Broken Record: Why Record Store Day Is Not Working
It’s really, really hard to hate on something that was initially set up to support the mom and pop record stores that are quickly going the way of the dinosaur, and does so by promoting many independent artists and bands willing to lend their music to the cause. Saving Country Music has been a tireless supporter of Record Store Day for years, putting together Field Guides for people to help find the cool, unique releases in the country music realm and beyond.
But the simple fact is that Record Store Day is failing in many respects, and truth be told, has been doing so for a number of years. As with so many things in the independent music world, Record Store Day started with an excellent, virtuous, and brilliant idea that was so good, it sparked an international event transpiring on an annual basis. But like so many of these great, independent ideas, it was quickly co-opted by corporations, and big independent labels to simply be a vehicle for the same type of vile capitalism that initially brought so many independent record stores to their knees. Record Store Day has taken the same road as South by Southwest—the annual live music event in Austin, TX every spring. It started out with the sincere purpose of bolstering the cause of independent music, and now is a bloated, behemoth event co-opted by big celebrity names and corporate sponsors, and is so big that it can’t define its own borders or control its own scope.
Of course it is not all bad; not by a long shot. Record Store Day still means huge business for many of the independent stores that are a part of the event, and there are many happy consumers that found their sought-after Record Store Day gem and have a sense of fulfillment for supporting their favorite local music proprietor, and a cool band. But as we are finding out, as Record Store Day gets bigger, many of the stores and small labels that need the most help are getting locked out, while the day has become big business for big labels, and one of the single most significant events feeding the music glut that keeps worthy artists reveling in obscurity just as much as major labels that are driven solely by commercial interest.
Independent Labels Getting Locked Out
Vinyl is amidst a huge resurgence in interest and demand right now even beyond Record Store Day, and this is placing a massive burden on the manufacturers of records. Since there are so few manufacturers and so many records to make, someone is going to get squeezed, and right now that someone is small independent labels. Major labels, and bigger independent labels have the power of volume. They can demand priority from manufacturers because they are requesting bigger orders. The result has been many small labels not being able to participate in Record Store Day 2014, especially in the UK where order snafus have made emotions boil over.
“Fuck Record Store Day and all you self-righteous wankers who think it benefits anyone ‘independent’,” Tweeted out UK-based label Modern Love in the run up to RSD 2014. “Fuck you to all the pressing plants out there who have made major labels their priority”¦looking forward to seeing that bubble burst in a couple of years.”
And they weren’t the only ones angry over Record Store Day this year. Tri Angle Records responded to Modern Love, saying, “Three of our upcoming releases had to be rescheduled after dates had already been set because of this. It’s total bullshit.,” meaning records that aren’t even part of Record Store Day are being delayed because of major label demand for RSD output. So not only is Record Store Day putting some small labels at a disadvantage on the day itself, but it’s also messing with their business outside of the RSD event.
The issue was spelled out in detail by a record distributor called Kudos in a blog posted on March 14th.
Right now, we have 20+ manufacturing jobs in production, all of which have come to a grinding halt while the pressing plants make hay by pressing up umpteen thousand Oasis LP re-issues, Abba 7”s and REM Box sets. We have even had one vinyl plant refuse any order of less than 500 units until after Record Store Day.
So, for the next six weeks, we are effectively locked out of the vinyl business.
Kudos have always been a strong supporter of Record Store Day. We have participated since its inception and have enjoyed some notable successes. However, it now feels like it has been appropriated by major labels and larger indies to the extent that smaller labels who push vinyl sales for the other 364 days of the year are effectively penalised.
This isn’t at all a criticism of the organisers or of the concept….But for us, at least, it’s at a considerable cost.
Though much of the talk around Record Store Day’s manufacturing problems in 2014 have focused on the UK, it is a problem in the United States and other countries as well. “There are too few record pressing plants, and too many orders,” says Jason Galaz, the owner of a small, Tennessee-based record label called Muddy Roots Records. “Many of the factories are pressing the bigger orders first, and pushing us little guys to the back. I’ve had a pre-order situation where they kept pushing my order back and it took five months.”
Galaz was luckily able to get his Record Store Day releases to record stores for the event, but only because he was willing to pay a premium. “It took a lot of work, and a lot of rushing. But we were able to do it. But we had to order them from another country and have them flown in, because no one here could get it done in time. And that added to our production costs quite a bit. Basically we did the whole Record Store Day run as a promotion. We didn’t make any money at it.”
Part of the problem is with so many Record Store Day titles, and such wide, popular participation, some vinyl titles designated for sale on the day are not being decided upon until right before the stock needs to be made. Big labels use their buying power to cut in line and ram out production of prioritized titles.
Spencer Hickman, who is the UK coordinator of Record Store Day told The Quietus, “If you’ve got small labels who support record stores all year round saying, ‘We don’t like it,’ that’s a bad situation very bad. Those are the guys that will go, ‘Fuck you, we’ll just sell our releases exclusively online.’ Then stores are really in trouble.”
Smaller Record Stores Getting Locked Out
The very independent record stores that Record Store Day was set up to help support are in many cases getting squeezed by larger independent record stores and regional chains when it comes to receiving inventory of the day’s most sought after releases, if they have the funds to purchase the inventory in the first place. The bigger stores are also able to promote their events better, hire bands to play, or parallel the day with other promotional giveaways, enticing customers away from the stores that need help the most. Other stores are too small or too new to get the attention of Record Store Day and either can’t participate at all, or do so in an unofficial capacity, while other record stores outright boycott the event, like many independent labels are doing.
