Record Store Day - Thoughts on how it could be better?

I love Record Store Day! Nobody is going to rain on my parade BUT it sure looks like it's going to be a cold one! Enjoy!

 

I agree. I’d be a big fan if they did pre-orders. They can still make it where you have to go to store to pick it up.

 

Two of the stores we went to yesterday were hosting bands playing live inside the store. Granted, the recent weather here in MN is probably why they were inside instead of outside. The practical result of this is that you can't shop while the band is playing. People just stop and stand where they are and watch the band and block the aisles and the bins. I get the draw of having live music, but you pack a small store with shoppers and then prevent them from shopping. Doesn't seem to be a great business plan.

 

I am a huge fan of record stores. I plan trips around record stores. I frequent them often. All the local ones, I know the owners by name.

And yet, the one day I will not go to a record store is on Record Store Day. They have made it such that it has become Anti-Record Store Day for me.
It wasn't always this way. The first four or five record Store Days I was a willing participant.
That was until I realized that every RSD release that I wanted was NEVER to be found in a record store on Record Store Day.
Not once did I find what I was looking for, so why bother going.

Now I spend Record Store Day on eBay. Sad but true.

If the people who run Record Store Day want people to actually go to records stores on RSD, then they need to let customers order the releases through the record stores if they are not in stock.
How difficult is that?
They would probably sell more records, AND it would support the record stores.

As it stands now, they should really change the name to eBay records day.

 

My view on this hinges on the question: does it genuinely help the independent record stores? I have heard conflicting reports on this. They obviously get a lot of additional business but is the profit eaten away by poor margins, non-returnable stock etc?

If it does help the shops than I am all in favour. Though of course as a customer I'd like to see better releases at lower prices. I don't care about coloured vinyl or picture disks but I love previously unreleased stuff like the Bowie live album.

Tim

 

Local record shop owner told me today that the Powers That Be who run RSD began prohibiting him from participating in RSD because, among other things, he doesn't have somebody manning a computer and answering telephones and emails during the sale day. He's old school, he doesn't have a computer hooked up in his store, and it's just him who works there. But he's actually happy not to participate in RSD, because he doesn't want to deal anymore with frustrated customers who wait in line only to find out their desired record(s) were sold out, and he doesn't want to deal anymore with a small cabal of RSD-organizers who allocate the best records only to their favored shops. One of the dirty little secrets, according to him, is that some shops will keep some titles under their counter, tell their customers that they're all sold out (of say, the RSD Springsteen Greatest Hits colored vinyl), and then sell them online for X-amount of dollars.

Now, this guy is a very well respected shop owner in northern NJ, and his store has been around for many years, every serious music fan in the area knows him and his store. He is exactly the kind of small business record store owner that RSD was supposedly designed for. Apparently, another local shop that does participate in RSD doesn't even like doing it.

I don't know, there's obviously something not right about this whole thing.

 

I'm fine with it just the way it is. Otherwise I could easily choose not to participate. Not everything revolves around me.

 

I think RSD works pretty well as-is. I liked the suggestion early in this thread to make the lists public a little earlier so stores can get some sense from their clientele what to get more aggressive about trying to get in, but otherwise I don't see the need for a lot of tweaking. It's fun, and in my town with our one little store it's as much about the local music community coming together as anything. We never have lines or the frenzy you hear about elsewhere. The store owner provides cupcakes and cookies for customers and people just enjoy hanging out. It's great.

The biggest change to making RSD enjoyable is an internal one: to let go of the FOMO and simply enjoy what is. Good lesson for life, really.

 

I go to my local shop Satellite Records in Kalamazoo Michigan and everyone is nice, polite, cool, composed to a T.
A fun happening in my book.

 

I quit going.

I get there in line hours early, and the handful of RSD items are gone before I even get to the bins. Not even the junk is left. I take the opportunity to look through the regular merchandise, only to find new LP’s are significantly overpriced, and the used racks are scratched and chewed up priced at ‘mint’ that I would reject at the thrift for $0.50. In fact once I recognized some I had recently rejected at Goodwill (prior owner markings on center labels - I had bought a few she hadn’t trashed).

Maybe it’s that the couple of area shops are just crappy. They seem to be preying on the younger generation’s enthusiasm, naïveté, and parents’ money. I have a hard time buying from them any day.

 

Me too! For a few years, it seemed like there were some interesting Record Store Day CD releases each year, then they became fewer and farther between. This year, I'm not sure there was even one notable RSD release on CD at all, it's all vinyl (or even cassette!) I like CDs and I have no interest in getting a turntable.

 

Same at my local Bull Moose, it was VERY busy, but everyone was super chill and friendly. The staff was friendly and efficient. They had all the RSD records laid out on many folding tables. And as some sold out, they consolidated the rest on less and less tables, keeping it neat and orderly. I only got 1 of the 4 records I had on my wish list, but I was happy with that. The experience was fun as it has always been for us, even if we don’t always get what we want.

