Record Store Day RSD 2019

That makes it less fun.

 

Precisely.

 

I've never been to a record store that only sells vinyl, unless we are talking before 1985 (and even then they sold tapes too).

I've been to LOTS of record stores.

 

Tell that to EMI.

 

Me too. That's one I've never heard, either bootleg or official.

 

When will RSD haters stop posting in this thread? Just give everyone that enjoys it a chance to do so, cut out the complaining. Music has never been so widely available.

 

Many thanks - that one has now just moved up my priority list...!

 

Where I live (in Cambridge UK - a very small city) there are two such stores. Both are excellent. Relevant Records, and Lost in Vinyl

 

MUSINGS ABOUT RECORD STORE DAY:
I have been following this thread with interest. As a relative newcomer to the RSD experience, I have few comments about it. These will be based on living it for 2 years and reading some of the posts here. I am a music lover, not a collector and my comments will be based on that perspective.

Waiting In Line:
In addition to RSD I have waited in line for concert tickets, new software, new electronics etc. There are plusses and minuses to this experience. I still feel the plusses outweigh the minuses, or I wouldn't do it. You often meet some great people who are liked-minded and you get to share some great conversations with them. I also have several friends who I first met standing in line for some item. Standing in line is not my first choice and this gets to be more and more true over time. What I don't like about RSD lines is the total uncertainty of getting anything you want. If you wait in line for some of these other items you often have a better sense of whether you will succeed. When I waited in line for some early iPhones, Apple employees would pass out a pre-order forms to gauge interest vs. supply on hand. Then they would be able to send people home early if they didn't have the product. I know some record stores do this too, I wish more did.

Collectors/Flippers:
This will be unpopular with some folks, but as I mentioned I am a music lover. To me it is about the enjoyment of music as an art not as a pure profit center. YMMV. But I resent the idea that you patronize a record store(s) all year long. Then on what could potentially be the best day of the year, you get frozen out by a bunch of people who visit this store twice a year on RSD. Sure I know some collectors are regular patrons too, that is different. What I am describing are the invaders from beyond. I have seen groups come in and just start grabbing 1 of everything or 10 of one thing. Many stores have put rules in place to cut down on some of these practices, but not all. I really get irked at the idea that music lovers will be frozen out of buying a rare or desired release by some flipper who will never actually listen to the music. Instead they will try to milk it for even more money. I wish there was some way that regular patrons could get some sort of consideration that would repay them for their loyalty the rest of the year.

Who this day is for:
I know this is crazy talk and I am sure most folks will be laughing their butts off after reading this...But if this day is really about supporting independent record stores and vinyl lovers why not handle it differently? Why not put out a preliminary RSD list much earlier for pre-orders? To be assured of getting a copy, you would have to get them at an RSD store. The record companies would know how many items to press and the stores could gauge how many to order. Anyone could pre-order these and be assured of getting what they want. Perhaps offer a special RSD discount price to get folks into the stores on RSD and have all the other normal RSD events as usual. Maybe also some special releases that you can only get with the purchase of a regular RSD title on RSD at the store. Or if you pre-order an RSD release from a store you get a discount coupon for regular records in the store. It seems like there are other ways for people to make money and reward the record stores and loyal customers. Before people say they don't live near a brick and mortar RSD store etc. this event is about supporting the brick and mortar store end of the operation. The titles could still be sold online after the event, but the only way to be assured of getting the titles you want, would be via pre-order and in store pickup on RSD. This would actually support your local independent record store better because they would have an equal shot at all releases. Under the current system, out of necessity, you are forced to travel to a bigger store far away because your local store got the crumbs.

SPARS Code:
As someone who is old enough to remember the heyday of vinyl in the 70's and the coming of CDs in the 80's. I find some of the discussions up post very ironic and amusing. I really can't believe the complete and total turnaround. It is amazing to me. I don't have a dog in this hunt, because I think Analog and Digital can both sound amazing when done right. But I remember the time when the "Holy Grail" was DDD. When CDs arrived and started taking over, people were instructed to look for DDD for the best sound. Lacking that DDD, get as many D's as possible. Now 30 years later many people want LPs, not CDs, but only if they are AAA. I am NOT making fun of this change, it is so amazing. I would have bet every penny I had 30 years ago that this day would never come.

