Record Store Day is dead

Well said.

 

I spent more yesterday than I did in April...

I bought 4 single LPs at $17, $19, $21 and $29. The only overpriced one imo was at $29 but I didn't have to buy it. I got 2 double LPs at $21.50 and $29.50. I agree that the 7" prices are mostly stupid and I wouldn't buy them but for LPs I don't think that is bad at all.

 

Good idea turned gimmicky and subsequently beaten like the dead horse it now is...sort of like Black Friday itself in general

 

I was impressed by my self-control yesterday. I saw the Big Star 10", got really exited, looked at the $25 price tag, checked out the track list, thought to myself "Am I really going to listen to this thing again after today?", then put it back on the rack. It felt like a breakthrough.

I was very happy to score the Buzzcocks, Zappa, and the store's only copy of Ween's The Pod: all stuff I would have actually bought without any RSD hoopla.

 

I've found that I can usually find whatever I want from RSD online within a week, so why stand in long lines?

 

I did the same thing with that one and a few others. It did feel good to walk away. Bought some Texas Roadhouse gift certificates for family instead.

 

Working yesterday put me close to my local, so I swung in around 11am. Maybe about 7 people there, no one going through the Black Friday titles. I picked up the Beck, and then put it back... Too expensive. Nothing else interested me...

I left with the Jonathan Wilson Slide by 12" EP from last year. It was in the RSD past sale bin for $10.

 

Well...whatever YOU wanted was usually available -- and that's awesome for you -- but some titles are extremely limited, and I suspect that many of those waiting don't want to trust that things are "usually available".

 

Thanks, it IS awesome for me. Thanks for noticing.

 

Didn't bother getting it? The Black Friday releases were what they usually are, just releases coming out that day, mostly reissues and very few of the "collectible" types of titles. Sounds to me like he has a bad reputation with his distro to me. There were certainly titles that are going to be decent sellers over the next few months. I find it amusing that stores that don't participate always say they aren't "bothering," while the stores that do bother have people lining up to get inside.

 

What Shoes album came out? I thought Numero reissued them all already. The ones I got are really nice, but they were much less than that.

 

There were a number of cool releases this BF/RSD - the only one I bought wasn't even vinyl - the new Jaco Pastorious documentary on DVD! Didn't see crazy crowds where I went, but it was unseasonably warm in my area yesterday. Plus, I wasn't getting up at 5am - went out later. I certainly hope the vinyl revival is only getting started. I just released my own group's album on vinyl this past week!
---------- Chris

 

You're welcome! However, not everyone has your truly amazing luck. Last year I decided to sleep in for once and avoid standing in line for RSD -- I figured stuff is "usually available" afterward. I managed to grab almost everything I wanted by going to my local stores in the few days that followed, but I missed out on Devo Live At Max's Kansas City, one of the titles I really wanted. Since day one, the only copies available anywhere have been on eBay at ridiculous markups (current Buy It Now options are $113 and $125). I'd gladly have paid $30 and a couple of hours in line for it -- but I won't pay those prices.

 

Wow, and I thought my store had Big Star priced on the high side at $19.99.

Still bought it, though. They're one of those bands I'd buy virtually anything by. And yeah, I'll listen to this one from time to time.

 

It's always been my experience that Black Friday Record Store Day and regular Record Store Day in April are two entirely different animals.

I've tended to notice that BFRSD releases, what there are of them, are often plentiful, and rarely sell out. I've never had to rush out to get what I might be looking. So plentiful, in fact, that some of them I've purchased months after they were released, and usually at clearance pricing. Granted, not all of them, but the greater percentage of them. Black Friday is also a "shopping extravaganza" that many people tend to avoid. For all the people rushing out in the wee hours of the AM, and throughout the day in hopes of scoring deals, there are those who would equally not bother dealing with those folks. Plus, it's all about scouring deals and getting things on the cheap - not exclusive, higher priced items that are not a part of that.

The same cannot be said about RSD in April, which is much more of an event unto itself. There are also five to ten times the amount of exclusive releases. You can't gauge the seeming failure of one by the success of the other.

 

Vinyl continues to get more mainstream again, so perhaps RSD will mean less. From the record company point of view, it's probably a way to do limited edition pressings, and then get most of them sold retail without worrying about remainders or overstock eating into projected profit. Kind of a different business model compared to the old days, perhaps. Still, a majority of the stuff is usually available for awhile after the day, too. By the way, CD Cellar in Falls Church is my go-to store in the area too. Wonder where they are going to land?

 

Hopefully vinyl prices, particularly that of new 7" and audiophile releases begin to reflect than instead of the extortionate prices we see right now.

 

This one was in my local record store, I think it was selling for $26.99.
They only had one copy. I didn't really need it since I have a few of the original albums from the shoes.

 

You can get them for half that on Discogs. More than 30 but if you're willing to spend three hours in line, then it would seem worth it to me.

 

Thanks! I forgot about that. Alive Naturalsound still has some if you want to get it from the label. If what they've done in the past is any indication, Alive will rerelease it in ten different color combinations and black with a download code.

 

But he's right though. The Friday after thankgiving is the traditional start of the holiday season. Black Friday was invented to boost internet sales on this day. RSD Black Friday appears to be an oxymoron, unless they are attempting to mimic brick and mortar stores and reclaim the day after thanksgiving for themselves.

 

This exactly.

I've seen a lot of posts here about the poor turnouts yesterday etc and in my experience, RSD Black Friday has never been half as popular as Record Store Day in April. To me, it's just a bonus. And if they don't have it next year, that's okay-as long as the regular RSD happens-and I think it is still as popular as ever.

Just seems like some people here are under the impression that yesterday was THE record store day.

 

But wasn't Black Friday around before internet shopping was really a thing? Maybe I'm wrong!

 

I thought it was a very recent event. Never heard of it when I lived in the US ten years ago.

 

No it's wishful thinking for them that this is going to signal the collapse of RSD as a whole.