 

If a CDSD existed, then I might go. Otherwise I've only gone to see in store performances, and have never bought an RSD release.

 

I know what store you are talking about. I think not having a computer and the ability to order via computer is a pretty valid reason. In addition to a computer he'd need to clean up his store and remove the piles of boxes that block the aisles so more than 5 people can fit in the store at a time.

 

I like RSD. I think it definitely helps stores. The guy in front of me purchased $400 of records. I purchased $100.

I understand that people get upset about missing out on limited stock. However the list is available ahead of time and you can plan ahead and call stores and ask if they ordered items, how many they ordered and what they expect to receive.

I don't believe RSD plays favorites with stores. I think big volume selling stores get more stock, which is fair. One store owner explained to me that he would have at least 30 of the Piper mono on hand because he is a large volume dealer and orders directly from Sony.

Some stores offer 15% 20% sales on their used inventory on RSD. In fact some of the folks in line at the store I was at were only there for the sale on used records.

 

What happens if I would like 10 RSD items? Do I need to buy 10 other lps in order to qualify and at what price? Maybe if I have take something from the $1 bin I might consider it, but if I have to pay $5 each I'm at $50 plus my RSD total. Even if it's only one other record, if that cost isn't very low, it's going to put people off IMO. I think customers will also be annoyed with any store that enforces something like that. It will also make RSD even more crazier. It's almost impossible to look at the bins of say Rotate when RSD is in full swing. As much as I like the sales you don't have the room or time to always go through everything.

Agree on on each item being limited to 1. I thought that was already the case though but I know stores break that rule as there have been people who bought multiple copies of releases and have mentioned that online.

 

RSD admins do not decide who get's anything right now. They leave that up to the labels and distributors to decide as they're better placed due to the relationships they have. Other points about your plan aside, if RSD admins started getting involved with that and making decisions it would create an even bigger mess IMO. There are misconceptions about what RSD admins can and cannot do. They are just organisers, administrators, marketers..but they make no decisions about releases and who would get what.

You might have also have problem with more people wanting a release than are available. In which case, someone will suggest pressing up enough so everyone is covered but then you'd be taking pre-orders in advance. So I think the limited nature of some of these would still result in flipping, especially since flippers will put their names on the list for titles, buy them then sell them online, etc.

I think if everyone was given the chance of pre-ordering then it's likely most will go that route and stores will probably be less likely to order more (even if they are available) because no one else might want any.

The pre-order idea has come up often though. I'm not sure how it would pan out but I think that although people would get records it wouldn't necessarily make the day more of a celebration but rather less of one.

 

Thing is, they don't need better pricing, better stock or more knowledgeable staff for it to be successful because it already is and the prices are higher, people complain about what they release all the time.

If people want it to change then they need to write to RSD, they need to stop buying stuff and complain about it. Until that happens, it's unlikely anything will change.

 

It's fine the way it is. There was nothing specific I wanted yesterday so I stayed home. I am friends with three record store owners and they love it.

 

Of all the RSD issues people bring up, to me, the people I feel the worst for are those in your situation, without a record store near by.

I'm lucky and I know it and I don't take it for granted, well sometimes I do. But when I read about people driving for well over an hour, I give thanks for the fact my closest (and one of the best stores in the city) is only a 2 minute walk from my house. I wish there was a way that they could service those who are too far away so they couldn't have to rely on flippers.

 

1 - My friend works for a distribution company and he complains about the admin side of it every year. As he says "They've had a lot of years to learn and sort themselves out on the admin side so it shouldn't be such a nightmare still"

2 - no opinion either way

3 - I think RSD first titles should be eliminated from RSD. They just clog up the list and the shelves and since they are going to come out later, no real gain IMO. On the other hand if I was a label I'd tell myself to shut the hell up because it must help with marketing and sales to release a title as an RSD first with differences like coloured vinyl, extra inserts, etc. But personally I think they aren't needed.

 

True, and the goal is to charge top dollar for reissues nobody really wanted but think they do because of the limited quantity.Also, it makes the big record labels look like they really care about mom and pop shops but they still give massive discounts to places like Amazon because they buy so much.

 

My little record store had 100 people with 3 to 10 records each in line at 9:05. Fact is, the “shell game” brings people out to the store. Usually I would see 1 or 2 “music fans” in the store when I visit. Record store day in its current iteration was a resounding success. Pressings could be slightly less limited in many cases, which could help alleviate disappointed record goers by providing more opportunity to get a particular record.

 

Here’s a solution for the true music fans. Labels could make extra copies available through their website after the event but with plain white packaging and no inserts. Call them record store day loser editions. The price on these would be slightly lower.

 

Some seem to miss the fact that it's just plain fun.
Feels like Tower Records on Sunset Blvd on a Friday night circa 1972.
Good lord I miss that ...