Dan Curland, the owner of the 25-year-old record store The Mystic Disc told The Day on Saturday, “Originally, Record Store Day was a good idea a sort of us-against-them statement by indie stores against corporate chains like Target. But that’s changed. I can no longer service my customers.”
Curland says he’s getting squeezed by the bigger stores. “For example, R.E.M. released 1,000 copies of ‘Unplugged: The Complete 1991 and 2001 Sessions,’ and there are 250 participating stores in Record Store Day. Theoretically, each store should be able to get four copies of the REM release if they want four.” But Mystic Disc was only given one. “If you go to eBay, there are already copies of the R.E.M. going for $300 well over what we would charge. Someone’s going to the chains, who have multiple copies, buying them and flipping them. They’re not fans. Meanwhile, I have longtime regulars who are huge R.E.M. fans and I can’t get them a copy.”
Good Music and Vortex Records in Canada posted a lengthy explanation of why they were not participating in Record Store Day 2014, highlighting how a bigger Canadian record chain called Sunrise Records were advertising how they had “exclusives” on certain RSD releases. “I heard about these ads when Vortex customers came in on Record Store Day and were surprised and upset to see that we were carrying the items they’d just bought at Sunrise. Surprised because they’d been duped by the ads and upset because our prices were drastically cheaper.” Even more alarming, when the Canadian organizers were reached out to in an attempt to resolve the issue, it was found out the person being communicated with at Record Store Day was actually a Sunrise Records employee. The conflict-of-interest eventually led to other hindrances in the record store’s participation in the day, until like numerous stores, they decided not to participate at all.
Releases Going Straight to Dealers & Resellers
As highlighted above by record store owner Dan Curland, Record Store Day has been overrun by dealers looking to snag up short run titles that are desirable by collectors, many times reselling them on eBay or to other record stores later, and in some instances getting their hands on stock days before Record Store Day has even commenced. The business has become so lucrative around some Record Store Day releases that certain record stores have been accused of holding stock back to then sell on eBay later, or to sell to dealers at double the price behind the counter. Dealers line up in front of record stores hours, sometimes days before the event, and vacuum up all worthy titles as the first person in the door, resulting in the financial squeezing of the true music fans looking for RSD deals.
Just how big is the business of Record Store Day reselling? As illustrated in Spin’s 2013 RSD Highest Earning eBay Flips, RSD titles have gone for as much as $5,700. And as FactMag reports, dozens of exclusive Record Store Day titles appeared on eBay days before the event this year.
Too Many Releases & Poor Quality
The amount of releases for Record Store Day has quadrupled over the last four years, and the volume is overwhelming for both the consumer and the small record stores who simply don’t have the space to stock all of the special releases or the money to purchase them.
The quality of the releases has become a massive issue as well. Record Store Day has become an annual dump for labels and artists looking to get loose of material deemed not worthy enough for a regular release, resulting in a glut of unlistenable material being foisted on the masses under the guise of being collectible or rare. The working theory is that you can release anything on Record Store Day, and fans won’t hold either the artists or labels to account, as long as it is on vinyl.
As Rob Sevier, the co-founder of Chicago-based archival record label The Numero Group and one of Record Store Day’s most vocal opponents said to Philadelphia Weekly back in 2011, ““We’re not upset with major labels for being major labels. What I’m not crazy about are the literally hundreds of pieces of shit being shoved into the marketplace on this day; products, for the most part, that no human needs to own, ever. The economy of Record Store Day is, ‘What can we shit into the form of a record and shove into the hands of the wanton masses?’”
Live albums, demos, reissues, various pieces of orphaned audio, and music generally left on the cutting house floor in the recording process is being made into Record Store Day stock, leaving the worthy titles released on the day buried under the glutted muck. Many releases are being manufactured for shock value or irony, exemplified when one small record label decided to release classical piano music from porn star Ron Jeremy as part of Record Store Day 2014. As quizzical as the release was, hours after record stores opened their doors, over a dozen of the 7″ records were up on eBay, with one reseller asking $99.00 for the release. Without any regulation on the quality of the releases, Record Store Day risks becoming a mockery of the music making process.
Unofficial Events, Unofficial Releases, & Boycotts
Record Store Day was originally organized in 2007 by Eric Levin, Michael Kurtz, Carrie Colliton, Amy Dorfman, Don Van Cleave and Brian Poehner at a record store owner’s meeting in Baltimore. Almost immediately after the event began to find traction, boycotts have been called for, and rival events have popped up looking to undermine the effectiveness of the day, or sponge off of it without having to jump through the official Record Store Day hoops. With so many labels and stores flying the Record Store Day flag unofficially, it erodes the ability for the umbrella organization to control its fate. And if Record Store Day wants to try and control the number of releases, the quality of the releases, the influence of major labels on the event, or the ability for smaller record stores to have a fair stake, likely such regulations would only result in more defections from the parent organization. Record Store Day has already lost the ability to govern itself, and the problem only promises to get worse.
Meanwhile there are lingering questions about the effectiveness of the entire idea—how maybe the focus should be on supporting independent record stores throughout the year, not just on one day. There are also questions of why the day has to focus on vinyl, and if the industry is setting itself up to burst in a potential upcoming vinyl bubble that some have surmised is sitting out on the horizon.
