A newly adapted version of Record Store Day will return on Saturday 29th August in what will be the first of three “drops” that celebrates independent record stores. Superstar artists from the likes of Paul McCartney, The Cure and The Kinks to Christine and the Queens, J Hus and Robyn are scheduled to take part with limited edition releases.

Record Store Day

The annual celebration known for its in-store parties, live performances and very limited vinyl releases was originally scheduled to take place on 18th April. However, like many music events, organisers were forced to call off the party in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Record Store Day has since gone back to the drawing board and created a series of RSD Drops to accommodate the new social distancing guidelines. Whilst the live music and in-store parties will remain off the cards, the list of limited-edition releases will be made available from participating shops on one of the 3 Drop Dates: August 29th, September 26th and October 24th.

Music fans are encouraged to use the Record Store Day store locator from the August 14th, to find out how their shop plans to open. This will range from offering bookable time slots 1 week in advance on a first come first served basis and/or operating socially distanced queues. For those customers who do not wish to visit in-store, for one year only, Record Store Day will relax online sales so that product can be made available on participating shop websites or over the phone from 6pm on the evening of each Drop.

“We may not be partying this year but we’re still determined to make sure we celebrate the artists and labels that have made special releases available for our event. Getting them into the hands of the fans safely and sensibly is our top priority this year. We will be operating a socially distanced queue and will be serving from 8am. With the releases being made available online at 6pm the same evening, customers who would rather not visit the shop in person can choose to order them online in the evening instead. They can then collect their records from the shop at a later date or have them posted to their door. We’ll focus on being able to organise another exciting event next year when things can hopefully return a little more to normal,” says Natasha Youngs, owner of Resident Music in Brighton.

Record Store Day is widely credited as the catalyst behind the vinyl revival and is recognised as the biggest trading day of the year for many independent record stores. It is often quoted as being bigger than Christmas for the participating small businesses, selling more than 100k LPs and 30k singles on one weekend alone.

More than 230 independent shops faced huge uncertainty with the postponement of this year’s event alongside the nationwide closure of all retail outlets. Many are hoping that the first instalment of the RSD Drops will provide a much needed sales boost in order to get them back on the road to recovery.

Record Store Day is also proud to continue its partnership with War Child with the release of three very special and limited edition titles. U2, Manic Street Preachers and David Bowie will each donate £1 of every sale to the charity in a bit to raise more than £10k.

More info:
www.recordstoreday.com
www.fb.com/recordstoreday