Gone are the days of Walmart brawls over who gets the cheapest air fryer. Since the advent of online shopping, independent businesses have uncovered new ways to bring in customers. The globally recognized Record Store Day proves that it can be done.
Hundreds of music fanatics got out to show their support for local record stores in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on Saturday. Three participating stores — LRB Skate and Record Shop, Crying Cat Books and Records and The Great Escape — saw hundreds of passionate music fans from across Middle Tennessee.
Record Store Day started in 2008 as an initiative to get people to go out to discover and support their local record stores. Many “ambassadors” throughout the years have represented the cause. Influential names like Taylor Swift, Post Malone and Paramore have all represented RSD for their country or even (in the case of Swift), globally.
“I feel like RSD is definitely getting bigger, but it’s also bringing in people who don’t normally collect records,” said Phil Doran, owner of LRB Skate and Record Shop. “They come in and get excited for a [new] Taylor Swift release and all these different things [when] they come in and buy that they get turned on to records. It keeps the ball rolling”
The semi-annual event — occurring on the third Saturday of April and on Black Friday — not only allowed current or future music lovers to explore their passion, but also provided exposure for independent artists and record store owners.
Despite the rapidly increasing traction RSD received in recent years, many store-goers find themselves in a race to get the most coveted and resellable releases. Margaret Hamby, a four-time RSD veteran, stopped by LRB after finding that the shelves had been picked clean by the time they could get in the door of The Great Escape.
“It is super exciting to be able to physically go pick up limited edition items at local record stores,” Hamby said. “However, I’ve noticed it’s gotten harder to get the records I’ve been looking for over the past few years. I think it’s because people have almost gotten competitive about it. It’s very frustrating having to compete with resellers to get the records I was hoping for.”
Although the laws of supply and demand may encourage greedy resellers to ruin it for others, it’s not all about exclusivity and consumerism. Record Store Day has proven to be a great source of security for local store owners
Terri DeLong opened Crying Cat Books and Records in 2021. The shop soon became a Murfreesboro staple.
“I think Record Store Day is important for a lot of reasons, but especially just to help people recognize that there are independent record stores out here and they don’t have to order stuff online,” DeLong said. “[It] helps keep us alive, this RSD every year helps pay for our taxes from last year, so any profit we make goes into the tax fund. It really helps.”
The occasion continues to be recognized as a bastion for creative independence in the music scene every year. New independent businesses, new artists and new music fans have been provided with the assurance they can keep doing what they love as a result.
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