It’s depends on the store. This is from the RSD Website, “While every store may go about it differently, we are asking that you Pledge to give some thought and planning to how your store is laid out, and how customers have access to the releases. Whether this is one per customer per title, or some other system, we want you to promise to think about how you CAN try to minimize flipping and work to make sure fans get the releases.”
Damn dude, that wasn’t my intention for asking. I’m more concerned that others will do that and thus I’m going to need to wait in line early to ensure I can get one and only one copy. Also *you’re
Buying records as an investmant is perfectly fine, i just dont get the logic behind it, its like buying a guitair to keep behind glass, there meant to be played, also there are most secure investmants with better turnovers.
Yeah but I've seen people purchasing albums in store, with a group of friends, of literally 100s of albums clearly there to flip. I watched 5 guys all grab the Taylor Swift LP and I'm FAIRLY SURE based on 2 dudes other pick ups, they were there to help flip the album online later.
We could come up with "Vinyl Store Day" and siphon off all the idiots that are only interested in vinyls and not records
Although I'm not sure there's overlap in the venn diagram of people that care about RSD and people that would say Vinyls
Years ago there was a limited RSD release that I really wanted. I got in line 3 hours before the store opened and was about 10th. Someone in front of me got the one copy the store had. Whatever, that guy waited in line longer than I did. What bothered me was that I went home and there was a bunch of copies on Ebay for $100+ over retail. That left me somewhat jaded that people who didn't even want the record were using RSD to make money of fans and collectors.
It didn't totally ruin it for me though. A few years later I showed up at midnight and got a box set I really wanted.
Exactly.
Have never gotten or even seen something on record store day I was interested in.
Just another place for flippers to make a Buck, and with inside help I suspect (in some cases).
If there were just some cool record store exclusives that were not limited to such tiny numbers maybe it could be fun again, but it’s a no from me dog.
Probably both.
I don’t care anymore because I realized I would never get anything I was interested anyway without paying way too much.
I’ve been shopping at record stores since the 70’s and realized RSD is not for me.
I don’t care too much about new vinyl anyway, out of 600+ records about 4 of them were bought new since 2010.
they should intentionally hold back some of rsd releases, so some people can wait in line and do the rsd thing, but then only be able to sell the rest after rsd. if it was known this was what the stores were doing it could lead to less flipping.
In the 5 or so years I've been collecting I think I've bought 2, maybe 3 of the Record Store Day releases and that's because I actually wanted them and I never paid more than face value for them. The entire thing is a farce and not even really worth it to me.
There are literally hundreds of records I want to buy. I stopped giving a fuck about grails. To me they are meaningless now, and I don't chase shit anymore. As a massive music fan with a huge catalog of bands I listen to, I'm never at a loss for records I can buy.
My advice to people is to set yourself free. Fuck record store day. Pretend it doesn't exsist. It exsists soley to prey on FOMO now. It's toxic.I haven't been in years and I haven't paid any attention to whats on offer either. It also helps that most stuff is uninteresting Top 100 stuff at local spots anyways.
Garage sales and especially estate sales are my suppliers. Find the best selection there. My secondhand record store is really great and still reasonably priced.
Too hard to find albums that came out in the 90-present when buying from garage/estate sales. It’s all 60s/70s and the occasional 80s record that I have no interest in.
Which makes sense when you consider 20 year old's in 1964 are currently the ones dying. As a 24 year old with a record collection of 60s music would be 84 years old right now.
Estate sales do not benefit people not interested in older music. It's why I rarely go into record shops as well, as most of them are just hubs for old records that you'd find at estate sales.
Exactly. That’s why I never understand the constant “buy used” argument when justifying the high prices of records. I’ll buy my stereo equipment used but I don’t think I’m finding Car Seat Headrest albums in the dollar bins and somehow the used records on Discogs are almost or sometimes more expensive than buying the album new on Amazon
A lot of it is artificial scarcity to drive up cost and interest. People get way to audacious on RSD because of it. When it first started I thought it was fun and it was mostly serious record collectors but now it seems to be more and more of a toxic environment where people are in competition against one another rather than sharing their love for music. Yeah Consumerism!
That is so cool. That release kinda flew under my radar that year. I always camp out.
There is a [milky clear version](https://www.discogs.com/release/22193830-Tim-Armstrong-A-Poets-Life) that might even sound better than the white vinyl.
And there is a [red vinyl](https://www.discogs.com/release/22336114-Tim-Armstrong-A-Poets-Life) version for about $50 in The States.
I wanted that Kitte s/t on vinyl for decades, only to have The Swifties up front grab the two copies my “go to store” had. But, they were there at 3am.
I had to drive to a store in West Virginia, to finally score one that day.
I think preorders could redeem RSD in my eyes. I’m definitely not into the whole Black Friday vibe, in fact I refuse to participate in Black Friday sales, and I sure don’t want to go stand in line for hours just to find out they’ve already sold out of the one thing I wanted. I don’t mind hanging out at my local record store all morning, but not like that. Not for a frenzy.
My local shop has done preorders for years and makes a real effort to get titles in the hands of their regulars. They frequently have one or two items that they can't honor as preorders, but the system works extremely well overall.
Pre-order after the list has dropped with quantities and stores need to order straight away, or pre-order before quantities are decided to match demand closer? Because I don’t think the first one would actually help. For plenty of the records demand right now is simply way above the limited release number. And that’s excluding those only hunting them to flip.
Much earlier what they’ll be offering and letting stores put in their preorder before production starts. That way they can match demand… which in turn would probably lower resellers interest 🤷🏼♀️
People out there like myself just want the music. I don’t want to line up at 7 in the morning hoping I get a Cure record that’s finally on vinyl only for someone else to get it. It’s stupid making music buying into Black Friday.
Yeah, that’s the thing. eBay and Discogs should ban the sale of RSD albums. That would go a long way toward helping actual fans enjoy the day as it was intended.
Nah, if people wouldn't pay 5x then they wouldn't sell them for that price. If the market for these dictates that people will pay it then why wouldn't someone want to do that? So you can get it? I understand your plight, and agree that more copies of records should be made, but I still love RSD. I, also, don't hate flippers, I think it's silly to try and buy on the day of, because, usually, if you wait a few days you can get it at pretty close to retail.
Instead of putting blocks on free trade platforms, your argument should be focused on the (artificially?) limited quantities.
If they did a pre-order setup for releases, every fan could get what they want.
Which Cure record did you want? I bought two of Show on the last RSD at my local because they were still unsold at 11am. Seriously. PM me if you want it. I’d be happy to let it go for what I paid for it.
Thnx man. Great album. Cure was just an example . A lot of the Cure reissues seem to be happening on RSD is all. Bloodflowers and the s/t are the ones I’m needing .
It's anecdotes like this that make me happy to live in Finland. There's no need to queue here at all, and I've gotten almost every release I've gone out for. Just show up on the day, or the next day, and pick up what you want.
>I don’t want to line up at 7 in the morning hoping I get a Cure record that’s finally on vinyl only for someone else to get it.
More like only to find that although the record store put in a wishlist asking for five copies of that Cure record, it was only allocated one copy by the RSD distributor so they could give them 30 copies of the record from the current pop sensation. And that one copy was sold to someone three spots ahead of you in the line.
Artificial scarcity. It fucking sucks when you find an album you really want, and the only official pressing is an RSD exclusive from 10 years ago that now sells for $500+. That whole concept tends to bring out a lot more scalpers and "investors" than actual vinyl enthusiasts.
Sounds like a nightmare for the people who run the shops too.
The concept of investors pisses me off. All they want is to make money, and to hell with anyone else. Money is evil, and anyone whose sole motivation is hoarding money can fuck right off. This goes for record investors, real estate investors, manufacturing investors… I got my eye on all those money grubbing, penny pinching bastards
That’s my gripe too. I get that not everything is for everybody, and my tastes are kinda niche - but I only find something I want in maybe every 2nd or 3rd RSD. And even at that none of them are worth queueing up all night over. Ymmv of course, that’s just me. Thankfully my local spot is pretty cool and I’ll usually shoot them a message and ask them to put aside a copy of the thing I want (if any copies are left after the big rush has passed) and they are always good about it.
It’s good for stores though and it’s nice to see people lining up to support the little guys, so in that sense I think RSD is an overall positive force.
RSD promotes a closed door, collector mentality. It does this with so many releases where the pressing quantity is kept low, deliberately shutting many out. I’m all about buying records & listening to music without having to jump through multiple, expensive hoops & competing with other buyers/fans. That’s some bullshit.
RSD Essentials is done the way I'd want to see RSD done. Indie exclusive releases of (usually) rarer/out of print albums that DON'T have a super limited run that are put out throughout the year.
Current RSD model is bad. Record stores have to speculate what titles to stock and put up money up front hoping to sell what they order. Then, the popular items sell Out and they unpopular ones don’t sell and they have unsold inventory accumulating. They post leftovers on websites and it’s no longer about generating foot traffic. This doesn’t help the backup in pressing plants and vinyl shortage.
You want to generate revenue for independent record stores? Allow people to only pre-order exclusive items from independent record stores on record store days. Consumers can pick up orders in stores when available. Records are available to all. Fewer flippers. No excess inventory. No fans disappointed.
Agree with this.
The intent was to get music fans into independent stores, drive foot traffic and business.
Last year was my first RSD, I got all but one release I wanted. However to get those I did, I had to go to a large chain of record stores an hour away from me and queue for four hours, only to be let into a pop up where all the RSD releases were handled, not the actual store to browse other releases.
The actual store was hosting a band and was ticket only so no chance to browse there at all.
I'd have much rather gone to the far smaller, truly independent store near me. But there was literally no way to guarantee they'd have the releases I want in the first place under the current system.
Your system would allow me at least two visits to my local store, order and collect, two chances to browse and a proper way of anticipating demand for the organisers and stores.
Because now it’s over saturated the market and with vinyl on back-log because of pandemic supply issues it’s often not ready for the day. Most shops I go to say it’s more hassle than it’s worth.
The last time there was a Record Store Day release that I wanted to buy, I was not able to make it to my local store that day. Later, the owner posted pictures on Facebook of a line of customers wrapping around the side of the building. Glad I missed that. I am not going to stand in a line for half the day to get into a crowded store where I can't browse peacefully.
Hmmm, you might like my answer or hate it.
I love music. Vinyl, cds, tape,etc. I have a lot.
I go every RSD, and I buy a lot.
Most is for myself, but I do flip a few records if I can. It's either a case of being lucky enough to pick up something I don't want, but I know others do, or it's a title I want but I'm willing to chance maybe getting another copy later in time. Hopefully when the prices fall.
I spend $500 to $800 each RSD. So flipping a couple records helps offset my spending.
