That's the claim of Music Monitor Network President and event organizer Michael Kurtz.
The third installment of the annual event was an unprecedented success. Traffic to www.recordstoreday.com doubled over last year, with the participation of 1,400 indie music stores worldwide (and close to 1,000 in the U.S.), hosting in-store appearances and carrying hundreds of pieces of special and exclusive RSD product.
The media also contributed to the success, with
Co-organizer and AIMS Chairman Eric Levin hosted a highly anticipated, packed out in-store performance at his Atlanta-based store, Criminal Records, by
Participating Record Store Day retailers enjoyed a 41% sales gain over RSD 2009 and a staggering 109% sales gain over the previous Saturday. Silver Platters in
Said Kurtz, "It's gratifying to see the concept of Record Store Day successfully exported from the
RSD co-founder Chris Brown, with Bull Moose in Maine and New Hampshire, reports that while the special releases created the most excitement, recent albums by Jimi Hendrix, Coheed and Cambria, MGMT and She & Him were especially strong, while catalog by the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and Grace Potter & Nocturnals, who performed in-store at Bull Moose, was very popular.
“There is a lesson here for the music industry,” according to Brown. “Focus on the music fans and treat them right and they will come out. Boy, will they come out.”
Shake It Cincinnati’s Darren Blasé said, "We had the best day ever in our history, up about 40% over last year."
Steve Baron from CD Central in
Michael Bunnell, CIMS Chairman and owner of the Record Exchange in
According to Rhino Records and Mad Platter owner Chuck Oken, Jr, sales were up 33% and 40% from last year's RSD and on Saturday, the stores experienced their busiest sales days ever. Oken says, “It was a day where we sold more vinyl than CDs and DVDs in both of our stores. The in-store by Yo La Tengo at Rhino was attended by over 250 folks and was reflective and beautiful and a testament to the power of music and the record store experience.”
Terry Currier from the much-loved
And Uncle Sam’s Music in
Andrew Chinnici proprietor of Lakeshore Record Exchange in
Karl Groeger, owner of
Rand Foster, owner of Fingerprints in
Of the major distributors, UMGD was particularly active in supplying one-of-a-kind product to indie retail, producing 16 different exclusive commercial items, including a Rolling Stones 7” vinyl piece from
For the second consecutive year, Coachella Music Festival, in Indio, CA, played host to an official Record Store Day pop-up store onsite run by the Southwest’s biggest independent record store Zia Record Exchange. The store reports bigger and better sales and turnout this year over last, with over half of the festival’s performing artists meeting and greeting fans at the store, including a revolving door of high-profile artists such as Spoon, Devo, the Avett Brothers and LCD Soundsystem. The Coachella store also reports that 50% of all of its sales were vinyl.
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
MUSIC REVENUE TOPPED $17B IN 2023: RIAA
Streaming subscriptions lead the charge. (3/27a)
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THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
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