Record Store Day 2021 – Fans Hit The Shops
Record Store Day 2021 has seen vinyl fans across the UK support their local independent record shops, queuing from the early hours to get their hands on limited edition releases.
Hundreds of artists and record labels have come together to release an exciting array of exclusive, special, and one-off vinyl records which will be available only from participating shops. Due to the pandemic, this year’s celebrations will take place across two Record Store Day “Drops”, today – Saturday 12 June – and Saturday 17th July.
Record Store Day is the annual event which celebrates the unique culture of independent record shops and the art of vinyl. The event shines a light on the hard-working music lovers behind the counter who play a key role in championing local music and talent. For the list of titles released today, see here.
Last week a survey by Record Store Day of more than 140 participating shops saw two thirds of them reporting that they had seen a considerable rise in the number of younger people getting into vinyl.
Jack LeFeuvre, who opened Le Freak Records in Dundee when he was 23, said, “We see lots of young people buying vinyl in our store and I think it’s slowly becoming a norm in terms of how people want to listen to music nowadays. Nearly every artist will release a special vinyl edition as part of their album campaign and that is something that many music fans don’t want to miss out on. I think people got fed up and frustrated with everything becoming ‘digital’ and if you love an artist there’s nothing more exciting than being able to hold the artwork, read the liner notes and enjoy the experience of listening to an album from start to finish. When we first opened we were always asked if it was a fad but it’s popularity has only continued to rise and proved the naysayers wrong”.
And the age of vinyl buyers is not the only thing changing, as more than 60% of record store owners also reported growing numbers of women coming into their stores and enjoying the vinyl experience.
Ashlie Green from David’s Music in Letchworth, said “Record shops have had a history of being fairly male dominated spaces – but the Hi Fidelity-esque days are definitely over as more and more women are enjoying vinyl. Not only are there more women behind the counter but the spaces themselves are much more welcoming to all people of all ages. Record Store Day is a great driver for that too is that list of releases is so eclectic and brings in music lovers from every background for what is normally a big party!”.