Record store day started in 2007 and has been a great day to celebrate one of the important parts of how we get our music- the humble independent record store. Artists release special LP’s and 7” usually as one-offs for the occasion which then sees music lovers sitting outside their favourite record store on a saturday morning in April to get the ones they desperately desire. The list is always extensive so check out the official site for a list of everything that’s on offer. Not only that but you also get to put money into these shops where there are knowledgable, friendly staff who themselves support the local music scene.
Being from Leeds, both Crash and Jumbo are a massive presence in how they do this and supporting them on this day makes it an even better reason to get out there. With this in mind I thought it only right to get in contact with the two great Leeds independents to get their thoughts on the Record Store Day phenomenon.
What are your top picks from the RSD list this year?
Jumbo (Matt): A hard question to answer to be honest, there are sooooo many release to choose from this year (from unreleased rarities, crazed remixes and covers to exclusive tracks and samplers of ALL genres) and the phrase ‘something for everyone’ seems very apt. Personally the reissues from long forgotten about band Cleaners From Venus are getting a lot of people excited, the Deerhoof/Of Montreal split single sounds great, the bizarre Hammer Horror does psyched up 70’s funk reissue 7″ of tracks from cult film DRACULA A.D. 1972 is going to be a winner with the beatheads as is the J Dilla 7″. The new Serious Sam Barrett album is causing a stir as it’ll be out first on RSD as a signed with special colour screen-printed sleeves, and the Domino fanzine/flexi-disc special frankly is going to WOW everyone when they see it! Again, there are loads of great releases from indie and major labels that are must haves!
Crash (Ian): I’m a big David Bowie fan, so the Starman 7 inch picture disc is at the top of my list. There are also a couple of other picture discs from Morrissey and the Sex Pistols which I think are going to be in high demand. The Arcade Fire 12″ is another top pick as are The Cure albums which are being released as individually numbered coloured vinyl albums. But there really is something for everyone on the list this year.
What are your plans for the day to make it an event in the shop?
Jumbo (Matt): Like previous years we’ll be putting a heap of bands, this year we’re pleased to announce that STILL CORNERS (Subpop) who got our album of the year for 2011, We’ve got Alan Raw from BBC Introducing coming down taking demo’s from local bands along with a few labels, we’ve got a whole heap of surprises too, in fact all details of what we’re up to can be found on our site.
Crash (Ian): We won’t be having any bands playing in the shop this year as we will be far too busy dealing with the hundreds of customers we expect to see during the course of the day. There will be a huge queue outside the shop when we open and ensuring as many people as possible get their Record Store Day releases will be our priority. We will be inviting customers to have a drink with us after we close at 6pm.
What are your thoughts on the piece in ‘The Leeds debacle’ regarding independent record stores being overpriced and that record store day is for “collectors” rather than music fans?
Jumbo (Matt): I’m a big fan of The Leeds Debacle but I thought the article was very ill informed and seemed to be under the presumption that RSD is set up by major labels wanting to push big classic artists to make tons of money, and tried to prove it’s point by focusing on a tiny proportion of releases rather than the vast amount of indie label stuff and rarities that music fans loved and were genuinely excited about…It was a bit like saying that the Guardian is just a music magazine because it has the a couple of music features in it’s weekly run…Plus the bit about pricing, well the long and short of it is that believe it or not, when you press such small runs of things, when you do things like colour vinyl, special booklets, special licensing, artwork, etc then it’s more costly than pressing up 1000’s upon 1000’s of copies, plus the idea that shops are somehow making up these prices is crazy, our profit margin is EXACTLY the same with all releases.
The fact is RSD is a day that indie record shops like us, get in touch with labels and distro’s and make suggestions on what WE would like to see come out, we organise thingsas a CO-OP with loads of autonomy. A good example is that we hooked up with Revolutions Brewing Company to do an official RSD Beer and got other Record Shops to nominate their favourite drinking spots to take the beer, hooked up with local labels to put out samplers for the day, even hooked up with LAYNES ESPRESSO to do a special coffee for the day. All of which is to raise awareness of how awesome Record Shops are, how we’re still on the cutting edge of music and can offer a great service and experience that chains and internet sites can’t.Remember, we pay taxes, we promote music because we LOVE it (not because a certain label or plugger advertises on a blog/site/mag), we support local music scenes and we strongly believe in PAYING for music…Yes, there will always be speculators on the day that might buy something to keep minty fresh, ready to sell for a profit in years to come, yes there will be obsessive collectors salivating over the ABBA 12″ and there will also be people getting excited about all kinds of popular releases but that’s life, and why be snobbish…Each to their own that’s what we say….But why be so negative and use the Daily Mail method of presenting an incredibly selective, one-sided and factually wrong rant…Why he didn’t talk to us and get our side of the story I just don’t know? Why it was so negative about something that’s so positive I just don’t know?
Crash (Ian): They are of course entitled to their opinion, but the ever growing popularity of Record Store Day means that it must be striking a chord with people. Of course there are collectors who will only be in because they wish to purchase something that is exclusively available on that day, but isn’t that part of the point of the day? We will have 3 types of customers on the day: Regulars, who hopefully will continue to shop with us. Occasional visitors, who we will hope to start seeing more regularly. And people we have never seen before, who hopefully we will see again. As for the price of vinyl, that is out of our hands we are constrained by dealer prices from record companies. But when a small run is made of a release on 180 gram vinyl in special packaging costs do invariably increase. Quite often nowadays, a CD copy or download vouchers gets included in the packaging, so it can still be relatively good value. Vinyl sales would not be increasing the way they are if people thought they were being ripped off.
Do you think record store day has had any impact on the longevity of the independent record store?
Jumbo (Matt): Anything that raises the awareness of what indies actually do is great, anything that puts us all on the map, shows people there is an alternative to the bland clone towns, chains and tax avoiding businesses can only be a good thing right? Plus we pick up so many new regulars from the day every =year AND it’s our busiest day (even busier than X-Mas!!!!) So yes…It’s great!!!
Crash (Ian): It can only be good for independent record shops. We have been trading for 27 years now, and Record Store Day definitely has a huge positive impact on our continuing viability.
Thanks to Matt and Ian for their intriguing responses. Remember Record Store Day is THIS SATURDAY so make sure you head on down to your local shop as there will clearly be a lot more to experience than just buying records! To see which record stores are participating in your area check out the official site – there is bound to be a celebration to get involved in in near you!
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