So, Record Store Day 2011 came and went this past Saturday. People waited outside of TALK'S CHEAP for 20+ minutes before I opened at 9:30Am...an hour and a half early! Was it a good day for sales? You betcha! But why? People in search of elusive "Record Store Day Exclusives" (most of which will still be sitting on the shelves in shops when next Record Store Day rolls around)...or people who do all their record shopping for the entire year on this one day? I answered at least 6 phone calls from people looking for the Rush and Nirvana exclusives...and I sold stacks of wax. Where are all these people with money to spend on records the other 51 weekend of the year??? From what I gather from talking to other store owners, most people who make an effort to participate in Record Store Day, and stock some of the exclusives, can expect to do 5 to 10 times the business they'd do on a regular Saturday. A medium sized store in a decent sized city reported bringing in $36, 000 dollars in one day...with 90% of it's sales being Record Store Day exclusives. Looks like the Record industry cooked up a scheme to sell a shitload of records...and it worked. It's Christmas for record collector's...and it's as much of a bullshit marketing scheme as Christmas, Valentine's day, etc. As much as I'd love NOT to participate in such a blatant cash grab, the reality of the matter is that any independent store selling records in this day and age needs to embrace anything that helps them move more records. I guess all I'm saying is who needs Record Store Day...your local record stores are open every weekend of the year. Stop in and buy a few records every month, and they'll treat you right. Exclusives are bullshit...overpriced reissues are a joke. Bring your spare change down to TALK'S CHEAP, BLACK RAVEN, THE TURNTABLE and GORDIE'S this weekend and show your local shops that every weekend can be "Record Store Day"!
Posts
