Record Store Day draws in a crowd but is it all roses for independent record stores? - Southsea's Pie & Vinyl would like to see a change
A record shop is for life, not just for Record Store Day
With Record Store Day gone for another year, so has the spotlight that independent record shops endeavour to capitalise on.
Many stores, including Pie & Vinyl in Castle Road are now faced with left over stock and a race against time to sell it before interest dwindles. Unlike most other stock Steve Courtnell buys throughout the year for the Southsea shop, there is no sale or return (SOR) policy for Record Store Day stock so the pressure is on to make sure they get the right amount to match demand.
Steve is a veteran of RSD with this year being Pie & Vinyl’s fourteenth year taking part. While he enjoys the event, he is questioning whether the message it sends out is in line with the aim of celebrating record stores and their unique culture as it was when it started in 2008.
He said: “Really it is Record Label Day, they are the only ones that sell out and guarantee to sell out. It is extremely expensive and we have to buy all of the stock ourselves and there is no guarantee that you will sell all of it. I have seen a lot of record shops go under because they have bought too much.
“On the face of it, it is a really great event. It gives independent record shops the chance to sell limited edition records on that day. The key to it is we don’t want customers just coming in once a year and it kind of promotes that way of thinking.
“On Saturday we did get quite a few customers say ‘see you next year’ and I totally understand what they are saying and they are excited in the moment. I said to a few customers that is great you are buying 10 records but ultimately we want you to come back and buy two records a month for a year.”
On RSD over 500 titles were released, and while acts like Taylor Swift had releases this year, the majority were from heritage acts. Steve has questioned the long term viability of the event if more contemporary acts do not become involved and encourage more young people to attend.
“It is not sustainable releasing David Bowie records every year,” he said “We have to look at this event in 20 years time, what are people going to buy? We will either run out of material or keep scraping the barrel somehow. There is definitely a lack of current artists releasing music for the event, it is mainly heritage acts.”
Rob Moore runs Harbour Records in Emsworth alongside his business partner Ken. Having been open for around nine years, they have never taken part in RSD and don’t have plans to.
Rob said: “We have looked into it in the past but have never done it and I don’t think we ever will. On Saturday we had about four people come and ask where our Record Store Day stock was, I said we don’t do it and they walked straight out of the shop. They never come in again.
“We have looked at other smaller shops that have done RSD and then are cursing afterwards because they are lumbered with a whole load of stuff that they can’t shift. We look at it as every day is record store day because you can come in here and buy a record from us anytime you want.”
One issue has plagued RSD despite the organisers best efforts to limit it, and that is scalpers. Despite the titles only being on offer in-store on the day and limited to one per-person, a number of them still end up on sites like eBay at inflated prices.
Rob said: “I am a massive Funkadelic fan and there was a Funkadelic record that came out this year. I was working so I could not get my hands on it but you find it on Discogs which is like eBay for records.
“As soon as Record Store Day is finished you find that eBay is full of the stuff. You have a lot of real collectors excited about specific stuff but a lot of people seem to be looking to make a quick buck by buying the records and then putting it up on another site.”
It is an issue that Steve has noticed as well. He said: “You get a lot of customers who will come in to the shop, buy a record and then put it on eBay and sell it for twice as much. You wonder what is your place in this. There are rules in place for RSD, you can only sell one title per person.
“It is an impossible task but it would be good to know that you are selling music to music fans. Records have become quite expensive to buy, and also their value inflates quite quickly, and there are plenty of people who have opened their own shops on the basis of getting Record Store Day stock and selling it on.
“We support it, we just feel something could be tinkered and changed slightly. There is never any post afterwards to make sure you support your local record store. It is a great thing but just needs the message altered slightly for what the event represents.”
A spokesperson for Record Store Day said: “This year's Record Store Day saw the largest number of shops and customers ever participate on the day, with the majority of the people in the queues being regular customers of the shops taking part. The day has always been first and foremost about celebrating the culture of the shops, and for many of our shops the sales on the day make the difference between survival and closure.
“We work hard at RSD to discourage fans from shopping on eBay from unofficial sellers and are supported by the labels to remove RSD listings on eBay prior to the day but inevitably exclusive collector items may make their way onto these platforms.
“However, the vast majority of the titles make their way into the hands of real fans and the excitement on the day from those who visit the shops, attend the gigs and post about their purchases on socials, demonstrates the enduring appeal of the day.”