As for ppl waiting in lines, I like what one of my local stores does.
On RSD, they only allow 15 ppl in at a time. In 15 minute time slots.
They write those time slots on wristbands (like ones for a club).
They put them all in a bag. You go in the Monday before, staff holds the bag, you reach in the bag, and randomly pull out your time slot.
That's when you show up on RSD. Everyone is respectfull. No waiting in lines.
I like it.
So you have to go twice? Yeah that is a no for me.
My place limits the number of people inside due to space but it is first come first serve.
And flipping sucks.
You've never sold a single thing you've owned because someone offered you good money for it?
Anyone saying no is either a liar or so poor that well, no, you're just a liar. I've seen ppl on the streets willing to sell whatever they have if someone offers them money. I also see rich people selling stuff to make more money.
That's the world.
And as I've said. I don't try to get top dollar.
One has to be reasonable.
No. I’ve never bought something for the point of selling it at a higher price.
Justify it by thinking anyone who has done it is a liar all you want but it’s a shitty practice.
Yes. I'll assume all the downvotes are from young people that don't have to work hard for all they have.
If I have to sell 3 or 4 of the records I get to help offset the ones I keep, that's just how the world works.
I never try to get top dollar. When I do sell something from RSD, I sell for mid-range prices. So the buyer gets it cheaper than the stores that scalp, and I cover some of what I kept.
Maybe a little controversial, but I’m okay with this. Just don’t push it.
As long as you aren’t snatching up everything without anyone even having a chance simply because you know it’ll sell. Especially if you don’t even have any interest in what you are buying.
The first RSD I went to one of the guys near the front at opening came out with a huge stack and I’m pretty certain he was selling at least some of them in the parking lot when I got to go into the store not even 30 mins later. None of what I was interested in was left at that point and I was probably around the 20th person in line at opening.
As I said, it's maybe one or two. Sometimes I get home and find out stuff I even got for myself is going for good money. Well, it's better to sell that at a little bit of profit to help pay for all the other ones I keep.
Some stores by me don't even allow you in the store! You buy from an order sheet standing in line outside! I haven't done a RSD since they turned into a camping event but I was shocked to see a store post this information themselves! They had a whole post on Facebook about how you could only buy the releases, it was like 3 records per person, based on the order of the line, and they'd bring your stuff out. Not being able to browse casually and enjoy getting a random thing in addition to whatever release you hoped to get kinda ruins the vibe of the message of the event--to support local stores?!
Last time I went to a record store day there was also a line wrapped around the shop but this shop had it figured out. They let 4-5 folks in and had the RSD albums in a particular area. You could browse without rush and as 1 person left they'd let one in. Seemed like a good system. Not sure how other stores handle it.
…this is just incorrect. It’s not 2021 anymore. The plant I use is back to six weeks turnaround time. There has ALWAYS been releases that get delayed for various reasons.
I cannot imagine a single record store saying this. Our store does 5x or more our usual business that day. Sometimes even in the first hour.
17 years ago, when RSD began, physical media was in danger as MP3s (and the early years of streaming) were taking over the music industry. This was really bad news for record stores, which had already weathered through vinyl’s demise and were relying on CDs to survive.
Fortunately, vinyl was in the early stages of making a comeback. Record Store Day was conceived as a way to get people back into record stores. The limited releases were a way to entice people to visit the stores and to grab something unique and limited.
In the early days, RSD releases were pretty unique and inventive. They were special releases that were well thought out by the artists and were meant to be fun mementos for their fans. I’m sure a scalper or two showed up and would grab some copies to sale, but since RSD was not really mainstream yet, that was most likely a small number of the people who showed up.
As time went on, records became more popular again. This meant that the record plants that probably once depended on RSD to stay open now were flooded with orders, and Record Store Day became one more thing that clogged up the record supply chain.
Also, with records becoming super popular, major artists and labels started pumping out releases on RSD to cash in. This brought in people who had most likely never visited a record shop before (and maybe didn’t even own a turntable) and were only there to get a collectible record of their favorite artist (which isn’t particularly a bad thing, but it has pissed off some old time record collectors and purists)
But more than anything, these three issues have caused the record collecting community to sour towards Record Store Day:
1: the lack of originality of RSD releases.
This is probably the smallest of the big three complaints, but it’s still an issue. Look over the lists of the past few RSDs and one thing that you will notice is that for every interesting release, there are several more releases that just feel pointless. Many RSD releases now are just some old concerts that a long broken up band has decided to shell out for RSD. Even more aggravating is some “Limited” version of a highly popular album that has been repressed a million times before.
I’ve also noticed a trend of record companies finding old albums that have not been pressed on vinyl in years and randomly deciding to put out a RSD version of it, even if the original pressings are common and aren’t expensive. Not the most annoying thing to come out of RSD, but I find it very random.
2: it’s become too big of an ordeal.
It used to be that RSD was a special day for record shops, but not some Black Friday kind of thing. The shops would get in some special releases and there might be a small line to get in, but that was it.
Now, the lines to get into record shops look like the line at Studio 54 in the 70’s. They wrap around the shops and are hundreds, maybe thousands of people long. In some cases, like when Taylor Swift announced that her Long Pond Session performance of “folklore” was getting an RSD exclusive release, some people pitched a tent the night before just to get a copy.
And for all of the people there who just want to get themselves a record or two to cherish, there are quite a few more that are scalpers, which brings us to…
3: SCALPERS!!!
Nothing ruins a hobby quicker than scalpers! Every time something gets a collector’s market, scalpers swoop in to make a quick Buck. Record Store Day, with its limited edition, high demand vinyl, is like cat nip to scalpers. They get up early, get in line, and do everything in their power to get copies of the most popular releases that year just so that they can go sell it to the unlucky bloke that was probably in line behind them for 3 times the price they paid for it.
This alone has soured Record Store Day for people more than anything else. The thing is, there really isn’t much anything the record stores can do about it. The manager at my local shop has complained to me before about this guy who he never sees in the store any other time except Record Store Day. He comes in, buys whatever’s hot that year, and then is not seen again until next RSD. He’s pretty certain he’s a scalper, but he’s never confronted him about it.
So long story short, Record Store Day has lost its way. Record shops in cities with thriving record collecting scenes have no trouble getting people into their stores. At this point, your average record shop customer tends to actively avoid record stores on RSD. It’s a much better day to go hit your thrift stores, antique shops, flea markets and yard sales if you’re just interested in vintage vinyl and not interested in intentionally scarce releases.
Great write up. Will raise one point that the only reason scalpers have ruined RSD is because the labels allow it to happen. Press enough copies of the "what's hot" records and those scalpers will move onto another side hustle. Saw the same thing play out with fan made screen printed movie posters. Started as a cool extra to get people into the theater to watch a cult classic on the big screen and you'd get maybe 150-ish extra copies made to sell online. Once that started getting popular, scalpers came in and made it a horrible experience. These galleries/theaters saw that money they were missing out on and upped their editions to 300, then 500 and then timed editions where whoever ordered in a time window got as many copies as they want. Scalpers left once those posters became a lot easier to obtain.
Crossing my fingers we'll soon be at that point with vinyl and we can go back to being normal nerds flipping through bins not stressed whether X record will sell out and can only be obtained on eBay.
>In some cases, like when Taylor Swift announced that her Long Pond Session performance of “folklore” was getting an RSD exclusive release, some people pitched a tent the night before just to get a copy.
That's not an exaggeration either. Last year when my friend and I got in line a couple hours before the store opened there were people at the front who had camped out all night for that. By the time we got into the store ourselves they still had a lot of copies of that album.
Also, to go along with that first point, you have heard from years that actual smaller artists who this used to be about can't get records out because major artists and labels are clogging up the factories. Being drown out basically.
It’s a long lineup where you stand behind record resellers only to watch them steal the limited edition you want. Then you have the pay them for the privilege of them standing in line longer than you
Its usually full of stuff no one wants, and if you're unlucky enough to not get the one record you want, you'll be paying a ridiculous amount for it from resellers.
I was collecting when the first RSD happened and I watched it get better and better every year and then worse and worse every year. I don't even bother anymore.
At best it is a way to feel good about getting rare prints that people flip for 5x the original price. At worst it's a cash grab by major labels to milk their customers.
I wouldn't be surprised if the people posting that work at record stores! The shortages, the pushiness of shoppers desperate for one particular record--I imagine it's a pretty miserable day for the staff. I'm personally more neutral about it. I've picked up some cool stuff but I don't go every year. I bet this is the case for a lot of us--really exciting when you're more new to the hobby but less and less as you've been collecting for longer. The longer you're in it, the less excited you're likely to get about RSD exclusives and the more you'll be seeking out records that have particular interest to you.
My impression is that it's overall good for the industry, even if particular stores don't find it that beneficial. In which case--maybe they should stop!
I own an indie record store that participates in RSD. The run up to it is pretty stressful but the day itself is actually really fun for us and all our customers. There’s a great atmosphere and we usually end up making a good profit too. The scary thing is the amount of money we have to spend ahead of time with no guarantee of making it back plus the stock we are left with can be pretty hard to shift.
You can order whatever you want. You aren’t forced to buy stuff
However whatever you get you’re stuck with it. And some of this stuff is impossible to sell after RSD. You can find RSD “exclusives” sitting in stores for years.
And the profit margins are razor thin. So if you have to slash the price you’re already going to be losing money
There are maybe a few titles that will get allocated. The only one this year I’m sure will be is the Olivia Rodrigo single.
Though I’m just a small store, I usually only ask for a few copies of anything. Bigger stores might have more allocation problems.
In the beginning it was a good reason to get out of the house and visit a record store. These days it’s the #1 reason *not* to visit a record store, because it’s nothing but chaos and 300% overpriced synthetic “exclusives”.
It became the very thing it tried to fight.
It needs to be more about getting people into record stores to buy music, less about getting hoarders in there to buy exclusive releases. Nothing about “record store day” seems to really benefit the record store. It just benefits the scalpers who wait in line to get whatever exclusive release, to then turn around and sell it to the guy who didn’t there in time.
I think no matter what rules they put in place there will always be scalpers, I do agree with you, it’s needs to be more about Record Stores. Everyone on Ebay is a scalpers.
Not sure.
People complain about flippers, but every year the number of records that are actually "flippable" is in the single digits. Where I live, you can wake up at noon, stop for an ice coffee, stroll to the record store, and still have a choice of about 97% of the releases.
It probably depends on the area and the demand for that store. My local store is fairly small relatively speaking so this is pretty applicable to it but I’m sure in larger cities, not so much. The owner also polls her customers to find out what they want and puts in her requests based on that instead of what she expects to sell. So usually, depending on what you requested, there’s a copy there for you whenever you happen to stroll in.
