Canberra, AU | Record Store Day means different things to different shops and customers: Record Store Day is not what it used to be. Some would describe it as bigger and better than ever, while others would say it’s been hijacked by corporate interests to the detriment of vendors and buyers alike. Whatever your take on the calendar’s big annual event for vinyl lovers, there will be no missing the long queues and busy counters at record stores across the country – Canberra included – on Saturday, 22 April. Landspeed Records, the capital’s largest store, always attracts a huge crowd on Record Store Day, with this year expected to be just as popular. The line-up of eager buyers starts way before the store opens, all competing for the treasures to be found inside. Landspeed promises “a large selection of limited edition RSD releases”, but you have to be there in person as “there are no pre-sales or holds available on RSD releases, they are sold on a strictly first come first served basis on the day.
Isle of Wight, UK | Get ready for Record Store Day at Ventnor Exchange: Free live music, rare vinyl releases and more. Ventnor Exchange celebrates its ninth annual Record Store Day next Saturday, featuring rare vinyl releases, live music, a book signing and a quiz night. Keeping with tradition of the last nine years Ventnor Exchange will open its doors early on Saturday 22nd April to host music lovers from far and wide. Ventnor Exchange is the original official RSD outlet on the Isle of Wight, and have been enthusiastic participants of the event ever since the store opened in 2014. This worldwide phenomenon has been one the driving forces behind the vinyl revival that started in 2007. As ever, there will of course be all the exciting special vinyl releases, the return of a full lineup of music including some of the young DJs from Brave Island hitting the decks with Ed Eldridge to show off their skills they have been honing.
Minneapolis, MN | Electric Fetus Beats on for 55th Year: Welcome to Electric Fetus—as important and enduring a Minneapolis landmark as the Stone Arch Bridge or Minnehaha Falls but with way more good vibes. Walking into Electric Fetus is a visceral experience. Incense greets you at the door and settles into your hair and clothes, while the creak of the store’s wood floorboards and the gentle clicking of staff and customers sorting through CDs provide accompaniment to the music playing overhead. “We don’t sell music; we sell experiences,” one of the Fetus’s co-owners, Aaron Meyerring, tells me on a wintry Wednesday. It’s a sales pitch, of course, but by the end of my day there, I begin to believe it. When I reflect on the many, many memories I have of this special place, from the in-store performances I’ve attended to the formative years I spent working behind the record counter, what I treasure most isn’t the armloads of LPs I’ve added to my collection or the many last-minute birthday presents I’ve nabbed from the gift department. Nah. It’s the experiences. Damn, Aaron got it right.
Lancashire, UK | East Lancs record shops getting ready for Record Store Day: East Lancashire’s independent record shops are bracing themselves for one of the busiest days of the year. Townsend Records based in Clitheroe and Great Harwood, is taking part in Record Store Day next Saturday – a national event which sees music lovers from all over the country trying to get their hands on some of the exclusive vinyl releases. Some of the most sought-after releases of the 400 or so items this year include Taylor Swift’s Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions; a boxset of David Bowie singles from the Sixties; a 10-inch boxset of John Lennon tracks and a 50th anniversary release of Paul McCartney and Wings’ Red Rose Speedway album. Paul McGowan, manager of Townsend Records in Clitheroe said: “Record Store Day is always special. It’s a day which many music lovers and record collectors mark on the calendar and this year there are a wide variety of releases. “We will have people queueing from the early hours to be among the first in line when we open at 8am next Saturday to have a chance of getting their hands on that one release they really want.
UK | The record store’s key role in amplifying my love of music: This year’s Record Store Day takes place this Saturday – 15 years since the first ever such event, and now a major global annual occasion that organisers say sees stores participate on every continent except Antarctica. News of the forthcoming day, in which several independent Scottish outlets are taking place, has sent me on a nostalgic whirlwind back to the start of my own love of music, where by crossing the threshold of somewhere selling tunes and related paraphernalia I was entering a world of fandom I would never leave. That, combined with a recent story I did about a music-focused tech start-up looking to merge the convenience of streaming and fan-friendly rare, collectible assets like images of hand-written song lyrics, has made me realise how different it is for youngsters now looking to find out and then listen to their favourite artists. Anyone who grew up with the internet will be horrified by how little we had access to, music-wise, 30 years ago compared to now – the late, great pop music Bible that was the magazine Smash Hits, TV show Top of The Pops, and the radio being my main ways of discovering bands.
