Record Store Day a Success

BLACK IS BACK: Record Store Day’s Black Friday event once again was a huge success. RSD’s Michael Kurtz tells us that the indies were up between 10-15% over 2011. That is a major accomplishment given that last year’s event was up a whopping 50%. One of Wisconsin-based the Exclusive Company’s eight stores actually saw a 450% uptick. Kurtz adds that vinyl is selling to a much younger consumer than ever before. Newbury Comics’ Carl Mello agrees, telling us that they sold more than 1,000 units of vinyl before 9 a.m. on Friday. The lines waiting for the doors to open were once again very long, with some boasting over 150 people crowding the sidewalks. Mello said Newbury’s biggest RSD sellers were Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, White Stripes and David Bowie, which falls right in line with most other of the approximately 1,000 indies that participated. (11/26p)