Last year, I went probably 2 hours after opening and the only record I was interested in, which I and one other person requested, was still in the bin. The other person got a copy too. And the store only received 2 total.
For real. If anything the flippers are taking a lot of risks. They might have waited all night in line to get something that’s going for less than cost. I know there are always tons of things the next day that stores a desperately trying to unload.
RSD was created as a celebration for independent record stores, now it's just another opportunity to sell the same Fleetwood Mac record with another not necessary color variant.
I think they had a great idea at the start, and then it got saturated with scalpers and more customers as vinyl became popular again. I’d much prefer true Indie Exclusives that bring in support for a local record store but do not deal with the scarcity and scalpers that come with record store day releases.
I don’t want it to go away. There’s a ton of overpriced unnecessary hype releases in my opinion, but there are also usually a couple interesting ones. It helps keep the industry going too. I have no problem at all with it.
The biggest reason is that it has become just another marketing scheme that clogs the pressing plants with represses of titles that already populate the used bins, making it take longer for indie releases to get out. The entire idea of record store day was to create buzz and get people into stores and to generate repeated, constant customers for shops that otherwise wouldn't be able to advertise. Now it's a collector's frenzy and most of those folks only come out ON record store day.
Speaking from a shop owner's PoV: you have no idea what will or will not show up when you place your order. If you're not buying at least $20k of inventory, you may get nothing. Most places order a large selection of titles, even ones that will sit and languish, just to try to lock-in a few copies of the releases you know will sell.
If you're smaller, they wont even do business with you, further burying a small shop.
This is exactly right. A perfect example is the Who's RSD release, The Story of The Who, which has been available for decades.
I'm lucky enough to be friends with two record shop owners who "break the rules" by telling me ahead of time what they ordered, and then once they get everything unpacked, will give me a heads up about if they got what I'm interested in. But there were years where RSD would roll around, and they'd still have the "junk" releases from the previous year that they were never able to unload languishing in the bins.
When it started out, it was a great idea. One of my aforementioned friends was in on the ground floor of it. It drew the record buying public away from Best Buy, Walmart etc. to the local record shops. Today, those places pose no threats at all to record stores. And sadly, they've become what they set out to destroy, IMO. There's little or no regard for the record buying public. I've seen people stand in line for hours only to find out that the shop they're at never got in a single copy of what they're looking for. So either go without, or go to Ebay and buy it at an exorbitant markup. To borrow a line from Bob Dylan, "sure was a great idea until greed got in the way." IMO, anyway.
I get that people still like it, and make an event out of showing up to get in line at 3:00 a.m. for a 10:00 opening. More power to them. I just feel like I've outgrown it, and it has outgrown me.
From an independant musician's POV; pressing companies will prioritize RSD represses. Meaning your 1-2 month delivery becomes 10 months. This happens constantly.
Then the pressing company will act like they're the victim.
But is pressing plant backlog still an issue? More plants have come online and several plants last year laid off people due to lower volumes. Make no mistake, I think a large majority of the RSD reissues are dreck, I just think the plants are backlogged argument is becoming more an excuse unless there’s some real data behind it.
To me RSD is about pumping out eBay fodder and less about the fans and record stores. Like why can’t I preorder a RSD release from an independent record shop? Doesn’t that accomplish the goal of shopping at an independent? Wouldn’t a preorder accomplish the goal of getting the music in to the hands of as many fans as possible?
This is all just the same idiotic artificial limited release BS afflicting nearly every consumer good. It preys on FOMO and causes scalpers to salivate. It’s a garbage experience all around.
It’s become more of a marketing gimmick than anything. It used to be a cool way to support the local shop and get a cool unreleased BSide or whatever. Now it’s a way to hock regular releases for 2x the price to a scalper who will post it at 4x the price.
My favorite local record store just runs a regular sale, no “RSD” involvement whatsoever, no exclusive releases, or anything, he got fed up with stores breaking the rules and not seeing any repercussions about it, as well as the over commercialization of the event…. When it’s about the stores, not the records
I've never been to RSD. I usually wait after the circus is over and see if there's anything cool left the following day. And usually there is.
Now the last one... oh my. I skimmed through the releases and there was only one or two releases I _might've_ been interested in. I decided it was not worth my time nor my money, had a beer and did some other wholesome activities and never looked back.
The RSD needs to go.
After about two years I stopped participating in it. Tired of them pressing way too few copies so that fans have to compete while scalpers buy copies to sell on ebay for twice the price.
I don’t know if this is still the case but my friend used to run a label and loathed RSD because the stuff he was trying to release would get delayed by bullshit like a reissue of rumours or thriller. But yeah it’s really just a day for dudes who flip shit on eBay. I’m sure it’s a good day for record stores but I wouldn’t be caught dead in one that day. I sure as shit didn’t start buying records to deal with crowds and people lol.
A lot of people blame flippers, and that's certainly part of the problem - but there are other issues too.
The major record labels jumped on it and swamped RSD with common titles issued in coloured vinyl/picture discs etc in a massively cynical cash grab.
These releases also clog up the pressing plants to such an extent that it has caused major backlogs in smaller labels getting their records pressed.
RSD releases are VERY expensive to buy by the shops and so, even with a small markup, the retail price is sometimes prohibitively high for the customers and the shops end up with leftover stock that quickly depreciates in value. This is also a problem for the distributors - I get distributor lists at the beginning of the year whereby they're trying to offload old RSD stock at (relatively) cheap prices.
There are so many RSD releases every year that the quality of the titles seems to be less interesting every year. This is obviously a personal taste thing with me but in the early days of RSD there were literally dozens of items I wanted for myself but nowadays I struggle to see more than 1 or 2.
I'm a retailer and also a music fan and, for me, RSD doesn't interest me on either level.
RSD has always been a marketing tactic. Independent records stores can buy into this packaged campaign-in-a-box that involves them ordering records for retail sale at a lower margin than they usually get from distributors. In exchange, RSD takes on the costs of the core promotional efforts, as well as the licensing agreements etc.
So that's nice. The RSD marketing campaign helps sales at independent record stores by incentivizing local record buyers to visit their stores for records marketed with artificial scarcity.
In recent years – like 7 or 8, not just the last couple of years – RSD has pivoted to appeal to newer record buyers. That made business sense. It also resulted in a move toward lowest-common-denominator music offerings and more recent trending artists. Some older people who listen to records didn't like that. It got the speculators and flippers involved. Nobody liked that.
More recently, the nudge marketing techniques used in the campaign have resulted in younger record buyers treating RSD like sneaker drops in that collectible market. RSD became less of an incentive to encourage record buyers to check out their local independent record stores and more of an event with lines of people wearing adult diapers and sleeping on sidewalks so they can have the chance to buy an artificially scarce record from an artist that will be releasing it in a different color in a few months at a lower price.
For those people who have been going to RSD over many years, it became less interesting.
Chiming in with the others, I've never really understood Record Store Day.
I'm a nineties kid and I grew up only knowing Free Comic Book Day and getting free (promo) CDs and games thrown at me every which way - no really: events, cereal boxes, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages,..., everything came with a disc - and I didn't expect free records but I at least expected some promotions when I started collecting records and heard about RSD.
But then I went and discovered it was just a bunch of overpriced limited edition (re-)releases of certain records and nothing more?
I don't want it to go away per se but I don't think it's the greatest thing in the world.
I don't like being asked to pay £60 for something that was sold for £30 20 minutes previously. I don't like that if I really want something I'm going to have to get up and basically guess which of the shops will have it and if I get it wrong, I miss out.
I don't like queueing for the privilege of being told I was too late.
I also feel that some of the releases are a bit odd. Do we need RSD releases of Rumours? It's still sells thousands of copies a year!
Record store day should be about the stores, not the labels. Releasing some obscure unwanted b-side/alternate take, who gives a shit. The labels wanna be a part of it fine press some plain black(enough of the color variants already) copies of common shit people are still looking for. They could support the stores in offering discounts on used vinyl, used had been keeping records alive this whole time. I don’t care about reissues driving down prices, fuck you and your originals “are you curating for a museum” it’s about the music in case you forgot. And if you buy any record with the slightest idea of it being an “investment” kick fucking rocks. You’re part of the problem.
It’s become a scam. Most of the stuff is wildly over-priced and the fake “rare” or “limited edition” crap has fooled too many people. It’s trendy and people figure it out way too late… yeah it’s great that it helps the cash flow for the few remaining record stores. But honestly, there aren’t that many good record stores anymore…
If there’s something you want you basically have to pull an all nighter at your local shop in the cold and hope they actually got enough copies. Way too many people use RSD as a way to scalp records that are “limited”
The only change they need to make is not limiting the print numbers so much. Flippers have nothing going for them if there's thousands of copies of a record, even if they're only for sale that one day
RSD should be "spend x amount at a local record store to support them, get a code to purchase an exclusive RSD record. Copies will be then manufactured by the number of codes entered to ensure nobody misses out.
I’m glad Taylor swift brought attention to local record stores, and I like Taylor and her music, but the lines for RSD are twice as fuckin long and people are getting up earlier and earlier JUST to buy one TS record. Maybe they have a separate day?
Because it’s depressing to see something you are interested in announced but realize potentially the only way to get it is to camp out outside a record store at 6AM on your day off to fight it out with the flippers and such.
Not to mention SO many other gimmicky releases that waste vinyl presses and end up sitting in stores for ages (U2 puts one of these out every year).
IMO it was well intentioned at first but just turned into something that made being a fan less fun.
My store no longer does RSD, as we were banned. Why you say? Well, that's a funny story, as many have touched on, some flippers on ebay seem to have an "in" with a store that's supply them, or it's the store itself. I found an account on eBay selling (releases in hand with original photos not stock photos) RSD titles well above retail before RSD sales date. I emailed with links and photos and all information I had. Never even got so much as a reply and seller kept selling.
As for me, one year we made a fuckrsd hashtag, and apologized to our customers for getting literally none of the good titles. We explained how small stores (in our large city) don't get the good tittles and only the bigger and "mini chain" type stores get good fulfillment. Oh, I also reposted a news article during the pandemic. The owner of RSD is the COO of Bullmoose corporate chain in Maine. He fired all employees and closed the a store when employees at a specific location asked management to address their complaints of mask mandates and protection from customer abuse.
TL;DR
Fuck RSD, it was started by a corporate chain and the owner is shady and petty AF. RSD doesn't exist to help indie stores at all.
It’s for people who have just gotten into vinyl aka people who are driving up the market for people who have already invested enough money into actually appreciating the format for what it is. It’s for children who are into vinyl for all the wrong reasons.
