It's Record Store Day tomorrow (Saturday 12th April, 2025) - any plans?

[RTHerringbone]

It's my first one and I have no idea what to expect. The larger record shop in town is promoting it quite a lot online and talking about things like queues etc.

I'm keen, but I don't see myself queuing up because I'm not *that* keen 😂

The list of releases is here:

Record Store Day List 2025

Discover exclusive titles available for Record Store Day 2025 at participating shops. Limited stock, first come, first served.

www.recordstoreday.co.uk

I've got an eye on this lot:

Further Ahead: Live in Finland 1964-1969
Bill Evans

Parker's Mood
Charlie Parker

Strange Days 1967 – A Work In Progress
Doors, The

Lemonheads in Dreamland
Lemonheads, The

One Take Radio Sessions
Mark Knopfler

At The Kurhaus
Miles Davis Quintet

Smokin’ In Seattle: Live at the Penthouse
Wes Montgomery with the Wynton Kelly Trio

Is this really a big deal or just a general marketing thing which makes a bit of noise and drives some sales? Is anyone on here looking at any specific releases?

 

[nads]

Nope.

 

[martois]

I won’t queue up, but if Mingus, Monk or Morphine are still available when I stop in, then I will give one of them a good home.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Well, I got there for the 8am opening time and was #50 in the queue. Picked up the list below from the RSD batch, plus Pearl Jam Unplugged, which I'd been struggling to get hold of:

Further Ahead: Live in Finland 1964-1969
Bill Evans

Parker's Mood
Charlie Parker

Strange Days 1967 – A Work In Progress
Doors, The

One Take Radio Sessions
Mark Knopfler

At The Kurhaus
Miles Davis Quintet

Mingus at Monterey
Charles Mingus

In Argentina: The Buenos Aires Concerts
Charles Mingus

That last one was £70(!) 🤦‍♂️ 🙄 The Doors one is a present for my father-in-law, but still plenty of options added into our collection.

 

[daytona600]

£39 for the Mingus at local shop

Only bought the one this year David Sylvian -Camphor II
Ten years of RSD only bought the one or two titles every year

 

[Gray]

just a general marketing thing which makes a bit of noise and drives some sales.

That describes what I think of it.
Although, if there are some genuine discounts then it's probably a big deal for some.

 

[Al ears]

That describes what I think of it.
Although, if there are some genuine discounts then it's probably a big deal for some.

Unfortunately it's a big "if".
To be honest some of the Record Store Day LPs I have had in the past have not been particularly good pressings.

 

[RTHerringbone]

I'll be honest and say that I quite enjoyed the experience, even if it is a marketing fuelled snare for consumers. It was nice talking to random strangers about what they were looking to get, and that spiralled into conversations about how people got into Hi-Fi, what their setups were etc.

Where I was, the shop owners sensibly routed things so you had to snake round the shop to get to the till at the end, and that also started a few conversations about artists etc. as we went. It was a nice atmosphere and the owner made the day of a Swiftie / Swifty (?) in the queue by giving her a free life-size cardboard cutout of Taylor Swift 🙂

Luckily the two LPs I've listened to so far today were great and I've got a jazz bonanza to look forward to this evening.

 

[nopiano]

It’s a super idea, and I’m delighted it must help keep record shops in business. It’s not for me nowadays, but I did my time working at a Hifi and record shop in my teens and twenties, so my interest was satisfied then!

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

The queues up here were 600 deep when I got there at 0830am…..!
Decided to go for a blast in the wee car with the roof down up to Ballater then back into Aberdeen on the South Deeside for about 1430pm.
There was a bit left so picked up Geddy Lee and Motörhead……Not realising the Geddy Lee was an EP!

 

[Al ears]

I'll be honest and say that I quite enjoyed the experience, even if it is a marketing fuelled snare for consumers. It was nice talking to random strangers about what they were looking to get, and that spiralled into conversations about how people got into Hi-Fi, what their setups were etc.