Special Day:
It is nice to have a special day that gets us all talking about LPs and our favorite artists and our hobby. Back in the day, there was nothing similar in terms of getting folks excited about records and talking about this hobby and love we all share for it.

Prices:
Sure some RSD releases appear to be money grabs. As a music lover vs. collector, I laugh at the prices asked for some of the product. But we live I a free market system and folks are able to market a product and ask for whatever price they think they can get. I think some RSD prices are totally outrageous and only work under the false drama they create with the limited release aspect. But that is their right. I will admit, I do get some pleasure seeing some outrageously priced RSD releases sitting in bins months later. The law of supply and demand actually works in most cases. I actually thought some of the RSD prices this year were reasonable compared to the general market. There were even a few items that seem like bargains, at least until I hear them. Bottom line: I will avoid the items I felt were priced ridiculously. I will buy more releases than planned because they were interesting AND reasonably priced. I actually have a few I will try to grab that were not on my wish list, but seem to be a genuine bargains.

Not trying to upset anyone. Just one man's musings. As I said YMMV.

 

well thought-out...IMHO

 

Shouldn't the "Foreplay" side have a photo of Bob Kraft on it? Just askin'.

 

Van Morrison – Astral Weeks Alternate - 10-inch mini album
?
Still looking for informations about it.

 

we've got on here downtown in the 5th largest city of the state...well, they DO sell t-shirts

 

It annoys me that the raw BOTT is getting released for RSD. This should be like Let It Be naked... put it into general release.

 

I can think of at least two vinyl-only stores within a mile of where I'm sitting. Looks like you haven't been to those.

 

Here it's slightly easier to find stores that sell only vinyl than stores that sell both CDs and vinyl.

 

Just b/c you have never been to one doesn't mean they don't exist. Others here are posting evidence, and here in Va Beach, we have two record stores, and one (Vinyl Daze) does not sell CDs.

So there you go.

 

They will never stop. There is always some poor, bitter soul that has a desperate need to spoil the party for everyone.

 

Dave's "All vinyl, all the time" Records in Chicago Dave's Records Chicago | All Vinyl | All The Time

 

We all know it's not perfect...heck, somebody on this thread was bragging about squirrelling away items for his/her own purchase as an employee, which probably would've gotten the employer store dinged, but hey, it's all about "ME" I this society, right? But anyway, some places makes the best of it that they can. It get some good product out that would likely otherwise never be done, AND some stuff like the infamous Ghostbuster...

 

wow...

 

Record Store Day really just doesn’t interest me all that much now. The releases aren’t limited....I mean, look at the Jeff Buckley Live at Sin-e from last year. Still tons of that release widely available a year on and they’ve pressed a standard ‘un-numbered’ version now. It completely ruins the exclusivity of these releases.

Also, the choices are getting more and more uninspiring and it just looks like a way of making money and offering very little.

Another popular idea now is to do an initial release of something on coloured vinyl for RSD and then put the same thing out on black vinyl a few months later.

Yep, safe to say my interest is going down year on year...

 

And yet RSD grows year on year. Everyone is sitting around saying/thinking "this is the worst way to sell records" while they sell an ever increasing amount of records year on year.

I don't participate myself anymore as there aren't any releases that are enough interest to me, but I'd show up if there was.

 

We're hitting year 11 of RSD I think. Every year it's bigger. So at what point does it become unsustainable? 20 years? 15 years? 12 years? Forever?

RSD survives as long as people want to buy records. When that ends, IMO, RSD will come to an end.

 

This subject has come up every year in every RSD discussion and I could write a lengthier post as to the inherent issues with such a system, but I'll summarise it by saying that you're severely overestimating the administrative abilities of the industry as a whole to be able to pull something like this off considering the number of releases.

Consider how down to the wire things are now and that some stores don't get their records until after RSD, they appear to be just about able to make it work under the current system. Over complicating it will probably result in the implosion of the record world and a black hole will appear sucking all our lps into it. Now you might think I'm over exaggerating and perhaps I am, but only slightly.