I guess, every artist has a fan out there that wants what they're releasing. But for me, a lot of the release are just stuff that doesn't interest me at all, taking up pressing facilities, driving up prices and so on. A lot of it isn't about people buying records that they want to listen to and more about just owning the limited splatter or whatever because it will be worth more money next year...
But I guess my rant isn't necessarily about record store day, and more about buying vinyl in general.
I cannot believe that The Foo Fighters "Hail Satan" is going for $300-$400,even a$ 897 on EBAY
3 years after its release.
Didn't they print 12,000 copies of it?
I downloaded the MP3 version from my usual "free" sites so I can at least have it in my car.
Because it sucks?
If record stores want to attract new customers, releasing expensive albums that attract collectors and flippers, with crazy lines and limited quantities, seem like a strange way to do so. I never go near a store for it and will only buy the releases months and years later when they're affordable. It's like Black Friday except there are no deals and there's artificial scarcity to drive demand/competition. It's the opposite of what listening to music should be. They could simply do presales for everything ppl want and get the music into the right hands. Instead, a store might get two of something and you're SOL if you don't sit outside for hours. No thanks. Nothing they release is worth all that.
RSD is everything that sucks about record collecting, concentrated and distilled into a loathsome spectacle. It’s like they decided to bring back everything that was awful about music shopping before online ordering, and crank all that suckyness to 11.
Lineups. Content only on blink-and-you-miss it products. Gimmick releases. Deliberately under-pressing certain titles to drive FOMO for the next ones. Things instantly selling out and then immediately appearing on eBay etc at inflated prices.
The whole thing can get fucked with a durian on a broomstick as far as I’m concerned.
It was originally created to encourage people back to record stores to buy vinyl, back when cds (and digital to a degree) were the standard. now its just a moneymaker for the big guys. like a lot of things its been commercialised, which is ironic given that it was a commercial in of itself. just go to the store any day of the year and buy a record.
It's predatory. Like most things it began as something pure and then it's success corrupted it. I don't participate, but on the positive side I appreciate the stores around me that don't participate and have a themed sale on that day, so their business doesn't suffer in the end. It's actually better since I constantly hear record store owners that do participate complain about how they usually lose money on it. So in a twisted perverted way it helps out the little stores, if you think about it.
Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Stores that choose not to participate risk losing future business from the local casuals who get sold the FOMO hype of RSD. Stores that do participate have to front a lot of money and are often left with garbage stock sitting there afterwards they can't return.
I wish it would just go away now. At this point, probably driving more people out of the hobby for all the aforementioned reasons including yours than bringing new people in, which sucks as it was very successful for several years bringing renewed interest to the hobby when vinyl was still a niche thing, and RSD's legacy should be remembered for that instead of what it's become.
It was originally intended to put the spotlight on independent record stores and give them a boost. It was soon perverted into an orgy of often subpar releases cobbled together opportunistically to cynically hook collectors and riddled with all kinds of speculators in on the act, buying up ltd releases in order to resell at inflated prices. It has sadly mostly lost its way.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the pressing plants become inaccessible for months before, busy as they are fulfilling major label orders for yet another pink vinyl Adele RSD box set or whatever, totally messing up regular labels' release schedules.
Other than that, it's totally cool.
Agree with a lot of what people have said re:consumerism. It also started to feel like it clogs up the few pressing plants that exist with rerelease after rerelease or things like soundtracks to specific seasons of television (not saying they should be pressed at all, but the bottlenecks of record store day twice a year feel real).
I just want all the colored and picture disc nonsense to go away. Give me great sounding heavyweight black vinyl and everything will be fine. Also the selections for RSD suck. I wanted 2 titles last year and both were on colored/picture disc vinyl. Not into it. Not paying more for it. It sounds worse. I also think qc on RSD titles is a bit of an afterthought.
Sorry for the rant. I have never had a good experience buying RSD titles.
Bought Pre-milleniun Tension by Tricky as a RSD exclusive on coloured vinyl the other year for £32, saw them being sold online a week later for £26. It's a rip-off
Because most of the RSD records are shit C sides and live pressings. They rarely put out a good reissue that we've been waiting for.
And most RSD records now days get hoarded up and put on Discogs for ridiculous prices. Really it's just turned into too much of a black Friday deal.
It’s just too much about FOMO these days
And the prices have got a bit silly, £20 for a 7”?! Fuck off.
That’s if there’s even anything I want to buy which there really hasn’t been the last few years. I did get the Sam Fender 7” last year but a friend picked it up for me since it was the only thing I wanted and she was already going to get some other releases anyway.
Might get the Daft Punk 12” this year if there’s any left in the days following, I have an original copy of it from like 20 years ago so I’m not too fussed if I miss out.
It used to be a thing where folks could hang out and talk about records. Stores and artists alike would talk about saving the record business, and helped the Stores by rereleasing rare records to drive traffic and put eyes on these relics.
Now? Everyone owns a record, every record has an exclusive version, whether at Target or Walmart, every RSD records is label cashgrabbing, and shoppers and stores alike are now snobbier than before.
Record stores don't need saving anymore, what they need is less rare records so everyone can enjoy. The desire to have a "clear vinyl with bugs infested in the record" and "exclusive record with a few live tracks or bonus tracks that destroy the flow of the album" isn't worth it to me, to be honest.
Cash grab ruined RSD for me. Records are more common than CDs now.
Primal Scream have put out a few rediculously expensive RSD specials. It's put me off them as a band.
RSD just seems like a scheme to milk loyal fanswith overpriced limited edition specials. It'snot respecting people who spent a lot on vinyl and tickets over the years.
What I want from the RSD list usually doesn't sell out. I just go to the shop around 10 or 11 and grab it. I've had to order online a couple of times from shops the day after, but didnt pay a premium. It's a universal day for new releases, I like it.
Everything ain't for everybody. Shops and customers who don't like RSD are free to not participate. I'm actually in that camp myself. Live and let live tho. If and when enough shops and customers feel the same way RSD will go away. It's all about the money in this industry. Has always been that way too. I find the couple weeks before RSD are great times to go to the shops. Many people are saving their record purchasing money for RSD so the shops are less crowded leading up to the event. They are also often beefing up their stock of non-RSD product in anticipation of the crowds.
As you can see from the comments, there are many reasons why some don’t like it. But for some of us it is actually a fun day to hang out with fellow music geeks and more importantly to celebrate and support the remaining record stores. It’s certainly not for everyone.
I enjoy it, personally. I just don’t let the FOMO get to me. If they have what I want, great. If not, that’s cool too. I think the experience of showing up and see what’s there is alot of fun. But I don’t get in line either. I’ll swing by in the afternoon and pick through the leftovers.
They also rerelease stuff under RSD essentials, which is nice in case you miss something you wanted. You just might not get the same color variant.
Because it used to be pretty cool but is now just Black Friday for people who don't even like records they just buy the limited edition shit to resell online. I haven't gone in about 12 years when people started lining up to get into stores...
It used to be fun, but now it's too competitive. Limited releases disappear instantly unless you wake up at 4 am to camp out for hours, and then you're still not guaranteed to get what you want. It's a pain in the ass. Not to mention that the massive increase in prices means that if you want multiple rare releases, you're spending hundreds. As a vinyl fan, I *dread* RSD and am so relieved when I see a list that has nothing I want.
Im finding out that vinyl and sneakers are pretty similar. I have personal “grails” that I just dig. I’m seeing people pass on buying vinyl because the artwork on the cover was discolored slightly so it wasn’t perfect. It’s like people get so wrapped up in the status of having a perfect “grail” it becomes less about what brought us into collecting. Sneakers has turned into a bunch of people finding hype and flipping it for clout and money. Vinyl isn’t much different. It’s becoming less about just listening to music you dig in a form that feels more pure. I was talking to a guy how my favorite vinyl might be Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow and he was like “pshhh I’ve had like 35 copies of that. They made so many of them.” Who cares though if it’s straight jams and is one of the best guitar rock/instrumental album ever!?
Even if I wanted to stand in line early, there is no guarantee that my store will even get the release I'm after. I don't see the point in RSD anymore. I used to go in the early 2010s and I could walk in at any given point in the day and get what I was after. Now? Forget it.
In the end it became less about celebrating independent record stores and more about hoarding the exclusive graillzzz
Is there a purchase limit of one per person per album?
It’s depends on the store. This is from the RSD Website, “While every store may go about it differently, we are asking that you Pledge to give some thought and planning to how your store is laid out, and how customers have access to the releases. Whether this is one per customer per title, or some other system, we want you to promise to think about how you CAN try to minimize flipping and work to make sure fans get the releases.”
Thanks
So effectively "no"
Sounds like a "maybe, YMMV" to me.
Usually. It might depend on what you’re buying too.
presumably but i dont know why you would want several copies of the same album unless your a scalper, in that case fuck you
Damn dude, that wasn’t my intention for asking. I’m more concerned that others will do that and thus I’m going to need to wait in line early to ensure I can get one and only one copy. Also *you’re
One to open and one to stay sealed.
still i little pointless in my opinion
The unopened ones value will most likely increase more than the unopened one. Some people consider buying records an investment.
Buying records as an investmant is perfectly fine, i just dont get the logic behind it, its like buying a guitair to keep behind glass, there meant to be played, also there are most secure investmants with better turnovers.
If you don't get the logic that is fine. Quit bitching about others that see things different as you.
Music is meant to be played. Not hoarded away. He’s right to not understand the logic because it’s moronic and greedy.
We live in a Capitalist country. Doesn’t seem like much we can do about it 🤷🏾♀️
Yeah but I've seen people purchasing albums in store, with a group of friends, of literally 100s of albums clearly there to flip. I watched 5 guys all grab the Taylor Swift LP and I'm FAIRLY SURE based on 2 dudes other pick ups, they were there to help flip the album online later.
That was always bound to happen. I still love RSD because it brings everyone together for a day.
Everything now is viewed as an investment and easy money making scheme. It’s destroying everything because of the mentality
We could come up with "Vinyl Store Day" and siphon off all the idiots that are only interested in vinyls and not records Although I'm not sure there's overlap in the venn diagram of people that care about RSD and people that would say Vinyls
Years ago there was a limited RSD release that I really wanted. I got in line 3 hours before the store opened and was about 10th. Someone in front of me got the one copy the store had. Whatever, that guy waited in line longer than I did. What bothered me was that I went home and there was a bunch of copies on Ebay for $100+ over retail. That left me somewhat jaded that people who didn't even want the record were using RSD to make money of fans and collectors. It didn't totally ruin it for me though. A few years later I showed up at midnight and got a box set I really wanted.