Since Record Store Day has become too big to control itself, it will take bold leadership, and a commitment from all sectors of the independent music community to make sure it remains a force for good. Major labels and major vinyl manufacturers need to take into account the spirit of the day, and make sure they are inclusive to all entities that want to be involved. Larger record stores and distributors need to understand if they monopolize their communities, they are going against the groove of what Record Store Day stands for. And owners of content need to think about quality first, not quantity, and understand that their releases will be responsible for setting how Record Store Day is viewed by the public in the future.
April 21, 2014 @ 9:15 am
Great piece, Trig and I couldn’t agree more. I hate seeing yet another good idea co-opted by parties who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near it.
April 21, 2014 @ 9:44 am
I don’t know, this seems like really finding something to complain about. I understand the trouble that some small labels are finding. But the thing is called RECORD STORE day, not indie label day. Hoping you can find what you want is part of the fun and people have been scalping things since the beginning of time, it’s terrible but if people weren’t buying then people wouldn’t be selling.
If people are buying crappy leftover songs then that’s the people that buy them’s fault. Seriously.
From the long lines and the increased inventory the idea of getting people in record stores and interested in vinyl is working. Which doesn’t mean there aren’t holes in the event. But it’s a loooooooooong fucking way from SXSW. Come on.
April 21, 2014 @ 10:09 am
The parallel with SXSW was drawn to illustrate that with the increasing amount of unofficial and renegade Record Store Day participants, the organization is losing the ability to control itself, not necessarily to say that the two events parallel each other in the madness that ensues around the event, though that day might be coming for Record Store Day.
Also, this was not an article solely on its impact on indie record labels, though that happens to be the biggest negative story coming out of RSD 2014. As explained above, the very small record stores the day is set up to help are receiving less then their fair share of desirable titles, while bigger stores and chains vacuum these title up, many times with tthem ending up on eBay at egregious prices days before Record Store Day has even commenced.
It goes without saying that Record Store Day involves many success stories, and you can go to just about any music outlet and read them all day. I understand that I could come across as excessively critical here, and how someone who just had a positive RSD experience just two days ago would go, “What gives?” But the point here is to open a dialogue about the issues facing the event so they can hopefully be resolved, or at least mitigated, or addressed.
April 21, 2014 @ 9:55 am
Well, this kind of makes me glad that I’ve never given two craps about Record Store Day to begin with. I was mainly hearing about it from major retailers like Hastings, so it just seemed like a push for vinyl and nothing more. I never realized that it was supposed to benefit independent stores.
April 21, 2014 @ 10:13 am
“I was mainly hearing about it from major retailers like Hastings.”
Exactly. And Hastings, despite generally setting up in smaller communities, is still a big national chain that makes 1/2 a billion dollars in revenue annually, and can outbid mom and pop record stores for attention from the communities it serves. Hastings deserves to make money too, but what they don’t deserve is a bigger piece of the pie just because they have more buying power.
April 21, 2014 @ 10:52 pm
I agree. After reading this article I began researching Mom & Pop record stores around my area and sadly, there are only about two or three (for some reason, one ended up being in New Jersey, which is perplexing after one types Arkansas into a search). Also, speaking of Free Comic Book Day, I feel like the same thing happens there as well. Hastings typically has special variant issues of comics made just for its own shop. None of the Mom & Pop comic stores I used to frequent had that benefit. Even then, they’re probably doing better than their record store equivalents.
April 21, 2014 @ 11:06 am
I do get frustrated by the inability of record pressing plants to turnaround orders in a decent time. I also get frustrated by ebay flippers that purchase the records just to flip them. But I love the hell out of Record Store Day or anything that rises the tide for all the boats. It, like anything today is based off supply and demand. The market will answer the questions brought about by this article as well as the complications of too many orders vs. supply. In the end we will all sell more records by the increasing “fad.” Those that are in to it for the love will outlive the popularity of it all.
April 21, 2014 @ 11:26 am
Great article, really gets to the heart of the problem, this year is the first I’ve not gone along on the day partly due to disappointments in the last couple of years and partly because annoyance of records appearing on eBay and elsewhere only hours after the event starts (or as this article shows beforehand), one record I was interested in was limited to 350 copies and at 2PM on Sat there were around 50+ examples of it up for sale on eBay at 5 x the store price. Really hope that those involved can ‘save’ it.
April 21, 2014 @ 11:27 am
Record store day and the spirit in which was intended seems to be doing quite well in Twin Cities area. I think this somewhat due major chains not being in the picture at all. The focus really is on the independent shops with lots of events at those “mom and pop” shops and features only local bands, vinyl releases by local bands, and beers provided by the plethora of local brewers. Really all about the indepent spirit. Also to our advantage is that while the Twin Cities has a great independent music scene it doesn’t have to deal with being a major music hub ala an Austin, Nashville, New Orleans… where the corporate presence is rooted in because of other pre-existing ongoing big money festivals like SXSW due our Siberean-like climate.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:26 pm
record stores in the twin cities are lame. don’t bother if you’re not from here. try Green Bay or Grand Forks…
February 17, 2015 @ 9:58 pm
Seriously? “Twin cities record stores are lame”? Hymies, Roadrunner, Electric Fetus, Cheapo, Treehouse (to name a small sampling) each have their own flavor and energy. Maybe you just need to get out to them, get to know them, and come to appreciate them for what they are. One word I would never use to define the independent music store scene in Minneapolis is “lame”.