Burbage, UK | New vinyl shop being opened by musician friend of Nervous Records owner: ‘I thought it was a good opportunity to continue the great work that he did.’ A Hinckley musician is preparing to open a new vinyl record shop in Burbage, which he hopes will continue the legacy of his friend, Nervous Records owner Gordon Hayes, who died in January this year. Vinyl Shakedown Records is being launched by singer, former DJ and avid record collector Grant Decker. Grant, who lives in the town with his young family, fondly remembers his time spent with Gordon, who opened Nervous Records in Hinckley’s The Lawns in 1978, and became a beloved figure in the town. “He was a great friend. I’d known him for ten years,” Grant told LeicestershireLive. “I lived at the back of the shop and we always used to chat in the garden and talk about music and I was in the shop every weekend spending a fortune. With him passing, it’s really sad to think that his legacy won’t live on. “He did so much for music in Hinckley and around the Midlands. People travelled for hundreds of miles just to go to his shop. I can only imagine that he would want a record shop to continue in our area.
Missoula, MT | Show your love for Missoula record stores on Record Store Day: At a time when vinyl is having a revival, it’s an especially good time to live in Missoula, Montana. With three independent record stores, there’s nearly no reason to buy vinyl online. That is unless you’re determined to find new releases. And even in that case, you’re going to want to visit Missoula record stores this month where you’ll have the opportunity to buy tons of vinyl, whether it’s new or special releases. Since 2007, record store day has been an opportunity to celebrate independent record stores. Now, it has transcended to a celebration of music culture. Ear Candy Music, Rocking Rudy’s Record Heaven, and Slant Street Records all offer a different “groove” of music culture (pardon the pun), but each is dedicated to Missoula and Missoula’s love of music. This year, you’ll find each store is approaching Record Store Day slightly differently. Here’s what’s in store for Record Store Day in Missoula.
Lincolnshire, UK | Vinyl at their most popular for decades in Lincolnshire as revival continues: Listeners turning to vinyl over ‘soulless’ downloads. Record Store Day is fast approaching, and here in Lincolnshire the Vinyl Revival is going strong. A musical revolution is seeing tastes go full circle, back towards physical copies of records. 2022 was the first year in over three decades that saw vinyl sales eclipse CD sales in the United Kingdom, with figures finding that sales of vinyl records have increased year-on-year since 2007. The Vinyl Revival has come at a time when physical sales of music are more difficult than ever, due to the juggernaut streaming services offering such a wide range of music at your fingertips. However, the strive for sentiment and a physical item to own has seen more people revert back to vinyl records, as well as adding the music to their Spotify or Apple Music playlists. This is no more apparent than at the Lincoln Record Fair, organised by AA Record Fairs, which brings some 500 music connoisseurs to the Engine Shed for a day of browsing their favourite records.
UK | Lana Del Rey has best-selling vinyl album of 2023 so far: Lana Del Rey has the best-selling vinyl album of 2023 so far, the Official Charts Company has said. Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd has already earned the 37-year-old American singer a sixth number one record in the UK charts and the fastest-selling LP to date this year. She also last month became the female solo artist with the fifth-most number one albums, after Madonna on 12, Taylor Swift on nine, Kylie Minogue with eight and Barbra Streisand with seven. Rey’s ninth studio album follows her other chart-toppers including 2012’s Born To Die, 2014’s Ultraviolence, 2017’s Lust for Life, 2019’s Norman F****** Rockwell! and 2021’s Chemtrails Over The Country Club. Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd has sold 20,800 copies on vinyl so far this year. Coming in at number two in this year’s vinyl charts is Gorillaz’s Cracker Island – the virtual band’s first number one album in 17 years.