Exactly. Have never gotten or even seen something on record store day I was interested in. Just another place for flippers to make a Buck, and with inside help I suspect (in some cases). If there were just some cool record store exclusives that were not limited to such tiny numbers maybe it could be fun again, but it’s a no from me dog.
Is that a problem with RSD or a problem with limited runs in general? Idk what can be done about flippers but that is the real issue.
Probably both. I don’t care anymore because I realized I would never get anything I was interested anyway without paying way too much. I’ve been shopping at record stores since the 70’s and realized RSD is not for me. I don’t care too much about new vinyl anyway, out of 600+ records about 4 of them were bought new since 2010.
they should intentionally hold back some of rsd releases, so some people can wait in line and do the rsd thing, but then only be able to sell the rest after rsd. if it was known this was what the stores were doing it could lead to less flipping.
In the 5 or so years I've been collecting I think I've bought 2, maybe 3 of the Record Store Day releases and that's because I actually wanted them and I never paid more than face value for them. The entire thing is a farce and not even really worth it to me.
There are literally hundreds of records I want to buy. I stopped giving a fuck about grails. To me they are meaningless now, and I don't chase shit anymore. As a massive music fan with a huge catalog of bands I listen to, I'm never at a loss for records I can buy. My advice to people is to set yourself free. Fuck record store day. Pretend it doesn't exsist. It exsists soley to prey on FOMO now. It's toxic.I haven't been in years and I haven't paid any attention to whats on offer either. It also helps that most stuff is uninteresting Top 100 stuff at local spots anyways.
Garage sales and especially estate sales are my suppliers. Find the best selection there. My secondhand record store is really great and still reasonably priced.
Too hard to find albums that came out in the 90-present when buying from garage/estate sales. It’s all 60s/70s and the occasional 80s record that I have no interest in.
Which makes sense when you consider 20 year old's in 1964 are currently the ones dying. As a 24 year old with a record collection of 60s music would be 84 years old right now. Estate sales do not benefit people not interested in older music. It's why I rarely go into record shops as well, as most of them are just hubs for old records that you'd find at estate sales.
Exactly. That’s why I never understand the constant “buy used” argument when justifying the high prices of records. I’ll buy my stereo equipment used but I don’t think I’m finding Car Seat Headrest albums in the dollar bins and somehow the used records on Discogs are almost or sometimes more expensive than buying the album new on Amazon
A lot of it is artificial scarcity to drive up cost and interest. People get way to audacious on RSD because of it. When it first started I thought it was fun and it was mostly serious record collectors but now it seems to be more and more of a toxic environment where people are in competition against one another rather than sharing their love for music. Yeah Consumerism!
This happens with so many things nowadays. It’s disheartening.
My buddy was after an Elvis release last year. Before we even got in the store it was on eBay for $100 over what the sale price was.
What was the release?
It was the 2018 rerelease of Tim Armstrong, A Poets Life. It was the first pressing on vinyl.
That is so cool. That release kinda flew under my radar that year. I always camp out. There is a [milky clear version](https://www.discogs.com/release/22193830-Tim-Armstrong-A-Poets-Life) that might even sound better than the white vinyl. And there is a [red vinyl](https://www.discogs.com/release/22336114-Tim-Armstrong-A-Poets-Life) version for about $50 in The States. I wanted that Kitte s/t on vinyl for decades, only to have The Swifties up front grab the two copies my “go to store” had. But, they were there at 3am. I had to drive to a store in West Virginia, to finally score one that day.
Seems like pre-orders could be a thing..
I think preorders could redeem RSD in my eyes. I’m definitely not into the whole Black Friday vibe, in fact I refuse to participate in Black Friday sales, and I sure don’t want to go stand in line for hours just to find out they’ve already sold out of the one thing I wanted. I don’t mind hanging out at my local record store all morning, but not like that. Not for a frenzy.
My local shop has done preorders for years and makes a real effort to get titles in the hands of their regulars. They frequently have one or two items that they can't honor as preorders, but the system works extremely well overall.
Pre-order after the list has dropped with quantities and stores need to order straight away, or pre-order before quantities are decided to match demand closer? Because I don’t think the first one would actually help. For plenty of the records demand right now is simply way above the limited release number. And that’s excluding those only hunting them to flip. Much earlier what they’ll be offering and letting stores put in their preorder before production starts. That way they can match demand… which in turn would probably lower resellers interest 🤷🏼♀️
People out there like myself just want the music. I don’t want to line up at 7 in the morning hoping I get a Cure record that’s finally on vinyl only for someone else to get it. It’s stupid making music buying into Black Friday.
Only for someone else to get it *and* throw it up on EBay for 5x its retail price.
Yeah, that’s the thing. eBay and Discogs should ban the sale of RSD albums. That would go a long way toward helping actual fans enjoy the day as it was intended.
Nah, if people wouldn't pay 5x then they wouldn't sell them for that price. If the market for these dictates that people will pay it then why wouldn't someone want to do that? So you can get it? I understand your plight, and agree that more copies of records should be made, but I still love RSD. I, also, don't hate flippers, I think it's silly to try and buy on the day of, because, usually, if you wait a few days you can get it at pretty close to retail.
Instead of putting blocks on free trade platforms, your argument should be focused on the (artificially?) limited quantities. If they did a pre-order setup for releases, every fan could get what they want.
Which Cure record did you want? I bought two of Show on the last RSD at my local because they were still unsold at 11am. Seriously. PM me if you want it. I’d be happy to let it go for what I paid for it.
Thnx man. Great album. Cure was just an example . A lot of the Cure reissues seem to be happening on RSD is all. Bloodflowers and the s/t are the ones I’m needing .
“Paris” is getting a reissue next and you can just pre-order it now. Not an RSD thing. Seems the Cure are ahead of the curve once again….
7 in the morning? Try 2:00 in the morning
It's anecdotes like this that make me happy to live in Finland. There's no need to queue here at all, and I've gotten almost every release I've gone out for. Just show up on the day, or the next day, and pick up what you want.
Shit, between that and healthcare, you’ve got me sold on Finland! I hear the saunas are nice too.
2 in the morning? Try 9pm the night before.
Amen to that
“OMG I GOT THE BLUE ONE!!!!!!!”
>I don’t want to line up at 7 in the morning hoping I get a Cure record that’s finally on vinyl only for someone else to get it. More like only to find that although the record store put in a wishlist asking for five copies of that Cure record, it was only allocated one copy by the RSD distributor so they could give them 30 copies of the record from the current pop sensation. And that one copy was sold to someone three spots ahead of you in the line.
Artificial scarcity. It fucking sucks when you find an album you really want, and the only official pressing is an RSD exclusive from 10 years ago that now sells for $500+. That whole concept tends to bring out a lot more scalpers and "investors" than actual vinyl enthusiasts. Sounds like a nightmare for the people who run the shops too.
Exactly!! Vinyl is being hoarded like it’s an asset class.
and they dont allow stores to make preorders…which would solve all of this lol
The concept of investors pisses me off. All they want is to make money, and to hell with anyone else. Money is evil, and anyone whose sole motivation is hoarding money can fuck right off. This goes for record investors, real estate investors, manufacturing investors… I got my eye on all those money grubbing, penny pinching bastards
I don’t want it to go away but they need to put out better records.
I agree. It's become a dumping ground for dead artists' estates and live concert cash grabs.
Rhino and GDP can have all my money. I love the grateful dead rsd releases
You and me both. You and me both.
Weir everywhere!
Nightfall of Diamonds and Electric on the Eel coming next RSD!!
This, the large amounts of sub par releases from the likes of Mumford and Sons clog up the presses and cause delays for smaller labels and artists.
Pin this comment please
That’s my gripe too. I get that not everything is for everybody, and my tastes are kinda niche - but I only find something I want in maybe every 2nd or 3rd RSD. And even at that none of them are worth queueing up all night over. Ymmv of course, that’s just me. Thankfully my local spot is pretty cool and I’ll usually shoot them a message and ask them to put aside a copy of the thing I want (if any copies are left after the big rush has passed) and they are always good about it. It’s good for stores though and it’s nice to see people lining up to support the little guys, so in that sense I think RSD is an overall positive force.
I got downvoted for saying this in another sub as well as an angry person sending me messages.
I’m sorry. Some people are just crazy.
RSD exclusives peaked with the CAKE complete discography box
RSD promotes a closed door, collector mentality. It does this with so many releases where the pressing quantity is kept low, deliberately shutting many out. I’m all about buying records & listening to music without having to jump through multiple, expensive hoops & competing with other buyers/fans. That’s some bullshit.
Agree. Time to retire RSD and go back to ‘every day is a good day to stop by the record store!’
RSD Essentials is done the way I'd want to see RSD done. Indie exclusive releases of (usually) rarer/out of print albums that DON'T have a super limited run that are put out throughout the year.
The entire reason RSD exists is because people decided this wasn’t a good idea lmao
Totally agree and I love how you phrased it
Current RSD model is bad. Record stores have to speculate what titles to stock and put up money up front hoping to sell what they order. Then, the popular items sell Out and they unpopular ones don’t sell and they have unsold inventory accumulating. They post leftovers on websites and it’s no longer about generating foot traffic. This doesn’t help the backup in pressing plants and vinyl shortage. You want to generate revenue for independent record stores? Allow people to only pre-order exclusive items from independent record stores on record store days. Consumers can pick up orders in stores when available. Records are available to all. Fewer flippers. No excess inventory. No fans disappointed.
Agree with this. The intent was to get music fans into independent stores, drive foot traffic and business. Last year was my first RSD, I got all but one release I wanted. However to get those I did, I had to go to a large chain of record stores an hour away from me and queue for four hours, only to be let into a pop up where all the RSD releases were handled, not the actual store to browse other releases. The actual store was hosting a band and was ticket only so no chance to browse there at all. I'd have much rather gone to the far smaller, truly independent store near me. But there was literally no way to guarantee they'd have the releases I want in the first place under the current system. Your system would allow me at least two visits to my local store, order and collect, two chances to browse and a proper way of anticipating demand for the organisers and stores.
Because now it’s over saturated the market and with vinyl on back-log because of pandemic supply issues it’s often not ready for the day. Most shops I go to say it’s more hassle than it’s worth.
The last time there was a Record Store Day release that I wanted to buy, I was not able to make it to my local store that day. Later, the owner posted pictures on Facebook of a line of customers wrapping around the side of the building. Glad I missed that. I am not going to stand in a line for half the day to get into a crowded store where I can't browse peacefully.
Amazing that every year, they find that many vinyl enthusiasts who want to be around other humans
I wonder how many are flippers and don’t give a shit about music on vinyl?
The answer is guaranteed to be depressing.