April 21, 2014 @ 11:34 am
This is simply bullshit. For every Oasis 12″ being repressed was a release by a small label such as Muddy Roots. The point of the day was to get fans into stores to support their local record store. This is done by having items by big names like Hank Williams, Aerosmith, REM, One Direction and smaller artists like Xiu Xiu, Dads, and Set Your Goals. It is about getting the fans into the stores with releases they think will draw fans into it. A small label in the UK wanting to press 300 copies of a band no one has heard will not draw in people to stores like Cake putting out a limited boxset will. It was never about supporting the small label and band, but to help keep brick and mortar stores alive and not being lost in a digital age. To say that flippers are ruining RSD is like saying that stubhub is ruining concerts. The list for RSD is put out a month in advance so if you see that something is limited then you are going to have to wait in line to get it.
As far as pressing plants go, RSD does cause a huge backlog on them, but so does the increase in vinyl being pressed all year long. New plants arent opening up, so as more people demand more records, the few remaining plants are getting busier then they have been in 25 years. Of course in a business sense they are going to give the major label that is pressing 30,000 copies of Mumford and Sons lp first go over the indie label pressing 500 ska 7″s. Labels need to realize that times have changed lately and they need to plan their release calendar a bit better and that things can no longer be rushed through at the last minute like they could in the early 2000’s.
April 21, 2014 @ 2:08 pm
“It was never about supporting the small label and band, but to help keep brick and mortar stores alive and not being lost in a digital age.”
I agree, but if the true independent brick & mortar stores are being locked out from receiving their fair share of desirable titles by bigger record stores and store chains, and those same stores and chains are also using deceptive marketing practices, and the people running Record Store Day happens to be the same people employed by these chains, this is a big problem, as was highlighted above.
I think it is throwing some people for a loop that I listed the manufacturing problems first, and then the problems with smaller stores getting locked out. Smaller record stores getting eaten by bigger record stores is a problem here. I just listed the manufacturing problem first because that is where the chain of the vinyl starts. Nobody is saying there shouldn’t be bigger names involved with Record Store Day. But if those bigger names want preferential treatment and that is causing supplier issues, I think that is something that needs to be looked into.
“To say that flippers are ruining RSD is like saying that stubhub is ruining concerts.”
Flippers are a problem, but I am in no way way they are “ruining” the concept entirely. It is simply one of numerous issues spelled out to illustrate the challenges facing Record Store Day. I’m also not sure if your StubHub analogy is fair either. With a concert, there’s no brick-and-mortar dynamic.
It’s this simple: If indie labels boycott the day (which numerous ones are), and many of the titles end up on eBay days before the event, what is going to entice people to their record stores? That is why these problems matter. Furthermore anecdotal stores could erode the public’s trust in the day and the institution.
The vinyl manufacturing issue is an issue all to itself. So is the fact that there are some out there that believe we are in the midst of an unsustainable vinyl bubble that will burst here soon, and take Record Store Day down with it. I think this fear is one of the reasons vinyl manufacturers are not willing to build any new infrastructure. Also with such high demand and low supply of manufacturers, they can keep costs high. This is the same reason gas companies haven’t built any new refineries since the 70’s.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:13 pm
“and the people running Record Store Day happens to be the same people employed by these chains, this is a big problem, as was highlighted above.”
RSD was created and helped run by Chris Brown, an employee of a small Maine record store called BullMoose Music. Far from the big chain stores that you speak of. FYE, Strawberries, Virgin Records are all extinct, and Walmart, Target and Best Buy arent in the RSD game so I dont know what chains are buying up all the releases that you speak of.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:21 pm
http://www.ilikegoodmusic.com/record-store-day-2014
“In previous years, Sunrise Records (a record store chain in Canada with 11 locations) ran full-page advertisements implying they had exclusives on Record Store Day items.
I heard about these ads when Vortex customers came in on Record Store Day and were surprised and upset to see that we were carrying the items they”™d just bought at Sunrise. Surprised because they”™d been duped by the ads and upset because our prices were drastically cheaper.
At first I was incredulous that Sunrise could have run such ads ”” then one customer showed me a photo he”™d taken with his phone. I emailed Sunrise and I asked them about it on their Facebook wall. The company didn”™t bother answering my emails and they deleted my comments from their Facebook wall.
RSD Canada wrote me back, saying they agreed that the ads were unacceptable. They told me they reprimanded Sunrise and said it would not happen again.
Though this wasn”™t as harsh a reaction as I had hoped for (after all, Sunrise were repeat offenders and, in my opinion, were only conceding because they”™d been slapped on the wrist by the RSD “head office”), I thanked RSD Canada for at least responding.
Later, a man named Michael Kurtz emailed me. Kurtz is one of the co-founders of Record Store Day. He said he thought the ads “could be misread” but that he thought the deception was not intentional. He characterized it as a simple mistake.
I wrote Kurtz back and told him I disagreed and that I was going to go public with the situation. I asked if he wanted to comment officially. He wrote back that not only would he not comment officially, but that he”™d consider it a personal favor if I kept my mouth shut about it. He didn’t want RSD getting any bad press.
Interestingly, in his email, Michael revealed that the RSD Canada employee who”™d written me conceding the ads were unacceptable was actually an employee of Sunrise Records. He said that RSD was run by volunteers and in Canada those volunteers are also Sunrise Records employees.
So the person telling me they”™d reprimanded Sunrise was actually an employee of the organization? I was stunned by this. To me, this is a blatant conflict of interest.
