The event has played a key role in the revival of the much loved independent record store as well as vinyl
Tomorrow’s Record Store Day is beautiful thing, one of those rare business events that are unequivocally worthy of celebration.
More than 200 independent stores will participate, with a bewildering array of new vinyl releases, specials and previously unavailable re releases put together by artists and labels specifically for the event.
To get your hands on the best of them you’ll have to turn up at one of the stores. And perhaps queue, while accepting that you’re going to do some serious damage to your bank balance when you finally get in.
Read more
- Vinyl bought on Record Store Day appears on eBay for inflated prices
- Record Store Day 2016: The UK events to have on your radar
- Record Store Day: The best exclusive vinyl on offer
If, like me, you’re among the band of rabid enthusiasts for the vinyl revival you won’t worry too much about the latter point (and you'll boycott those who seek to resell on eBay).
The latest stats put out by the BPI to coincide with the event make clear that our numbers continue to grow at a blistering pace.
Some 4.1m vinyl LPs were shifted in 2017, 26.8 per cent more than in the previous year, the highest level of sales since the early 1990s.
This comes, remember, at a time when streaming is all the rage, so much so that Spotify achieved a $30bn (£21.3bn) valuation when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange earlier this month.
Against this backdrop the old format has come to account for one in every 15 albums purchased, and around a fifth of the total retail value of physical music, despite the fact that it can be very pricey.
Stores have played a key role in nurturing its rebirth but it has also nurtured their rebirth in turn.
The independent sector wasn't immune from some of the difficulties suffered by big chains such as Zavvi and HMV, which fell into administration partly through the disruptive effect of the internet.
But they have persevered and of late they seem to be faring better.
Dinesh Fernando lists more than 430 on his www.allgoodrecordshops.co.uk site, which he freely admits is a labour of love.
That’s up from 350 last year and while some of the increase is down to an increase in listings of existing stores, he says he’s regularly seeing new openings.
Mr Fernando makes the point that many such stores have successfully pursued the “destination” concept that other retailers have tried with sometimes mixed results.
They often have cafes attached and, if they have the floor space, increasingly host live music.
The vinyl they sell is, of course, a unique product, something capable of inspiring passion in a way few other products can.
Except that it nearly disappeared. It, and the eclectic band of small stores that specialise in selling it through traditional shopfronts (although many have websites too), continued through the efforts of enthusiasts but there was still a point at which it was touch and go.
Business news: in pictures
Business news: in pictures
-
1/4
Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold
AFP/Getty
-
2/4
The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rue’s contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process.
-
3/4
Phillip Rasmussen, finance chief of technology company IQE, was killed in an accident while on holiday over the weekend. The company confirmed the 47 year old man had died while cycling in Menorca. A 25-year-old American man was arrested on suspicion of drink driving, after failing a roadside breath test.
-
4/4
The Beast from the East wiped £4m off of Flybe’s revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airline’s estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.
Their work has been sustained and built upon by dint of a remarkable effort at self help that has seen the various parts of an often fractious industry joining forces. Ultimately they all win, and so do customers. How often is that true?
Record Store Day will not save the high street.
But there are still perhaps lessons that can be learned from what music industry has done with it. Others might do well to reflect upon them.
- More about:
- Record Store Day
- vinyl records
- Music Industry
- BPI
Reuse contentRead the Original Article