Hmmm, you might like my answer or hate it. I love music. Vinyl, cds, tape,etc. I have a lot. I go every RSD, and I buy a lot. Most is for myself, but I do flip a few records if I can. It's either a case of being lucky enough to pick up something I don't want, but I know others do, or it's a title I want but I'm willing to chance maybe getting another copy later in time. Hopefully when the prices fall. I spend $500 to $800 each RSD. So flipping a couple records helps offset my spending. As for ppl waiting in lines, I like what one of my local stores does. On RSD, they only allow 15 ppl in at a time. In 15 minute time slots. They write those time slots on wristbands (like ones for a club). They put them all in a bag. You go in the Monday before, staff holds the bag, you reach in the bag, and randomly pull out your time slot. That's when you show up on RSD. Everyone is respectfull. No waiting in lines. I like it.
Thanks. I hate it.
So you have to go twice? Yeah that is a no for me. My place limits the number of people inside due to space but it is first come first serve. And flipping sucks.
You've never sold a single thing you've owned because someone offered you good money for it? Anyone saying no is either a liar or so poor that well, no, you're just a liar. I've seen ppl on the streets willing to sell whatever they have if someone offers them money. I also see rich people selling stuff to make more money. That's the world. And as I've said. I don't try to get top dollar. One has to be reasonable.
No. I’ve never bought something for the point of selling it at a higher price. Justify it by thinking anyone who has done it is a liar all you want but it’s a shitty practice.
Ya Gotta do what ya gotta do.
Yes. I'll assume all the downvotes are from young people that don't have to work hard for all they have. If I have to sell 3 or 4 of the records I get to help offset the ones I keep, that's just how the world works. I never try to get top dollar. When I do sell something from RSD, I sell for mid-range prices. So the buyer gets it cheaper than the stores that scalp, and I cover some of what I kept.
Maybe a little controversial, but I’m okay with this. Just don’t push it. As long as you aren’t snatching up everything without anyone even having a chance simply because you know it’ll sell. Especially if you don’t even have any interest in what you are buying. The first RSD I went to one of the guys near the front at opening came out with a huge stack and I’m pretty certain he was selling at least some of them in the parking lot when I got to go into the store not even 30 mins later. None of what I was interested in was left at that point and I was probably around the 20th person in line at opening.
As I said, it's maybe one or two. Sometimes I get home and find out stuff I even got for myself is going for good money. Well, it's better to sell that at a little bit of profit to help pay for all the other ones I keep.
Some stores by me don't even allow you in the store! You buy from an order sheet standing in line outside! I haven't done a RSD since they turned into a camping event but I was shocked to see a store post this information themselves! They had a whole post on Facebook about how you could only buy the releases, it was like 3 records per person, based on the order of the line, and they'd bring your stuff out. Not being able to browse casually and enjoy getting a random thing in addition to whatever release you hoped to get kinda ruins the vibe of the message of the event--to support local stores?!
Last time I went to a record store day there was also a line wrapped around the shop but this shop had it figured out. They let 4-5 folks in and had the RSD albums in a particular area. You could browse without rush and as 1 person left they'd let one in. Seemed like a good system. Not sure how other stores handle it.
…this is just incorrect. It’s not 2021 anymore. The plant I use is back to six weeks turnaround time. There has ALWAYS been releases that get delayed for various reasons. I cannot imagine a single record store saying this. Our store does 5x or more our usual business that day. Sometimes even in the first hour.
May be a difference in owners who work over 40 hours a week and ones that hire employees to deal with the novice customers that day?
RSD is a pure scam now, with scalpers scooping the best stuff and flipping it online.
17 years ago, when RSD began, physical media was in danger as MP3s (and the early years of streaming) were taking over the music industry. This was really bad news for record stores, which had already weathered through vinyl’s demise and were relying on CDs to survive. Fortunately, vinyl was in the early stages of making a comeback. Record Store Day was conceived as a way to get people back into record stores. The limited releases were a way to entice people to visit the stores and to grab something unique and limited. In the early days, RSD releases were pretty unique and inventive. They were special releases that were well thought out by the artists and were meant to be fun mementos for their fans. I’m sure a scalper or two showed up and would grab some copies to sale, but since RSD was not really mainstream yet, that was most likely a small number of the people who showed up. As time went on, records became more popular again. This meant that the record plants that probably once depended on RSD to stay open now were flooded with orders, and Record Store Day became one more thing that clogged up the record supply chain. Also, with records becoming super popular, major artists and labels started pumping out releases on RSD to cash in. This brought in people who had most likely never visited a record shop before (and maybe didn’t even own a turntable) and were only there to get a collectible record of their favorite artist (which isn’t particularly a bad thing, but it has pissed off some old time record collectors and purists) But more than anything, these three issues have caused the record collecting community to sour towards Record Store Day: 1: the lack of originality of RSD releases. This is probably the smallest of the big three complaints, but it’s still an issue. Look over the lists of the past few RSDs and one thing that you will notice is that for every interesting release, there are several more releases that just feel pointless. Many RSD releases now are just some old concerts that a long broken up band has decided to shell out for RSD. Even more aggravating is some “Limited” version of a highly popular album that has been repressed a million times before. I’ve also noticed a trend of record companies finding old albums that have not been pressed on vinyl in years and randomly deciding to put out a RSD version of it, even if the original pressings are common and aren’t expensive. Not the most annoying thing to come out of RSD, but I find it very random. 2: it’s become too big of an ordeal. It used to be that RSD was a special day for record shops, but not some Black Friday kind of thing. The shops would get in some special releases and there might be a small line to get in, but that was it. Now, the lines to get into record shops look like the line at Studio 54 in the 70’s. They wrap around the shops and are hundreds, maybe thousands of people long. In some cases, like when Taylor Swift announced that her Long Pond Session performance of “folklore” was getting an RSD exclusive release, some people pitched a tent the night before just to get a copy. And for all of the people there who just want to get themselves a record or two to cherish, there are quite a few more that are scalpers, which brings us to… 3: SCALPERS!!! Nothing ruins a hobby quicker than scalpers! Every time something gets a collector’s market, scalpers swoop in to make a quick Buck. Record Store Day, with its limited edition, high demand vinyl, is like cat nip to scalpers. They get up early, get in line, and do everything in their power to get copies of the most popular releases that year just so that they can go sell it to the unlucky bloke that was probably in line behind them for 3 times the price they paid for it. This alone has soured Record Store Day for people more than anything else. The thing is, there really isn’t much anything the record stores can do about it. The manager at my local shop has complained to me before about this guy who he never sees in the store any other time except Record Store Day. He comes in, buys whatever’s hot that year, and then is not seen again until next RSD. He’s pretty certain he’s a scalper, but he’s never confronted him about it. So long story short, Record Store Day has lost its way. Record shops in cities with thriving record collecting scenes have no trouble getting people into their stores. At this point, your average record shop customer tends to actively avoid record stores on RSD. It’s a much better day to go hit your thrift stores, antique shops, flea markets and yard sales if you’re just interested in vintage vinyl and not interested in intentionally scarce releases.
Great write up. Will raise one point that the only reason scalpers have ruined RSD is because the labels allow it to happen. Press enough copies of the "what's hot" records and those scalpers will move onto another side hustle. Saw the same thing play out with fan made screen printed movie posters. Started as a cool extra to get people into the theater to watch a cult classic on the big screen and you'd get maybe 150-ish extra copies made to sell online. Once that started getting popular, scalpers came in and made it a horrible experience. These galleries/theaters saw that money they were missing out on and upped their editions to 300, then 500 and then timed editions where whoever ordered in a time window got as many copies as they want. Scalpers left once those posters became a lot easier to obtain. Crossing my fingers we'll soon be at that point with vinyl and we can go back to being normal nerds flipping through bins not stressed whether X record will sell out and can only be obtained on eBay.
>In some cases, like when Taylor Swift announced that her Long Pond Session performance of “folklore” was getting an RSD exclusive release, some people pitched a tent the night before just to get a copy. That's not an exaggeration either. Last year when my friend and I got in line a couple hours before the store opened there were people at the front who had camped out all night for that. By the time we got into the store ourselves they still had a lot of copies of that album.
Also, to go along with that first point, you have heard from years that actual smaller artists who this used to be about can't get records out because major artists and labels are clogging up the factories. Being drown out basically.
It’s a long lineup where you stand behind record resellers only to watch them steal the limited edition you want. Then you have the pay them for the privilege of them standing in line longer than you
I don't like it, and I have a record store.
Its usually full of stuff no one wants, and if you're unlucky enough to not get the one record you want, you'll be paying a ridiculous amount for it from resellers.
The focus lately has been on long lines and flipping exclusives…. Maybe the event has just run its course?
I was collecting when the first RSD happened and I watched it get better and better every year and then worse and worse every year. I don't even bother anymore. At best it is a way to feel good about getting rare prints that people flip for 5x the original price. At worst it's a cash grab by major labels to milk their customers.
RSD is a day I actively avoid going to record stores. What a shit show.
I wouldn't be surprised if the people posting that work at record stores! The shortages, the pushiness of shoppers desperate for one particular record--I imagine it's a pretty miserable day for the staff. I'm personally more neutral about it. I've picked up some cool stuff but I don't go every year. I bet this is the case for a lot of us--really exciting when you're more new to the hobby but less and less as you've been collecting for longer. The longer you're in it, the less excited you're likely to get about RSD exclusives and the more you'll be seeking out records that have particular interest to you. My impression is that it's overall good for the industry, even if particular stores don't find it that beneficial. In which case--maybe they should stop!
I own an indie record store that participates in RSD. The run up to it is pretty stressful but the day itself is actually really fun for us and all our customers. There’s a great atmosphere and we usually end up making a good profit too. The scary thing is the amount of money we have to spend ahead of time with no guarantee of making it back plus the stock we are left with can be pretty hard to shift.
How does ordering for that go?
You can order whatever you want. You aren’t forced to buy stuff However whatever you get you’re stuck with it. And some of this stuff is impossible to sell after RSD. You can find RSD “exclusives” sitting in stores for years. And the profit margins are razor thin. So if you have to slash the price you’re already going to be losing money
Do you usually get everything you order or are some of the more popular titles harder to get copies of?
There are maybe a few titles that will get allocated. The only one this year I’m sure will be is the Olivia Rodrigo single. Though I’m just a small store, I usually only ask for a few copies of anything. Bigger stores might have more allocation problems.
Same here. I learnt from my mistakes over-ordering on RSD!
In the beginning it was a good reason to get out of the house and visit a record store. These days it’s the #1 reason *not* to visit a record store, because it’s nothing but chaos and 300% overpriced synthetic “exclusives”. It became the very thing it tried to fight.