April 21, 2014 @ 11:41 am
Spoken from someone who spent 10+ years working in the music business with a major retailer and rackjobber/ distributor, there is no leadership, organization, or forward thinking. Just money driven, short sited, lazy lover’s of music. That’s how we got were we are.
I mentioned about the quality aspect in one of your earlier posts. And It’s true.
However, the secondary market you touched on is huge problem. I saw most of these releases uploaded on the not-so-kosier free download sites weeks before their special release date. Someone’s getting a hold of them early and uploading them. Same as ebay.
There are people who probably enjoy the whole hunt and just being out with others as community in a record store. So, I don’t want to take that away from them. But, RSD has lost it’s glamour and purpose.
April 21, 2014 @ 1:08 pm
I find it strange that people are still buying vinyl records. Personally, I buy all of my music in digital form.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:29 pm
do you own any art?
April 21, 2014 @ 4:21 pm
No, I do not own any artwork, but now that I think about it your comparison is definitely valid. Both artwork and vinyl records seem to be niche upper-class hobbies.
April 24, 2014 @ 12:11 am
Ah yes. You can research the extensive vinyl collection of the Rothschilds and Carnegies at the Smithsonian.
April 24, 2014 @ 4:37 am
The status of vinyl today is comparable to the status of artwork 100 years ago. It’s important to remember that back then, artwork was purchased not just by the super-rich, but also by the upper middle classes.
April 24, 2014 @ 8:07 am
Eric, I think it’s well-documented that the resurgence of vinyl has been in the hands of young white hipsters, who while tending to come from middle class or upper middle class backgrounds, tend to be under-employed, professional students, or otherwise income compromised in some capacity. Saying that the vinyl resurgence is in the hands of the “rich” is really not going to hold water with anyone on either side of whatever you’re trying to make.
April 21, 2014 @ 10:57 pm
I also find it a bit odd that there is such an install base for vinyl in 2014, particularly since the format was all but completely extinct at this time ten years ago. I’m not sure what caused the resurgence, but it’s apparently hear to stay for the time being. Personally, I like CDs better due to the versatility of the format and the fact that it just sounds better to my ears. Plus, if we’re getting down to the brass tax of the equation, CDs are known to reproduce the recording more accurately to how it actually sounded in the studio than a vinyl. The dynamic range is also greater, even if most albums don’t take advantage of it. Even then, as a wholehearted lover of CDs, I find vinyl to be endearing. As stated, I don’t think it does or even can sound better, but there’s nothing quite like dropping the needle and hearing the music start up.
April 24, 2014 @ 3:19 am
Hipsters are responsible for the resurgence of vinyl. Once it becomes too mainstream, they’ll likely move on to cassettes.
I prefer CDs too. I haven’t adapted to the digital world yet because I prefer having something I can hold on to and the little booklets that come with them.
April 21, 2014 @ 2:06 pm
I had no idea there were so many negatives associated with record store day. im sure most of the major label bands that participate arnt aware either and honestly thought their releases would be a positive thing. hopefully articles like this will lead to some discussions and changes in how its run.
on a positive note ive had nothing but good experiences with record store day. even though I rarely get more than 2-3 of the records on my wish list I always enjoy all the in store hoopla and sale prices on non rsd items.
April 21, 2014 @ 2:49 pm
there aren’t SO many negatives about RSD, this article just sensationalizes them to stir the pot.
April 21, 2014 @ 2:56 pm
I am a supporter of Record Store Day, of independent record stores, record labels, and independent business in general. And I think a very simple gander at Saving Country Music would verify that. And my support for Record Store Day and these independent entities is why I addressed these issues. If you think I’m being sensationalizing, I would encourage you to click on the numerous links embedded in the story that take an even much somber look at what’s transpiring than I do. As I said above, it is not that Record Store Day isn’t doing some good. But it is at a big crossroads right now, and if the term is going to maintain its integrity, the issues articulated above need to be addressed.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
But you call the post “Why Record Store Day Is Not Working”
And then you list lots of small problems
“Record Store Day Is Not Perfect” or something seems more like what you wrote but no one would click on that.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:15 pm
Record Store is not working for many entities, including small record stores and small labels. The point of this article was to illustrate their problems and tell their stories. I think it goes without saying there are success stories too, and you can go to dozens upon dozens of places on the internet today and read them. I decided to write the story very few other people did, and one that I feel is very important to the cause of independent music.
April 21, 2014 @ 2:52 pm
Interesting article, even more interesting because I just went to my independent record store to pick up the Drive By Truckers “Dragon Pants” EP (one of the so-called RSD throw away releases). I also bought Willie Nelson’s Stardust and a Steve Miller Band record. Not that I really wanted either, but I figured I like those enough and I just assume support the record store.
The “vile captialism” you speak of means that if demand is high, more new vinyl pressers will come to exist to meet such demand. That’s how our wonderful system works and why were able to build the greatest society the world has ever seen. …. must … not … ramble……
The biggest problem I see is what you pointed out – how to keep the vinyl buyers who really want the stuff to get it. Not the a-holes who take advantage of the system to just put it up on eBay for $300 moments after purchase. But I see nowhere around that, because in the end – the record stores get paid and the people who REALLY want it will get it. Some jerk gets a nice profit, but the poor guy with only $15 in his pocket loses out.
