Record Store Day offers a sign of hope for businesses working on their pandemic rebound: Of all the aspects of normality Americans missed throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, physical touch has been a common theme. The touch associated with browsing at a record store is no exception — clicking a download button can’t match the feeling of walking into a shop with other music fans, flipping through album covers and holding a new disc. Vinyl may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the impacts of the pandemic, but for some business owners, it’s everything. This Saturday, the second of two Record Store Days being held this year, offers a sign of hope for independent businesses trying to recover from some of the darkest days they have seen. …Record Store Day is a global event to “celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1,400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally,” according to organizers.
Columbia, SC | National Record Store Day showcases independent shops, hometown bands: Midlands participants say events like these show how record stores are an integral part of a community’s culture and art scene. July 17 marks National Record Store Day. Record stores across the country celebrated the day with live performances and by selling limited-edition and rare vinyl records. “The reason why the event was created, it was really as a way to showcase not only just the music we all love as a culture, but it was also a way to focus on independent record stores,” said Eric Woodard, owner of Scratch N’ Spin Records in West Columbia. “As technology has progressed and there are so many digital options for people, they created Record Store Day as a way to celebrate physical media. In other words, actual vinyl records, CD’s , tapes, that kind of thing.” In order to get a first pick of the exclusive National Record Store Day vinyls, residents formed a line out the door of Scratch N’ Spin Saturday morning before the store opened.
Lincoln, NE | Vinyl lovers line up for Record Store Day in Lincoln: It’s a day to celebrate all things records and vinyl. Local businesses have struggled through the pandemic, and locally owned and operated record stores across the country are no different. Still, the vinyl fans line up to celebrate World Record Day. At Lefty’s Records on 27th and South in Lincoln, the line was formed just shortly after the sun came up. This is a day record fans celebrate the unique culture of record stores and the music they love. World Record Day started in 2007 and has now spread to just about every continent.
Richmond, VA | Record Store Day brings lines of customers to local shops: ‘Music means so much to people’ The 14th annual Record Store Day was celebrated in music shops across the country on Saturday for music lovers to come and grab limited edition vinyl records to support their local stores. Record stores like Plan 9 Records had a line out the door before opening, and owner Jim Bland said that’s completely normal. “We had about 60 or so people in line,” Bland said. “More people were coming. We still pace it, people run around the store and grab their stuff. We were done in about an hour and a half.” Bland just celebrated Plan 9’s 40th anniversary this past week, and he said there is nothing like putting the needle of a record player on new vinyl. “I can’t believe it. You just get so immersed in what you do, you don’t realize that it has been another decade,” Bland said. “In celebration of Record Store Day, the music communities and record collecting, you really realize just what records mean to so many people.”
Dickson, PA | Celebrating record store day: Folks line up to get that rare vinyl they need for their collection. It’s true what they say, everything comes back around and that’s true in more than one way when it comes to the vinyl record. Saturday is Record Store Day across the nation. Gallery of Sound in Dickson City was one of 13-hundred stores in the country that participated with big sales for vinyl-loving customers. People were lined up outside the place before it opened Saturday morning. Customers we spoke to compared Record Store Day to Christmas: a chance to track down the rare record missing from their collections. “Not only is record day really important to all of us music heads from way back. It’s very important to go out and vote with your dollar and show your support of local businesses, make sure that these don’t disappear because you sat home and didn’t participate,” said Mike Frandy of Lord’s Valley.
Jackson, TN | Local music store celebrates second record store day: For the second time this year, a local music store celebrated Record Store Day. Third Eye Curiosities was filled with music for the day and about six bands from West Tennessee played at the store. The store’s goal is to host as many local bands as possible. They are always looking for new songwriters and their hope is also to keep vinyl records alive. “We just like to celebrate the medium of vinyl and keep real tangible music and art alive. That’s what we pride ourselves on, keeping art alive,” said Hunter Cross, singer, songwriter and business owner.
UK | HMV say they “would love to be involved” in Record Store Day: HMV have stated their interest in being involved in Record Store Day celebrations in the UK. The chain of record stores, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, have yet to be involved in the UK’s annual celebration of independent record stores, though they do take part in a similar celebration in Canada. “As an independently owned chain of stores, we would love to play a part in Record Store Day in the UK,” HMV owner Doug Putman told Music Week in a new feature celebrating 100 years in the business. HMV’s Managing Director Phil Halliday added: “There are plenty of areas in the UK where our participation in Record Store Day would be advantageous to those people, because we’ve got stores in a lot of places where there aren’t independent shops. “I think it would be great for the [music] fan if we were part of Record Store Day. The Canadian stores participate and it is something that we would like to do.
Johnstown, PA | H. Wonder Coffee and Records picking up good vibes downtown: While music is widely consumed with a click of a button, it’s done differently at H. Wonder Coffee and Records in Johnstown. First, the musicians will make you a cup of coffee or a smoothie bowl with fresh fruit, give you a place to sit and look at some local art and converse with friends. And at H. Wonder, local music available for purchase is on cassette. When vinyl supply catches up from COVID-19, records will be available at the shop too, owners said. H. Wonder is an independent record label and artist collective in Johnstown selling music in person at a coffee shop. Their aim is to counter the digital streaming habits of society. H. Wonder Coffee and Records was opened last month by folk musicians Madison Major, 22, of Savannah, Georgia, and Jack Follansbee, 27, of Johnstown. The pair met in Brooklyn, New York, where they studied music and philosophy. Seeing a resurgence of arts in Johnstown, they decided to move last year and make a home for themselves and their label.
Newark, DE | Playing in tune: Newark’s record stores foster collaboration, not competition: Newark has become a regional destination for record collectors, with three record stores, all near Main Street within a mile of each other, offering the perfect place for crate diggers to find a rare vinyl they’ve sought after. Wonderland Records, Rainbow Records and Long Play Cafe will each be celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday differently showing their own unique niche. July 17 is the second Record Store Day this year, with the first being celebrated on June 12. Both drops feature new vinyl pressings and reissues. “People will travel 100 miles to go to a town with three record stores,” said Demitri Theodoropoulos, owner of Wonderland Records. The three stores offer different shopping experiences and selection. Long Play Cafe has coffee and some light food items and specializes in popular music. Rainbow has its own custom-made flannels designed by Melissa Forsythe and other shirts along with an expansive selection of rare and independent music. Wonderland provides a recording studio for up-and-coming bands, along with a smoke shop to accompany a selection focusing on jazz and R&B vinyl.
Pressing issues: vinyl revival held back by production capacity, Brexit and more: The second Record Store Day (RSD) of 2021 arrives on Saturday, following an event on 12 June. A multitude of special-edition records will be divided up between some 200 independent shops in the UK, and the event will drive much-needed revenue after more than a year of no live music and frequently shuttered shops. There is, however, an accelerating crisis behind the scenes. The BPI in the UK reported 4.8m LP sales in 2020, the format’s 13th consecutive year of growth, but the “vinyl revival” of recent years is now under threat. Vinyl pressing plants are struggling to meet demand, and well-funded labels are trying to jump the queue. There is a global PVC shortage, and Brexit brings its own problems. Jeff Bell of Partisan Records – home to Idles, Laura Marling and Fontaines DC – describes the scale of the problem: “The demand for vinyl globally is between two and three times what supply can keep up with.”