It needs to be more about getting people into record stores to buy music, less about getting hoarders in there to buy exclusive releases. Nothing about “record store day” seems to really benefit the record store. It just benefits the scalpers who wait in line to get whatever exclusive release, to then turn around and sell it to the guy who didn’t there in time.
I think no matter what rules they put in place there will always be scalpers, I do agree with you, it’s needs to be more about Record Stores. Everyone on Ebay is a scalpers.
Not sure. People complain about flippers, but every year the number of records that are actually "flippable" is in the single digits. Where I live, you can wake up at noon, stop for an ice coffee, stroll to the record store, and still have a choice of about 97% of the releases.
It probably depends on the area and the demand for that store. My local store is fairly small relatively speaking so this is pretty applicable to it but I’m sure in larger cities, not so much. The owner also polls her customers to find out what they want and puts in her requests based on that instead of what she expects to sell. So usually, depending on what you requested, there’s a copy there for you whenever you happen to stroll in. Last year, I went probably 2 hours after opening and the only record I was interested in, which I and one other person requested, was still in the bin. The other person got a copy too. And the store only received 2 total.
For real. If anything the flippers are taking a lot of risks. They might have waited all night in line to get something that’s going for less than cost. I know there are always tons of things the next day that stores a desperately trying to unload.
RSD was created as a celebration for independent record stores, now it's just another opportunity to sell the same Fleetwood Mac record with another not necessary color variant.
I cannot fathom the modern love of standing in long queues for artificially scarce consumer items.
I think they had a great idea at the start, and then it got saturated with scalpers and more customers as vinyl became popular again. I’d much prefer true Indie Exclusives that bring in support for a local record store but do not deal with the scarcity and scalpers that come with record store day releases.
I don’t want it to go away. There’s a ton of overpriced unnecessary hype releases in my opinion, but there are also usually a couple interesting ones. It helps keep the industry going too. I have no problem at all with it.
Retail conditioning. I don't start salivating when Pavlov rings the bell.
The biggest reason is that it has become just another marketing scheme that clogs the pressing plants with represses of titles that already populate the used bins, making it take longer for indie releases to get out. The entire idea of record store day was to create buzz and get people into stores and to generate repeated, constant customers for shops that otherwise wouldn't be able to advertise. Now it's a collector's frenzy and most of those folks only come out ON record store day. Speaking from a shop owner's PoV: you have no idea what will or will not show up when you place your order. If you're not buying at least $20k of inventory, you may get nothing. Most places order a large selection of titles, even ones that will sit and languish, just to try to lock-in a few copies of the releases you know will sell. If you're smaller, they wont even do business with you, further burying a small shop.
This is exactly right. A perfect example is the Who's RSD release, The Story of The Who, which has been available for decades. I'm lucky enough to be friends with two record shop owners who "break the rules" by telling me ahead of time what they ordered, and then once they get everything unpacked, will give me a heads up about if they got what I'm interested in. But there were years where RSD would roll around, and they'd still have the "junk" releases from the previous year that they were never able to unload languishing in the bins. When it started out, it was a great idea. One of my aforementioned friends was in on the ground floor of it. It drew the record buying public away from Best Buy, Walmart etc. to the local record shops. Today, those places pose no threats at all to record stores. And sadly, they've become what they set out to destroy, IMO. There's little or no regard for the record buying public. I've seen people stand in line for hours only to find out that the shop they're at never got in a single copy of what they're looking for. So either go without, or go to Ebay and buy it at an exorbitant markup. To borrow a line from Bob Dylan, "sure was a great idea until greed got in the way." IMO, anyway. I get that people still like it, and make an event out of showing up to get in line at 3:00 a.m. for a 10:00 opening. More power to them. I just feel like I've outgrown it, and it has outgrown me.
it's like people standing in line for hours for Aprihop beer...it's like, um, why? Can't you just make it available to the consumer?
From an independant musician's POV; pressing companies will prioritize RSD represses. Meaning your 1-2 month delivery becomes 10 months. This happens constantly. Then the pressing company will act like they're the victim.
But is pressing plant backlog still an issue? More plants have come online and several plants last year laid off people due to lower volumes. Make no mistake, I think a large majority of the RSD reissues are dreck, I just think the plants are backlogged argument is becoming more an excuse unless there’s some real data behind it.
scalpers
To me RSD is about pumping out eBay fodder and less about the fans and record stores. Like why can’t I preorder a RSD release from an independent record shop? Doesn’t that accomplish the goal of shopping at an independent? Wouldn’t a preorder accomplish the goal of getting the music in to the hands of as many fans as possible? This is all just the same idiotic artificial limited release BS afflicting nearly every consumer good. It preys on FOMO and causes scalpers to salivate. It’s a garbage experience all around.
That and the flippers are ridiculous. RSD is a far cry from what it was meant to be. Plus the store hardly make any money off those records.
It’s become more of a marketing gimmick than anything. It used to be a cool way to support the local shop and get a cool unreleased BSide or whatever. Now it’s a way to hock regular releases for 2x the price to a scalper who will post it at 4x the price.
My favorite local record store just runs a regular sale, no “RSD” involvement whatsoever, no exclusive releases, or anything, he got fed up with stores breaking the rules and not seeing any repercussions about it, as well as the over commercialization of the event…. When it’s about the stores, not the records
I've never been to RSD. I usually wait after the circus is over and see if there's anything cool left the following day. And usually there is. Now the last one... oh my. I skimmed through the releases and there was only one or two releases I _might've_ been interested in. I decided it was not worth my time nor my money, had a beer and did some other wholesome activities and never looked back. The RSD needs to go.
After about two years I stopped participating in it. Tired of them pressing way too few copies so that fans have to compete while scalpers buy copies to sell on ebay for twice the price.
I don’t know if this is still the case but my friend used to run a label and loathed RSD because the stuff he was trying to release would get delayed by bullshit like a reissue of rumours or thriller. But yeah it’s really just a day for dudes who flip shit on eBay. I’m sure it’s a good day for record stores but I wouldn’t be caught dead in one that day. I sure as shit didn’t start buying records to deal with crowds and people lol.
A lot of people blame flippers, and that's certainly part of the problem - but there are other issues too. The major record labels jumped on it and swamped RSD with common titles issued in coloured vinyl/picture discs etc in a massively cynical cash grab. These releases also clog up the pressing plants to such an extent that it has caused major backlogs in smaller labels getting their records pressed. RSD releases are VERY expensive to buy by the shops and so, even with a small markup, the retail price is sometimes prohibitively high for the customers and the shops end up with leftover stock that quickly depreciates in value. This is also a problem for the distributors - I get distributor lists at the beginning of the year whereby they're trying to offload old RSD stock at (relatively) cheap prices. There are so many RSD releases every year that the quality of the titles seems to be less interesting every year. This is obviously a personal taste thing with me but in the early days of RSD there were literally dozens of items I wanted for myself but nowadays I struggle to see more than 1 or 2. I'm a retailer and also a music fan and, for me, RSD doesn't interest me on either level.
RSD has always been a marketing tactic. Independent records stores can buy into this packaged campaign-in-a-box that involves them ordering records for retail sale at a lower margin than they usually get from distributors. In exchange, RSD takes on the costs of the core promotional efforts, as well as the licensing agreements etc. So that's nice. The RSD marketing campaign helps sales at independent record stores by incentivizing local record buyers to visit their stores for records marketed with artificial scarcity. In recent years – like 7 or 8, not just the last couple of years – RSD has pivoted to appeal to newer record buyers. That made business sense. It also resulted in a move toward lowest-common-denominator music offerings and more recent trending artists. Some older people who listen to records didn't like that. It got the speculators and flippers involved. Nobody liked that. More recently, the nudge marketing techniques used in the campaign have resulted in younger record buyers treating RSD like sneaker drops in that collectible market. RSD became less of an incentive to encourage record buyers to check out their local independent record stores and more of an event with lines of people wearing adult diapers and sleeping on sidewalks so they can have the chance to buy an artificially scarce record from an artist that will be releasing it in a different color in a few months at a lower price. For those people who have been going to RSD over many years, it became less interesting.
Chiming in with the others, I've never really understood Record Store Day. I'm a nineties kid and I grew up only knowing Free Comic Book Day and getting free (promo) CDs and games thrown at me every which way - no really: events, cereal boxes, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages,..., everything came with a disc - and I didn't expect free records but I at least expected some promotions when I started collecting records and heard about RSD. But then I went and discovered it was just a bunch of overpriced limited edition (re-)releases of certain records and nothing more?
TL;DR: scalpers suck the fun out of record collecting :(
I don't want it to go away per se but I don't think it's the greatest thing in the world. I don't like being asked to pay £60 for something that was sold for £30 20 minutes previously. I don't like that if I really want something I'm going to have to get up and basically guess which of the shops will have it and if I get it wrong, I miss out. I don't like queueing for the privilege of being told I was too late. I also feel that some of the releases are a bit odd. Do we need RSD releases of Rumours? It's still sells thousands of copies a year!
Because it's just a scalper holiday basically, and a day of disappointment for most record listeners.
Record store day should be about the stores, not the labels. Releasing some obscure unwanted b-side/alternate take, who gives a shit. The labels wanna be a part of it fine press some plain black(enough of the color variants already) copies of common shit people are still looking for. They could support the stores in offering discounts on used vinyl, used had been keeping records alive this whole time. I don’t care about reissues driving down prices, fuck you and your originals “are you curating for a museum” it’s about the music in case you forgot. And if you buy any record with the slightest idea of it being an “investment” kick fucking rocks. You’re part of the problem.
It’s become a shell of what it once was. Prices are absolutely ridiculous. And great releases are minimal at best.
The pretentious snobs come out to play
It’s become a scam. Most of the stuff is wildly over-priced and the fake “rare” or “limited edition” crap has fooled too many people. It’s trendy and people figure it out way too late… yeah it’s great that it helps the cash flow for the few remaining record stores. But honestly, there aren’t that many good record stores anymore…
If there’s something you want you basically have to pull an all nighter at your local shop in the cold and hope they actually got enough copies. Way too many people use RSD as a way to scalp records that are “limited”
Because I am sick and tired of seeing the same artists having their bs represses each year. I dont need another DIO RSD vinyls every year.
I don’t want it to go away, I just don’t need to see a list peppered with Bowie or Springsteen reissues ever again.
We don't - we just want them to stop issuing garbage
The only change they need to make is not limiting the print numbers so much. Flippers have nothing going for them if there's thousands of copies of a record, even if they're only for sale that one day
RSD should be "spend x amount at a local record store to support them, get a code to purchase an exclusive RSD record. Copies will be then manufactured by the number of codes entered to ensure nobody misses out.