I was warned when I contacted the store that they couldn’t guarantee anything that they would place the order for the Truckers EP and whatever they get they get. Seems disappointing, but hey they came through! So I suppose you just need to pre-order and don’t expect it the day of.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:12 pm
“if demand is high, more new vinyl pressers will come to exist to meet such demand. That”™s how our wonderful system works and why were able to build the greatest society the world has ever seen.”
First, I’m not dogging on capitalism necessarily, I’m dogging on vile capitalism. Yes, normally if there is a lack of supply and a glut of demand, industry would create infrastructure to handle the growing demand. But not always. This is probably a topic for a more in-depth article, but there seems to be concern that some of the big vinyl manufacturers are purposely not wanting to ramp up their infrastructure to meet demand. Why? Because with so few presses and so many orders, they can keep their manufacturing costs high. This puts the press owners in the catbird’s seat. Want an order rushed out for Record Store Day? Pay a premium. Only the big labels have the money to pay the premium, so the little guy gets pushed to the back of the line. The manufacturers are guaranteed business because there’s a backup of orders for months.
Something I saw in numerous places while doing research for this article is concern that vinyl is in an economic bubble right now that could burst at any time. Fear of this might keep manufacturers from investing money in more presses, or keep new vinyl business from opening, despite demand. Part of this fear has to do with Record Store Day. If mood sours on the event because of all the eBay resellers, stupid releases, boycotts, angry label owners, etc., then sales could sour, exacerbating, or potentially causing the bubble burst.
This is very similar to what is going on with gasoline right now. There are more oil reserves sitting in barrels than there has ever been in history. So why are gas prices so high? Fear from geopolitical uncertainty, futures trading and other manipulations of the market, and the fact that the gas industry hasn’t built any new refineries in years. If the gas supplies remain perpetually short, the industry can keep a premium on their product.
April 21, 2014 @ 4:31 pm
The important concept here is critical demand. Increasing supply will always increase the sales revenue for businesses. However, as long as demand is below a certain level, the costs of building mass production infrastructure will be greater than this extra revenue. Only when the demand for vinyl reaches the critical level (or when vinyl companies secure a large loan) will new vinyl pressing factories be built.
This factor also explains why the cost of Tesla cars is so high, for example. Since the demand for electric cars is currently low relative to production costs, Tesla has until now figured that it will be more profitable for them to custom-make the cars rather than build a factory to mass-produce them. That paradigm might be slowly changing now, though, considering Tesla’s new plans to build a lithium-ion battery factory.
April 21, 2014 @ 4:36 pm
Gasoline, being an essential commodity, has a much “flatter” demand curve than music records. Vinyl companies have far more to lose from excessively high prices than do oil companies.
April 21, 2014 @ 7:39 pm
I will say that in the end, as consumers, if you really want the release you can get it. You just have to pre-order or cough up the cash on eBay. I certainly agree that a lot of the releases are just b-sides, throwaways, live sets, etc – but that’s what the die hard fans want. I mean, they only release 700 – 1000 of most of the stuff, which is about the number of die hards each normal band has.
There is also a collecting mentality that some people like to partake in. They like the “ultra rare” release that they can feel proud to own.
I don’t think RSD is failing or losing – I see it as because of the massive rise in popularity that the ugly side of things start to come into play. Greed will never go away. As fans, just remember to check the list beforehand, contact your independent record store and place the order ahead of time. They will hold it for you. Then do them a solid and buy some other of their wares.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:28 pm
RSD is working just fine. Trigger, you’re full of shit you dumb fuck.
April 21, 2014 @ 3:54 pm
Look, aside from your obviously immature attempt at trolling, if I am “full of shit” and a “dumb fuck”, then the multiple independent record store owners quoted in this story are dumb fucks, the multiple independent record label owners quoted in this story are dumb fucks, the record distributors quoted in this story are dumb fucks, and so is Spencer Hickman, who happens to run Record Store Day in the UK, who himself has admitted to virtually all of the concerns listed above as serious issues that the organization needs to address. This is an article, based on research, facts, information, and quotes from people in the industry that have intimate knowledge of the situation. We can go back and forth about how dire the situation is, but the objective here was to raise these concerns before they grow so large that Record Store Day founders. If you’re too emotionally inept and intellectually underdeveloped to do anything more than click on a link you saw on Facebook and not spend the time to get informed about what you’re talking about and think there’s no problem with titles that are supposed to be sold on Record Store Day showing up on eBay days before, or big stores locking out smaller ones, or big labels locking out smaller ones, then stay the fuck off of my website.
April 21, 2014 @ 5:27 pm
In regards to the flipping, I’m curious… My local shops have a 1 per customer rule on all of their exclusive releases. Is that something they did themselves or a universal RSD rule? If you got up, drove to the store, waited in line, picked up an exclusive you didn’t really want, and want to sell it on the internet… sure it’s not really in the spirit of the day… but more power to you. If you left with 4 of each release… that and obviously auctions that are up before the day are a different story.
Also, as far as the “poor quality” argument goes, I think it speaks more to the kind of people who RSD is already going to bring out. The music geeks (like myself) who are generally interested in things like demos, live albums, alt takes, etc are the first people that will come out in full force for something like this. I like supporting small labels and bands, but if a mastered and pressed to vinyl version of the GNR demos that I ordered from a bootlegger out of the back of Circus magazine when I was 15 was released I’d have been one of those people outside waiting before the sun was up.
