Hello, friends!
Long time no type. I do apologise for my absence these last few weeks, for exam season is looming, college is slowly killing me off, and life is busy. That being said, happy Record Store Day!
If you aren’t familiar, Record Store Day is an annual event that typically takes place in April, all around the world. Artists often release exclusive material, typically singles, that cannot be found anywhere else. 2018 marks the eleventh anniversary of RSD, after Metallica took stage at Rasputin Music, California, in 2007 as a way of marking their support for the movement. Originating in the United States, the traditionally quickly spread internationally, and is growing every year. According to the official Record Store day site, there are ‘participating stores on every continent except Antarctica‘. Pretty impressive if you ask me.
So, what’s the big deal? Well, the vinyl industry may well seem to be thriving through all the posts you see on Instagram, but the truth is, it took a hell of a long time to get back to where we are. Vinyls made up 14% of US industry sales in 2017, with approximately 14,320,000 LPs being purchased. There has been a 211.3% increase since the US sale of 4,600,000 LPs in 2012, indicating the vast scale of the vinyl resurrection. In 2007, the first year of RSD, the US sold just 988,000 records. So, since the 2007 birth of Record Store Day, the US has seen a 1349.3% increase in vinyl sales (-2017). RSD cannot be held entirely accountable for this, as there will be other influential factors, such as the popularity of the aesthetic that vinyls provide, previous collectors reviving their hobbies, or even just the fact that pop artists now issue LPs, something that would have been less common even just 10 years ago.
In January 2013, the British high-street music store HMV collapsed into administration, forcing the closure of many stores as they slowly disappeared from towns and cities. Founded in London in 1921, HMV was embedded into British culture, and is arguably the most well-known music chain in the UK to this day. Thankfully, they were rescued from total collapse by restructuring firm Hilco, and His Master’s Voice lives on, just with a smaller number of stores. The reason I state this is because if a company as large as HMV can suffer from the impact of downloads on the industry, then how are independent record stores expected to cope? Record Store Day brings together music fans in a plethora of ways, including staff at independent stores, who also get a chance to celebrate the music that has been gifted to us in promoting what they love.
So, if you aren’t already on your way to your local record store, what are you waiting for? If the contribution to a wonderful industry isn’t enough to tempt you, you can find all of the participating artists here. Or, if you don’t know where your closest participating store is, you can find out here!
Happy shopping everybody! Make sure to tweet me your purchases! I’ve got my eye on the Fleet Foxes and Phoenix releases.
In a bit lads,
Lucy x
Just Your Average Music Blog 