Record Store Day

Record Store Day
Type	Cultural
Date	Third Saturday in April
2011 date	April 16
2012 date	April 21
2013 date	April 20
Celebrations	Live performances, cook-outs

Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music.^[1] The day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores across the world.^[2]

Record Store Day was officially founded in 2007^[1] by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner and is now celebrated globally^[1] with hundreds of recording and other artists participating in the day by making special appearances, performances, meet and greets with their fans, the holding of art exhibits, and the issuing of special vinyl and CD releases along with other promotional products to mark the occasion.

History

Record Store Day 2008

Unofficial Ambassadors: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo; Metallica. Metallica officially kicked off Record Store Day 2008 at Rasputin Music in Mountain View on April 19, 2008. They signed autographs for 500 fans in which 100 were MetClub members. Non Metclub members had to wear red numbered wristbands while the Metclub members wore blue ones. Metallica in conjunction with Rasputin Music gave away free t-shirts sized small to extra-large to all of the fans that got their autographs. There were approximately 10 special Record Store Day releases in the first year, including releases by Death Cab For Cutie, R.E.M., Stephen Malkmus, Vampire Weekend, The Teenagers, Black Kids, and Jason Mraz. Billy Bragg met Record Store Day co-founder Michael Kurtz in an airport and agreed to help kick off Record Store Day in the UK with a special live appearance. Approximately 300 stores launched Record Store Day in the USA, including Waterloo Records, School Kids Records, and Vintage Vinyl. The first organized involvement by UK stores included Piccadilly Records in Manchester, Jumbo Records in Leeds, Resident in Brighton, Sister Ray and Rough Trade in London, Rapture in Witney, Oxfordshire, Spillers in Cardiff and Avalanche Records in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Record Store Day 2009

Official Ambassador: Jesse Hughes^[3]

The second annual Record Store Day was celebrated on Saturday, April 18, 2009 with approximately 85 special releases and appearances by the likes of Slayer^{[citation needed]}, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Iron & Wine, The Stooges, MC5, Wilco, Disturbed, Killswitch Engage, Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, The Eagles of Death Metal.^{[citation needed]} The total number of artist appearances in the US was approximately 500. Wilco's Jeff Tweedy announced that "there would be no Wilco if it weren't for independent record stores" and the band made a surprise appearance on Record Store Day @ the Disc Exchange in Knoxville, TN. Eagles of Death Metal's Jesse Hughes announced that he was the official "Ambassador of Record Store Day" and the band made an appearance at Rhino Records. Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced that the City of New York officially recognized Record Store Day as a city-wide event and the judges on American Idol talked about their favorite records in honor of Record Store Day in the episode of American Idol prior to the event. Even though 95% of the special releases made for Record Store Day were for the USA, the event began to grow internationally with over 1,000 record stores in the US, the UK, Ireland, Japan, Canada, Italy, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany all participated in the international event.^{[citation needed]}

Record Store Day 2010

The third annual Record Store Day took place on Saturday, April 17, 2010. The official ambassador for the event was Joshua Homme.^[3] The official book of the event was "Last Shop Standing: Whatever Happened to Record Shops by Graham Jones". KCRW's Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo also released their own self-published book, "Record Store Days", which talks about independent record stores, with artist quotes provided by www.recordstoreday.com used throughout the book, and a specific chapter devoted to Record Store Day. NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New York City once again honored the day. Several artists made in-store appearances to mark the event:The Smashing Pumpkins announced that they would kick off the tour promoting their new album with a special Record Store Day concert at Amoeba in Hollywood, CA. Other artists to announce special appearances included Frank Black, Exene Cervenka, Angie Stone, Jason Derulo, Alice in Chains, Mastodon, Josh Ritter, HIM, Slash, Sick Puppies, Care Bears on Fire, and Emmylou Harris. The year's event was also celebrated by giving young artists an opportunity to showcase their talent in the form of a national "Record Store Day: High School Battle of the Bands".^[4] Local, participating independent record stores nominated one local high school band by picking a cut from the band's supplied recording and entered their name and song cut into the contest. A panel of record executives and members from the Fender Corporation judged the entrants. Nine national semi-finalists were chosen to appear on a limited edition, compilation vinyl LP of their winning songs. Pressed by Gotta Groove, the LP features digital convenience. On the day of the event, it was announced that the grand prize winning band was SANUK, an indie band of HS students from Indianapolis, Indiana. They received a generous prize package of musical gear from the Fender Corporation and recording time with recording greats - Jack Ponti and Kevin "The Caveman" Shirley. SANUK was championed by their local record store, Indy CD & Vinyl. The sponsors of the contest were Caroline Distribution and EMI Label Services, Fender,^[5] and Fender Music Foundation. Aside from the Band Battle contest, many participating record stores had a line-up of live talent performing throughout the day. In 2010, more than 1,400 independent record stores participated in the unofficial holiday. More than 1,000 were from the US alone. Record stores saw a 41% increase in sales over the previous year's celebration, and a 109% increase over the previous Saturday's sales.^[6] By this time, the event had become such a nationally recognized event, that in the U.S., it was even referenced on "Saturday Night Live."^[7] During the year, the first Black Friday Record Store Day was also held, on November 26, 2010.

This year's releases included:

• Them Crooked Vultures - "Unreleased" (10" Vinyl)
• Blur - "Fool's Day" (7" Vinyl)
• John Lennon
• Bruce Springsteen
• Devo
• The Flaming Lips
• Lily Allen - "Back To The Start" (7" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• MGMT
• Gogol Bordello
• Built to Spill
• Gorillaz - "White Flag" (10" Vinyl, 1500 Copies Only)
• The Rolling Stones
• LCD Soundsystem
• Terrible Things
• Tinie Tempah - "Pass Out" (7" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Ani DiFranco
• Hold Steady
• Muse
• Modest Mouse
• Josh Ritter
• Great Lake Swimmers

Record Store Day 2011

The fourth annual record store day took place on Saturday, April 16, 2011. The official ambassador for the event was Ozzy Osbourne.^[3] Over six-hundred artists celebrated the event with in-store appearances, making it the world’s largest music event of its kind. Artists who made in-store appearances included Beastie Boys, the Foo Fighters, Duran Duran, My Chemical Romance, Wiz Khalifa, Todd Rundgren, Anvil, Del McCoury and the New Orleans Jazz Preservation Band, Regina Spektor, Jack White and Jerry Lee Lewis, the dBs, The Raveonettes, TV on the Radio, Frightened Rabbit, the Deftones, Chuck D, the Beach Boys’s Al Jardine, Lonely Island, and Josh Groban. Most of the releases for the year were limited between 300 and 7000 copies worldwide. According to Billboard Magazine, the 182,000 bump in unit sales in the week that Record Store Day was held was directly attributed to the success of the event itself. The official film of the event was "Sound It Out", a feature-length documentary directed by Jeanie Finlay, documenting the Sound It Out Records shop in Stockton-on-Tees, the very last record shop in Teesside. The film premiered to critical acclaim at SxSW and had it's joint premiere at SheffDocFest and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. During the year, the second Black Friday Record Store Day was also held, on November 25, 2011.^[8]

This year's releases included:

• Daft Punk
• Bruce Springsteen
• Tinie Tempah - "Wonderman" (7" Vinyl)
• Big Star
• The Decemberists
• Lady Gaga - "Born This Way" (12" Picture Disc Vinyl)
• The Rolling Stones
• R.E.M.
• A Day To Remember
• The Beach Boys
• Doctor Who - "The 1960's Films OST" (7" Blue Vinyl, 500 Copies Only)
• The Doors
• Adele - "Rolling in the Deep" (7" Vinyl)
• Duran Duran
• Pinback
• Smerin's Anti Social Club - "Doctor Who" (7" Vinyl)
• Rush
• Fleetwood Mac
• Gorillaz - "The Fall" (180g Numbered LP, 1500 Copies Only)
• Todd Rundgren
• Eric Clapton
• Yeasayer
• Of Montreal
• Manhattan Murder Mystery
• Professor Green - "The Remix EP" (12" Green Vinyl, 500 Copies Only)
• Neko Case - "My Design" (T-Shirt)
• Radiohead - "Supercollider/The Butcher"

Releases for the Black Friday Record Store Day included:

• The Beatles - "1's Singles Collection" (4x 7" Vinyl Box Set, 1000 Copies Only)
• Bob Dylan
• The Black Keys
• The Doors
• Janis Joplin
• John Lennon
• Kings of Leon
• Nirvana
• Pink Floyd
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Rolling Stones
• Ryan Adams
• Soundgarden
• Wilco

Record Store Day 2012

The fifth annual Record Store Day took place on Saturday, April 21, 2012. The official ambassador for the event was Iggy Pop. This year, over 400 different releases were made for the day, including:

• Abba - "Voulez Vous" / "If It Wasn't For The Night" (12" Numbered Vinyl)
• Arcade Fire - "Sprawl II [Remix]" (12" Vinyl)
• Arctic Monkeys - "R U Mine?" (7" Limited Purple Vinyl)
• BBC Radiophonic Workshop - "Doctor Who: Sound Effects" (180g LP, 1000 Copies Only)
• BBC Radiophonic Workshop - "Out of This World" (180g LP, 1000 Copies Only)
• Bruce Springsteen - "Rocky Ground" / "The Promise [Live]" (7" Vinyl, 1500 Copies Only)
• Bruno Mars - "The Grenade Sessions" (10" Vinyl)
• Buddy Guy - "This is Buddy Guy" (180g LP)
• Chiddy Bang - "Ray Charles" (7" Dinked Vinyl, 450 Copies Only)
• Chase & Status - "Flashing Lights [S.P.Y. Remix]" (12" Vinyl)
• Childish Gambino - "Heartbeat" (12" Vinyl)
• Coldplay - "Up With The Birds" (7" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Cradle of Filth - "Midnight in the Labyrinth" (2CD)
• David Bowie - "Starman" (7" Picture Disc Vinyl)^[9]
• Disturbed - "The Collection" (12" Vinyl 2500 Copies Only)
• Deep Purple - "Smoke on the Water" (7" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Devo - "Live in Seattle 1981" (2x 180g LP + 2x Posters Box Set)
• Emeli Sande - "Heaven" (12" Vinyl)
• Enrique Iglesias and Dev - "Naked" (12" Vinyl)
• Florence and the Machine - "Only If For A Night" (7" Vinyl, 3000 Copies Only)
• Foster the People - "Broken Jaw" / "Ruby White" (7" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Foster the People - "Pumped Up Kicks" (12" Vinyl)
• Fun. - "The Ghost That You Are To Me" (12" Gold Gear Shaped Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Garbage - "Blood for Poppies" / "Battle in Me" (7" Red Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Gorillaz - "Do Ya Thing" (10" Picture Disc, 500 Copies Only)
• Iggy Pop - "I'm Bored" / "African Man" (7" Lime Green Numbered Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• James Brown - "Live at the Apollo" (7" Vinyl)
• Jamiroquai - "Rock Dust Light Star" (2x 180g LP + 1x CD Box Set, 3000 Copies Only)
• Janis Joplin - "Selections from the Pearl Sessions" (2x 10" Numbered Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Katy Perry - "Part of Me" (12" Heavyweight Pink Vinyl, 3000 Copies Only)
• Leonard Cohen - "Live in Frederiction EP" (12" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• M83 - "Mirror" (7" Vinyl, 2000 Copies Only)
• M. Ward - "Primitive Girl" (7" White Vinyl, 2000 Copies Only)
• Metallica - "Beyond Magnetic" (12" Vinyl)
• Michael Bublé - "Georgia on My Mind" (7" Peach Vinyl, 3000 Copies Only)
• Miles Davis - "Forever Miles" (180g LP, 1000 Copies Only)
• Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Songs From The Great White North EP (12" White Opaque Numbered Vinyl, 2000 Copies Only)
• Paul McCartney - "Another Day" b/w "Oh Woman, Oh Why" (7" Vinyl)
• Pete Townshend - "The Quadrophenia Demos" (2x 10" Vinyl)
• Phish - "Junta" (Limited Edition Deluxe 3-LP vinyl set, 5000 Copies Only)
• Professor Green - "How Many Moons [Remix]" (12" Green Vinyl)
• Rory Gallagher - "Stomping Ground" (10" Numbered Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Stadium Arcadium" (2006 Deluxe Edition re-release, 2000 copies only)
• Regina Spektor - "Old Jacket" (7" White Vinyl, 3000 Copies Only)
• Ryan Adams - "Heartbreak A Stranger" / "Black Sheets of Rain" (7" Vinyl, 2500 Copies Only)
• Sigur Rós - "Hvarf/Heim" (12" Translucent pale green double vinyl) (North America) / "Ekki Múkk" (Vinyl, 10") (Europe)
• Sex Pistols - "Anarchy In The UK" (7" Numbered Picture Disc Vinyl, 3500 Copies Only)
• She & Him - "Volume One" (180g LP, Colored Vinyl, 100 Copies Only)
• Social Distortion - "Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes" (2x 180g Red and Orange LPs + Poster Box Set, 750 Copies Only)
• T. Rex - "Telegram Sam" / "Metal Guru" (7" Coloured Vinyl, 750 Copies Only)
• T. Rex - "Electric Sevens" (4x 7" Vinyl Box Set)
• Tegan and Sara - "Get Along" (180g LP, 300 Copies Only)
• The Black Keys - "El Camino" (2x 12" + 1x 7" Vinyl, Poster and Bonus CD Box Set, 6000 Numbered Copies Only)
• The Civil Wars - "Billie Jean" / "Sour Times" (7" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• The Clash - "London Calling" (7" Vinyl, 1000 Copies Only)
• The Flaming Lips / Mastodon - "A Spoonful Weighs A Ton" (7" Pink Vinyl, 10000 Copies Only)
• The White Stripes - "Handsprings" / "Red Death at 6.14" (7" Red and Black Vinyl)

To coincide with Record Store Day 2012, the UK's Official Chart Company launched the Official Record Store Chart, a weely music chart based solely on sales from independent record shops.^[10] The chart was first issued on 20 April 2012, the eve of Record Store Day 2012.^[11]

References

External links

• Official website
• Official film of Record Store Day 2011
• http://www.recordstoreday.co.uk/exclusive-product.aspx