April 22, 2014 @ 5:27 am
The artist I mentioned in my comment above has issued a press release today to say he won’t be taking part next year – he may not be the last.
http://paulweller.com/news.php?item=663
April 22, 2014 @ 6:35 am
Interesting information, but it does not quite make me rethink my initial reaction–the tried and true, ‘It is a good problem to have.’
Just needs additional marketing–how about ‘Big Black Disc Wednesday’ (TM), on the day before Thanksgiving? Spread out the demand a little bit.
April 22, 2014 @ 7:38 am
Ah the double edged sword of success. A few things that stand out to me here.
– Smaller labels getting shut out of pressing plants. Who’s to blame there? The larger label with the massive order? Or is it the pressing plant who rather than first come first serve, gives priority to more lucrative orders? The pressing plants have the upper hand due to there being so few of them. So they could choose to take orders as they come and not by the number of zeros on the invoice. Just like in real estate when it’s a sellers market. With the recent rise in the popularity of vinyl, it’s a pressers market.
– Inflated online prices of limited RSD releases. It’s like the saying goes. Things are only worth what someone will pay for it. What I see happening here with vinyl is what happened to baseball cards and comic books in the 90’s. Vinyl is becoming an investment. Although the labels have not done what (for example) baseball manufacturers did (not yet anyway). Baseball cards companies started putting out special collectors sets and subsets of sets etc… I’d look through a Becket price guide in the 80’s section and flip three pages and go through several years worth of cards. Then in the 90’s section Topps 1996 would take up three pages. My 1984 Don Mattingly Donrus rookie used to be worth over $100 at one time, now it’s worth less than $30. The baseball card bubble burst. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Cards are worth less now and the majority of people still collecting are those that are passionate about baseball.
My point here is like anything, whether it’s real estate or beanie babies, it’s gonna reach a tipping point. Those who were in it for money will make some green and move on to the next big thing. But those of us that are passionate about records will remain. Our collections will not be worth as much in the future, but does that really matter?
Record Store Day has become what it is because of the people buying the records (for whatever reason). Just like the celebrity gossip rags are what they are because people buy them. Companies are not going to invest time and capital into something that they don’t think will turn a profit. If there was not a demand for vinyl, labels wouldn’t even think about re-releasing ‘The Pink Panther’ soundtrack on 180 gram vinyl. If someone slaps down $100 bucks online for a Glow in the Dark Ghostbusters record, they just assigned a value to it. If nobody paid $100, than the price would drop.
I enjoy Record Store Day a great deal. I get my few little goodies for my collection because I want them, if they are worth something, that’s cool. But it doesn’t matter to me really. I think it will probably end at some point like all good things. So while it’s here I will participate.
I’ll end with this thought. When did it become a bad thing to become successful? To quote Five Iron Frenzy. “You’re the one that made them popular, all their songs are still the same.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpd8zL_kBOE
April 22, 2014 @ 12:31 pm
I think you missed the point, nobody blames somebody if he buys a record at a participating RSD-Dealer and if it gets up in price he can resell it anytime AFTER the RSD. But here people make quick insider $$$, which is just not right. Comparible to insider stockmarket dealing, which is forbidden for a good reason…
April 22, 2014 @ 8:01 am
U release a tjousand copys of rem then wonder why people will try to sell them for more guess what thats what people do go to any used record store and watch people look up a record to see what its selling for. If its cheaper many will buy it to flip
April 22, 2014 @ 12:49 pm
I’m a pledge signer.
We don’t price gouge or ebay any of the sealed releases we obtain all year long.
My biggest complaint is the middle man wholesalers charge too much. You’re paying for yuppie middle man salaries. Record Store markup / profit margins aren’t that great.
Another thing… press more damn records, but less releases as official RSD items.
There are billions of people on the darn planet. Pressing 200 is stupid.
Thirdly, some customers are buttheads. Correction, they aren’t customers. They get in touch prior to the event and are very pushy and demanding about obtaining one of the releases.
It is supposed to be about mom and pop record shops. That would be me. I’m about as mom and pop as you can get. Nobody bails me out. I do what I do because of passion and a love of music on vinyl. I started a small shop in our small town because too many were price gouging the next generation.
RSD isn’t bad. Some folks are knuckleheads, however.
Five years and counting. I’ll always support them. They’re good people with good intentions.
April 22, 2014 @ 8:27 pm
Thanks for a great article. I supported RSD wholeheartedly on my show and as a customer for the first few years, but pulled back when some things started making me uneasy.
I appreciate you pointing out the good with the bad. Because both definitely exist. This was the first time I heard someone else touch on all this and capture my own thoughts exactly. Its good to know I’m not crazy….or at least not alone in being crazy.
April 24, 2014 @ 3:27 am
“Vile Capitalism”? Maybe this should be called SavingCountryMusicfromtherichgreedyevilwhiteman.com
April 24, 2014 @ 4:34 am
I can understand the “rich” and “greedy” parts, but where in the world did the “white” part come in?
Or are all economic issues inherently racial to you?
April 24, 2014 @ 6:28 am
I hate to have to explain light-hearted mockery, but I guess I have to. I was mocking the typical liberal mentality of hating everything they deem successful or powerful. Even white liberals tend to feel guilty for being white. I don’t know Trigger’s politics, I was just poking fun at his “vile capitalism” remark. Got it?
April 24, 2014 @ 8:03 am
I’m not saying capitalism is vile, I’m saying there’s versions of capitalism are vile. For example, big corporations moving in and co-opting something that was meant to help small business. Ask any economist: of a capitalist economy, you need small business. Also, I don’t remember mentioning race in regards to this subject, nor do I see a racial quotient here. Reactionist political ideologies rarely hold water on this site, because despite what some surmise, I’m about as apolitical animal as you will find.