Where I was, the shop owners sensibly routed things so you had to snake round the shop to get to the till at the end, and that also started a few conversations about artists etc. as we went. It was a nice atmosphere and the owner made the day of a Swiftie / Swifty (?) in the queue by giving her a free life-size cardboard cutout of Taylor Swift 🙂

Luckily the two LPs I've listened to so far today were great and I've got a jazz bonanza to look forward to this evening.

Glad you enjoyed / will enjoy your efforts.

 

[good_enough]

Why the sniffiness about marketing? Sure it's a marketing "ploy" (makes it sound more evil that way doesn't it?).

It's designed to get you into your local independent record store, and hopefully make a habit of it, rather than buy online.

And the problem with that is what, exactly?

 

[TRIPLE A]

They need to be more transparent about the recording, mastering and pressing methods going into records, especially so for RSD. I stay away from RSD as there's very often very little way of knowing how good it's going to sound until you get it on your TT. But if you wait for reviews you're often too late. FOMO sales & marketing ruse, then.

 

[Clarkey_71]

They need to be more transparent about the recording, mastering and pressing methods going into records, especially so for RSD. I stay away from RSD as there's very often very little way of knowing how good it's going to sound until you get it on your TT. But if you wait for reviews you're often too late. FOMO sales & marketing ruse, then.

I think it's a little unfair to write it off as nothing more than a marketing ruse.
My local indie shop relies on the additional attention the day brings to vinyl interest/sales in general.
In the lead up to the event BBC 6 music featured several interviews with indie record shop owners and they all spoke genuinely passionately about the day and what it means to them and their business.
I will temper this by saying this is the first year I wasn't sufficiently interested in a release to go out and queue up for it, but my point remains. It's a big day for indie shops and long may that continue.

PS. I don't disagree the quality can sometimes be questionable. My experience is the percentage is low though. If you're not happy you can always take it back.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Why the sniffiness about marketing? Sure it's a marketing "ploy" (makes it sound more evil that way doesn't it?).

It's designed to get you into your local independent record store, and hopefully make a habit of it, rather than buy online.

And the problem with that is what, exactly?

No sniffiness from me. My positioning of it was pretty much an assumption of how other people might view it.

I go into my local record stores regardless of what day it is, but this was my first Record Store Day and if this "ploy" means that there's a day each year with a lot of relatively unique releases, then I'll be back next year and many after too.

 

[TRIPLE A]

I think it's a little unfair to write it off as nothing more than a marketing ruse.
My local indie shop relies on the additional attention the day brings to vinyl interest/sales in general.
In the lead up to the event BBC 6 music featured several interviews with indie record shop owners and they all spoke genuinely passionately about the day and what it means to them and their business.
I will temper this by saying this is the first year I wasn't sufficiently interested in a release to go out and queue up for it, but my point remains. It's a big day for indie shops and long may that continue.

PS. I don't disagree the quality can sometimes be questionable. My experience is the percentage is low though. If you're not happy you can always take it back.

Your response only further reinforces my point. It needs to be more about the end user and the benefits they will receive in going analogue.
If all record labels and those that sell their wares are pushing, is inferior analogue reproductions of digital masters where information is being lost through that pressing, and where end users would be better off just buying the better quality music via digital source, then it's only a matter of time until said customers see through the, well, ruse, and stop engaging.

 

[good_enough]

Your response only further reinforces my point. It needs to be more about the end user and the benefits they will receive in going analogue.
If all record labels and those that sell their wares are pushing, is inferior analogue reproductions of digital masters where information is being lost through that pressing, and where end users would be better off just buying the better quality music via digital source, then it's only a matter of time until said customers see through the, well, ruse, and stop engaging.

Well, marketing needs an objective. And the objective here is not to 'convert people to analogue'. It's to get people in bricks and mortar stores and onto the habit of browsing the racks rather than shopping online.

If one has a negative experience of RSD the brand that suffers is 'Record Store Day' not 'vinyl'.

FWIW I only ever bought one RSD release so far, about three years ago - the Dead live in Buffalo NY box set. Nice packaging and sounds great.

