracks on a 7” record become acceptable?
Yes, it’s limited, but on any other day a two track 7” single would cost around £4.
There will always be supplier costs to take in to account, but when you see one store charging £6.99 and another charging £13 for exactly the same thing, then questions really must be asked.
It’s time a set price for RSD was implemented, not a recommended price.
Genuine music fans are being priced out of the day altogether and are not visiting their independent store, which contradicts the point of the day completely.
Similarly, stores are also being priced out of the day.
Some can’t order new releases in for a month beforehand just to make sure they can afford the stock, and others miss out on the day’s trade completely as they can’t foot the upfront bill. This week I spoke to two store owners in Birmingham who couldn’t afford it this year.
How are people supposed to support their independent stores if the stores can’t afford to get the stock in?
All independent record stores should be involved in the day. That’s the ethos. That’s the point of the bloody day itself. Give them a hand.
Community
Whatever your thoughts on the day, the one thing Record Store Day certainly does do is bring people together.
Musical communities become united and new favourite bands are discovered from those who happen to be browsing while an instore performance takes place.
Take today for example. God Damn and Baby Godzilla played outside Left For Dead Records in the Custard Factory in Digbeth to a very busy crowd. It was brilliant, and all for free.
God Damn are one of my favourites, but I had never listened to Baby Godzilla before today. I walked away with a copy of their RSD split release with God Damn and will be checking them out again as soon as I can.
And for me, that’s what it’s all about. A great afternoon of live music after browsing an independent store or two.
As a side-note, if you can afford it, visit a local independent who couldn’t afford to take part in the day this year. They still have an abundance of stock for your perusal and at the minute they’ll need your help more than ever.
Founding editor of Counteract. Freelance travel and music journalist.