April 24, 2014 @ 8:40 am
I guess it went over y’all’s heads. I know you didn’t mention race, and whether you’re political or not has nothing to do with it. I was stereotyping the liberal mindset to poke fun at your comment. It’s like: “vile capitalism” sounded really funny like something some radical left-winger would say. Lighten up.
April 24, 2014 @ 8:42 am
Oh, and it wasn’t reactionist. It took a little bit of time.
April 24, 2014 @ 1:01 pm
The first thing they need to do is axe the “black Friday edition” of RSD…keep it to one day a year.
Second thing is just stop catering to the jerkstores…curate the releases and dish them out to record stores that have proven to be worthy.
April 25, 2014 @ 3:51 pm
This is an unfortunate story. Here I was thinking your fake news story was motivated by some kind of phenomenal jump in sales.
February 19, 2015 @ 7:40 am
Vile capitalism brought independent record stores to their knees? That is idiotic. The internet and digital music is what did that and the willingness of the buying public to steal product by downloading illegally didn’t help. So actually socialism and a belief that everything should be free did a lot more than capitalism. So sorry, you got that all wrong.
March 17, 2015 @ 6:15 am
I’m not sure what the problem is. You’ve got a huge demand for vinyl and customers lining up at the doors early in the morning to buy it – – oh, the horror. It’s the lone bright spot in an industry that’s been hemorrhaging money and sales for years. Of course, just like with anything that’s successful, those with the biggest means to take advantage of it are going to take advantage of it. That’s just the reality of life. Should I feel bad for a small label who’s pissed that they can’t get their limited run of an unknown band pressed because R.E.M. releases are clogging up the plants? It’s all about supply and demand. It’s never been fair. The world isn’t fair. Would it be better if nobody gave a shit about records and didn’t show up at stores at all? Because that was the reality of the industry not that many years ago. RSD has done a lot to re-energize consumers’ love of vinyl, which ends up helping everyone in the long run, all year long.
March 17, 2015 @ 11:44 am
First off, this article is almost a year old. Because of the ire surrounding RSD, it seems to re-emerge on Facebook every few months, but everyone acts like it was posted yesterday. Some of the issues posed in this piece have already been partially resolved, like the vinyl manufacturing issue (https://savingcountrymusic.com/nations-biggest-vinyl-manufacturer-ramping-up-to-meet-demand) . Furthermore, nobody ever said Record Store Day was a bad idea, or that it hasn’t helped the vinyl industry and local record stores. However, it is also causing problems and unintended consequences that should be recognized and attempted to be resolved. That’s all that’s going on here. Good intentions don’t solve problems. Solutions and action does.
March 17, 2015 @ 9:34 am
If people don’t like others posting RSD items on Ebay for exorbitant amounts, they don’t have to buy them. If these hucksters are unable to sell them on Ebay they’ll stop trying to, which means they’ll stop buying stuff to flip, and those items will once again be available at the intended price to the people who want them. Very simple.
March 17, 2015 @ 11:37 am
It’s not very simple at all. I understand your concept is simple, but implementing it as an economic reality is going to be very difficult to virtually impossible because the market behaviors are moving in the completely opposite direction.
March 17, 2015 @ 12:10 pm
You’re right about the market. So perhaps RSD and the participating stores need to do a PR campaign to educate RSD consumers about how it hurts the whole idea and concept of RSD when consumers patronize these weasels who buy stuff just to mark it up and resell on Ebay or in their stores. Part of that campaign could be “don’t patronize stores that don’t abide by RSD principles” (i.e., those who mark up the items higher than the price they should be sold at; those who buy online and then mark ’em up, etc.). Support stores that play by the rules. Play by the rules yourself. Unfortunately there will always be those who try to mess with the system, no matter what the enterprise.
March 17, 2015 @ 12:18 pm
That’s a good idea. Of course no concept is going to be perfect and there’s going to be people looking to circumvent the system for their own financial gain. But if RSD as an organization attempts to curb the behavior, it may make a significant difference.
Record Store Day 2015.. meh | waxramble
April 18, 2015 @ 12:36 am
[…] there have been a million articles writing about why it totally sucks here, here, here, here, here, ETC. As I’ve shared in the past, I have been heading out to RSD every year since 2012 to […]
April 19, 2015 @ 3:57 pm
I grabbed Blackberry Smoke’s EP, and I gotta tell you its better than their album. It’s 5 mostly acoustic songs from their Holding all the Roses album, plus one cover song and I was thoroughly impressed. I normally despise these type of RSD releases (live, acoustic, or any other already released versions of songs from an artists catalog), but this was well done. Any BBS fans should pick it up. Even the eBay costs are pretty reasonable.
April 20, 2015 @ 6:35 pm
I went to a record store day event in a neighboring state and it was swell. I got to see GWAR in human disguise, bought some music from some local AZ artists (Saint Madness), frequented some local pubs and restaurants, and had an awesome time! It sucks that microlabels get snubbed by their vinyl suppliers, but that annual lull seems like something they could plan ahead for, or make sure their relationship with the vinyl supplier is tight enough that they still get priority. I got a terrific Lonesome Wyatt/Rachel Brooke record this month from the tiny Tribulation Recording Company, and they didn’t seem to be effected by any vinyl drought.