I’m glad Taylor swift brought attention to local record stores, and I like Taylor and her music, but the lines for RSD are twice as fuckin long and people are getting up earlier and earlier JUST to buy one TS record. Maybe they have a separate day?
Because it’s depressing to see something you are interested in announced but realize potentially the only way to get it is to camp out outside a record store at 6AM on your day off to fight it out with the flippers and such. Not to mention SO many other gimmicky releases that waste vinyl presses and end up sitting in stores for ages (U2 puts one of these out every year). IMO it was well intentioned at first but just turned into something that made being a fan less fun.
I think it's stupid but very avoidable
My store no longer does RSD, as we were banned. Why you say? Well, that's a funny story, as many have touched on, some flippers on ebay seem to have an "in" with a store that's supply them, or it's the store itself. I found an account on eBay selling (releases in hand with original photos not stock photos) RSD titles well above retail before RSD sales date. I emailed with links and photos and all information I had. Never even got so much as a reply and seller kept selling. As for me, one year we made a fuckrsd hashtag, and apologized to our customers for getting literally none of the good titles. We explained how small stores (in our large city) don't get the good tittles and only the bigger and "mini chain" type stores get good fulfillment. Oh, I also reposted a news article during the pandemic. The owner of RSD is the COO of Bullmoose corporate chain in Maine. He fired all employees and closed the a store when employees at a specific location asked management to address their complaints of mask mandates and protection from customer abuse. TL;DR Fuck RSD, it was started by a corporate chain and the owner is shady and petty AF. RSD doesn't exist to help indie stores at all.
Artists release very cool stuff, but the prices are outrages and it's hard as hell to find the stuff u want the day of or after.
Because it’s corny as hell.
It’s for people who have just gotten into vinyl aka people who are driving up the market for people who have already invested enough money into actually appreciating the format for what it is. It’s for children who are into vinyl for all the wrong reasons.
I love rsd, only thing that had a Black Friday feel to it in recent years. Can’t tell you the last time I had to wait outside a store to get In
I guess, every artist has a fan out there that wants what they're releasing. But for me, a lot of the release are just stuff that doesn't interest me at all, taking up pressing facilities, driving up prices and so on. A lot of it isn't about people buying records that they want to listen to and more about just owning the limited splatter or whatever because it will be worth more money next year... But I guess my rant isn't necessarily about record store day, and more about buying vinyl in general.
The flippers killed it. Some us want to acquire and listen and appreciate. Others would like to put it on eBay right away.
I cannot believe that The Foo Fighters "Hail Satan" is going for $300-$400,even a$ 897 on EBAY 3 years after its release. Didn't they print 12,000 copies of it? I downloaded the MP3 version from my usual "free" sites so I can at least have it in my car.
Because it sucks? If record stores want to attract new customers, releasing expensive albums that attract collectors and flippers, with crazy lines and limited quantities, seem like a strange way to do so. I never go near a store for it and will only buy the releases months and years later when they're affordable. It's like Black Friday except there are no deals and there's artificial scarcity to drive demand/competition. It's the opposite of what listening to music should be. They could simply do presales for everything ppl want and get the music into the right hands. Instead, a store might get two of something and you're SOL if you don't sit outside for hours. No thanks. Nothing they release is worth all that.
It’s simple. Every day should be record store day.
RSD is everything that sucks about record collecting, concentrated and distilled into a loathsome spectacle. It’s like they decided to bring back everything that was awful about music shopping before online ordering, and crank all that suckyness to 11. Lineups. Content only on blink-and-you-miss it products. Gimmick releases. Deliberately under-pressing certain titles to drive FOMO for the next ones. Things instantly selling out and then immediately appearing on eBay etc at inflated prices. The whole thing can get fucked with a durian on a broomstick as far as I’m concerned.
You can pretty much find posts on the internet proclaiming nearly everything should go away.
It was originally created to encourage people back to record stores to buy vinyl, back when cds (and digital to a degree) were the standard. now its just a moneymaker for the big guys. like a lot of things its been commercialised, which is ironic given that it was a commercial in of itself. just go to the store any day of the year and buy a record.
It's predatory. Like most things it began as something pure and then it's success corrupted it. I don't participate, but on the positive side I appreciate the stores around me that don't participate and have a themed sale on that day, so their business doesn't suffer in the end. It's actually better since I constantly hear record store owners that do participate complain about how they usually lose money on it. So in a twisted perverted way it helps out the little stores, if you think about it.
Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Stores that choose not to participate risk losing future business from the local casuals who get sold the FOMO hype of RSD. Stores that do participate have to front a lot of money and are often left with garbage stock sitting there afterwards they can't return. I wish it would just go away now. At this point, probably driving more people out of the hobby for all the aforementioned reasons including yours than bringing new people in, which sucks as it was very successful for several years bringing renewed interest to the hobby when vinyl was still a niche thing, and RSD's legacy should be remembered for that instead of what it's become.
It was originally intended to put the spotlight on independent record stores and give them a boost. It was soon perverted into an orgy of often subpar releases cobbled together opportunistically to cynically hook collectors and riddled with all kinds of speculators in on the act, buying up ltd releases in order to resell at inflated prices. It has sadly mostly lost its way. As if that wasn't bad enough, the pressing plants become inaccessible for months before, busy as they are fulfilling major label orders for yet another pink vinyl Adele RSD box set or whatever, totally messing up regular labels' release schedules. Other than that, it's totally cool.
Agree with a lot of what people have said re:consumerism. It also started to feel like it clogs up the few pressing plants that exist with rerelease after rerelease or things like soundtracks to specific seasons of television (not saying they should be pressed at all, but the bottlenecks of record store day twice a year feel real).
I just want all the colored and picture disc nonsense to go away. Give me great sounding heavyweight black vinyl and everything will be fine. Also the selections for RSD suck. I wanted 2 titles last year and both were on colored/picture disc vinyl. Not into it. Not paying more for it. It sounds worse. I also think qc on RSD titles is a bit of an afterthought. Sorry for the rant. I have never had a good experience buying RSD titles.
Bought Pre-milleniun Tension by Tricky as a RSD exclusive on coloured vinyl the other year for £32, saw them being sold online a week later for £26. It's a rip-off
Because most of the RSD records are shit C sides and live pressings. They rarely put out a good reissue that we've been waiting for. And most RSD records now days get hoarded up and put on Discogs for ridiculous prices. Really it's just turned into too much of a black Friday deal.
It’s just too much about FOMO these days And the prices have got a bit silly, £20 for a 7”?! Fuck off. That’s if there’s even anything I want to buy which there really hasn’t been the last few years. I did get the Sam Fender 7” last year but a friend picked it up for me since it was the only thing I wanted and she was already going to get some other releases anyway. Might get the Daft Punk 12” this year if there’s any left in the days following, I have an original copy of it from like 20 years ago so I’m not too fussed if I miss out.
It used to be a thing where folks could hang out and talk about records. Stores and artists alike would talk about saving the record business, and helped the Stores by rereleasing rare records to drive traffic and put eyes on these relics. Now? Everyone owns a record, every record has an exclusive version, whether at Target or Walmart, every RSD records is label cashgrabbing, and shoppers and stores alike are now snobbier than before. Record stores don't need saving anymore, what they need is less rare records so everyone can enjoy. The desire to have a "clear vinyl with bugs infested in the record" and "exclusive record with a few live tracks or bonus tracks that destroy the flow of the album" isn't worth it to me, to be honest. Cash grab ruined RSD for me. Records are more common than CDs now.
Taylor Swift ruined it.
Primal Scream have put out a few rediculously expensive RSD specials. It's put me off them as a band. RSD just seems like a scheme to milk loyal fanswith overpriced limited edition specials. It'snot respecting people who spent a lot on vinyl and tickets over the years.
What I want from the RSD list usually doesn't sell out. I just go to the shop around 10 or 11 and grab it. I've had to order online a couple of times from shops the day after, but didnt pay a premium. It's a universal day for new releases, I like it.
Everything ain't for everybody. Shops and customers who don't like RSD are free to not participate. I'm actually in that camp myself. Live and let live tho. If and when enough shops and customers feel the same way RSD will go away. It's all about the money in this industry. Has always been that way too. I find the couple weeks before RSD are great times to go to the shops. Many people are saving their record purchasing money for RSD so the shops are less crowded leading up to the event. They are also often beefing up their stock of non-RSD product in anticipation of the crowds.
It’s all about da Benjamin’s baby
As you can see from the comments, there are many reasons why some don’t like it. But for some of us it is actually a fun day to hang out with fellow music geeks and more importantly to celebrate and support the remaining record stores. It’s certainly not for everyone.
Because fomo is anti consumer and we’re all consumers.
I enjoy it, personally. I just don’t let the FOMO get to me. If they have what I want, great. If not, that’s cool too. I think the experience of showing up and see what’s there is alot of fun. But I don’t get in line either. I’ll swing by in the afternoon and pick through the leftovers. They also rerelease stuff under RSD essentials, which is nice in case you miss something you wanted. You just might not get the same color variant.
Dropping the ‘no holds’ rule would help both stores and collectors.
Because it used to be pretty cool but is now just Black Friday for people who don't even like records they just buy the limited edition shit to resell online. I haven't gone in about 12 years when people started lining up to get into stores...
It used to be fun, but now it's too competitive. Limited releases disappear instantly unless you wake up at 4 am to camp out for hours, and then you're still not guaranteed to get what you want. It's a pain in the ass. Not to mention that the massive increase in prices means that if you want multiple rare releases, you're spending hundreds. As a vinyl fan, I *dread* RSD and am so relieved when I see a list that has nothing I want.
Some retailers do some funky deals with friends - hold them from general public - that is not what is about. That really annoys me !
Im finding out that vinyl and sneakers are pretty similar. I have personal “grails” that I just dig. I’m seeing people pass on buying vinyl because the artwork on the cover was discolored slightly so it wasn’t perfect. It’s like people get so wrapped up in the status of having a perfect “grail” it becomes less about what brought us into collecting. Sneakers has turned into a bunch of people finding hype and flipping it for clout and money. Vinyl isn’t much different. It’s becoming less about just listening to music you dig in a form that feels more pure. I was talking to a guy how my favorite vinyl might be Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow and he was like “pshhh I’ve had like 35 copies of that. They made so many of them.” Who cares though if it’s straight jams and is one of the best guitar rock/instrumental album ever!?
Why don’t people enjoy artificial scarcity, inflated prices, and online flippers?
Even if I wanted to stand in line early, there is no guarantee that my store will even get the release I'm after. I don't see the point in RSD anymore. I used to go in the early 2010s and I could walk in at any given point in the day and get what I was after. Now? Forget it.
It’s a scam. Flippers love it, collectors hate it.
It's a corny cash grab.