A reminder to get out and buy a record or few on Saturday which is Record Store Day, a worldwide incentive in which specialist music shops simultaneously link and act as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place they occupy both nationally and most importantly in their local communities.
Having worked in the industry for several years, I've seen the physical sales base for music ebb away but I was quite shocked when I read the below extract from a Guardian article
Over a quarter of the UK's independent music stores went out of business last year, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association. In the record store heyday of the 1980s there were 2,200 stores; by 1994 there were 1,200. Today only 305 remain. The shops, and their dwindling number of committed owners, are, however, refusing to go quietly. This Saturday, more than 50 independent record shops from across the UK, and thousands more worldwide, will team up with top independent labels for Record Store Day.
Even if your local store isn't participating in RSD, go out and lay down a few coins on one of the abundance of quality releases that have come out this year. Downloads may be practical but nothing beats the satisfaction of removing the shrinkwrap from the CD case of an eagerly-anticipated purchase on the way home or the crackle of the needle when it hits the vinyl.
And here's a link to Rough Trade who are leading the charge in the UK with free in-store performances, signing sessions and exclusive buy-it-now-or-regret-it-later compilations and singles from bands such as the Smiths, Sonic Youth, Beck and Franz Ferdinand, it is a music junkie's dream come true.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment