With vinyl making a comeback, it should be no surprise record stores have begun to capitalize on Record Store Day, an annual event wedged between Easter (or 4/20 if you’d rather) and Mother’s Day. The event geared towards music lovers and an increase in sales has become such an institution, it seems like it has been around forever; however, Record Store Day is only celebrating its five year anniversary.
That anniversary falls today, and plenty of independent record stores across the United States and the rest of the world are preparing to offer great deals and in some cases, even live music to get people in the door. Five years ago, 250 stores participated in record store day and now 1,700 stores are involved, so check your local listings and see what is going on around you.
If you are not one of the privileged to be able to pop out your door and head to a local participating record store, Record Store Day creators Michael Kurtz and Chris Brown have worked really hard to earn support for the event, even creating an impressive site that offers interviews and some limited edition LPs. According to Forbes, last year, Record Store Day brought in 182,000 sales—a much needed bump for an industry that teetered under a million yearly sales just a few years ago.
Sure, vinyl can be a little more costly than electronic music and it is certainly silly to purchase if you don’t already own a record player, but part of the event is simply about appreciating music and going out and supporting independent music stores. That’s something that is a whole lot easier to do, and if you’re gonna do it, there is no better day than today.