 

[Clarkey_71]

Your response only further reinforces my point. It needs to be more about the end user and the benefits they will receive in going analogue.
If all record labels and those that sell their wares are pushing, is inferior analogue reproductions of digital masters where information is being lost through that pressing, and where end users would be better off just buying the better quality music via digital source, then it's only a matter of time until said customers see through the, well, ruse, and stop engaging.

The first RSD was in 2008. Back then it would have been a more modest event.
Bringing it up to date. In the UK alone over 300 record shops participated in the event this year. Extrapolate that across the world and I think those metrics alone suggest RSD is doing OK, with little evidence of a lack of engagement.
Who knows? You may be right, but with the current level of engagement it's not likely to be for a number of years yet.
I do still find the word "ruse" a little disingenuous though.

 

[nopiano]

Your response only further reinforces my point. It needs to be more about the end user and the benefits they will receive in going analogue.
If all record labels and those that sell their wares are pushing, is inferior analogue reproductions of digital masters where information is being lost through that pressing, and where end users would be better off just buying the better quality music via digital source, then it's only a matter of time until said customers see through the, well, ruse, and stop engaging.

For those who prefer streaming (or downloads, if that’s still a significant thing) then nothing will persuade them to buy a record, unless they simply want to display it on the wall.

Unfortunately, by definition an LP effectively represents “…inferior analogue reproductions of digital masters where information is being lost through that pressing…” to use your words. That doesn’t mean they’re not fun to collect and nice to own, but it does represent a limit on their fidelity.

Us oldies, who bought LPs in their heyday, or inherited them from friends and relatives, obtained the best available home source, which were analogue from start to finish (AAA if you remember Spars codes). That later records were made from digital masters shouldn’t detract from what at the time was the highest-FI, unless you had a reel to reel machine and a chum at a studio!

 

[daytona600]

AAA if you remember Spars codes

Excludes 99.99 % of music produced from the early eighties when all studios converted to Digital
Faster , Lower cost , easy to maintain

Analogue is slow , expensive , requires decades of skill , constant repairs
Much easier to record to a SS drive in a Laptop than 800lbs of Studer tapedeck

 

[The_Lecht_Rocks]

I dragged out of my parents loft my extensive LP vinyl collection from the late 70s and the 80s.
As a die hard streaming fan I am amazed at the reproduction quality with modern turntables, phono amps etc….
My systems are exquisite in reproduction but I will most probably always defer to the convenience of streaming.
RSD up here in the TUNDRA was well attended but too much faff to queue up and pricing was crackers.
I succumbed to Geddy Lee and Motörhead lost tapes. I might try to get Rage Against release online tonight

 

[Revolutions]

What's the Knopfler record like, @RTHerringbone ?

Every year I try and avoid it, and every year I end up buying some bits. Will try and grab the replacements & the isobel campbell/Mark Lanegan ep. And of course, RATM is screaming at me. One of of the best live bands I've ever seen, and was lucky to catch them around that time. It was gooood.

 

[RTHerringbone]

What's the Knopfler record like, @RTHerringbone ?

I really like it. It's essentially "just" a good chunk of the Shangri-La album, but alternate live studio versions to the ones that made it onto the album.

In practice, it means there are some really nice little improvisations and tweaks from the album. The RSD version is just a first release on vinyl - it's therefore already available on CD and streaming services. Excellent version of Back To Tupelo that's worth a listen.

 

[RTHerringbone]

The online sales are now available, and I scooped up The Lemonheads In Dreamland, which I forgot to try to get in-store on Saturday 🤦‍♂️

 

[nopiano]

AAA if you remember Spars codes

Excludes 99.99 % of music produced from the early eighties when all studios converted to Digital
Faster , Lower cost , easy to maintain

Analogue is slow , expensive , requires decades of skill , constant repairs
Much easier to record to a SS drive in a Laptop than 800lbs of Studer tapedeck

True! And it *includes* everything in the stereo era from about 1956 to 1982! 🙂