With the influx of CD’s and then the MP3 player, the internet and free music, independent record stores are a dying breed. Over a quarter of the UK’s independent music stores went out of business last year according to the Entertainment Retailers Association, and it looks like things only stand to get worse. Glasgow in particular has seen almost all of its independent record stores go into administration and London’s Dub Vendor in Ladbroke Grove closed last year, with it’s iconic mural being painted over.
Thank goodness then, for Record Store Day. Yes, this Saturday 18th April, will see the coming together of thousands of independent record stores around the world “simultaneously linking and acting as one with the purpose of celebrating the culture and unique place they occupy both nationally and, most importantly in their local communities”. Participating stores will have events and offers during the day – be it compilation CDs from iconic bands to free in-store performances and signing sessions.
Jack White of the White Stripes says in praise of the independent stores, “To the record stores, artists, labels, DJs, and journalists; we’re all in this together. Show respect for the tangible music that you’ve dedicated your careers and lives to, and help it from becoming nothing more than disposable digital data”.
The fact that Record Store Day has been founded shows that like unlike many retailers that have recently gone into administration there is a public sense of loss for the end of ‘the Record store’. For real music enthusiasts large corporate music retailers can never encompass the atmosphere and intimacy of a an independent record store – failing to capture the mood and feel of an era like their independent counterparts.
Alison Wenham, chairman of the independent record label body AIM argues “A good record store makes you feel special and rewarded. They give a personal touch and no matter how many gigabytes they put into the sky, that can never be replaced.”
