Record Store Day was born in the U.S.A in 2007 as a celebration of the importance of independent record stores and labels, and their vital role in the music industry. The UK and the rest of the world soon followed suit, elevating it to a universally accepted institution.
This year, Record Store Day has reached a new peak in popularity, having become a huge global event in which the fruits of its commercial success arguably cloud the essence of its original vision. The intrusion of large record labels and brands who have piggy-backed the day, has paradoxically cast many of the smaller independent stores back into the shadows.
Quiffed Owl paid a visit to a few independent record stores spread across Bristol and Newport. Despite only being separated by the River Severn, the affluence in their financial and commercial climates are far wider than the estuary that flows between them. But what affect does this have on record sales and buying habits in the respective locations? And has Record Store Day had any significant impact on, not only improving vinyl sales, but encouraging independent stores and labels to blossom as a result?
Just by strolling down the infamous Gloucester Road and Stokes Croft, a pocket of Bristol adorned with pioneering and world acclaimed Street Art (including infamous Banksy murals), it is immediately apparent that every café, bar and independent shop or boutique has more than a steady flow of punters streaming in and out and back again. By no means is it an affluent area in relative terms, however it is self sufficient and culturally vibrant, attracting students, bohemia and hipsters alike.
Quiffed Owl spoke with Chris Farrell of Idle Hands about what Record Store Day meant to them as an independent store. Idle Hands is predominantly a dance music outlet and therefore its experience of Record Store Day is slightly different to less specialised stores. “Whatever negative aspects there are about Record Store Day, it has popularised vinyl. With added exposure within broadsheets and music media every few months, it has contributed to people buying records again”.
Chris Farrell of Idle Hands can identify both the pros and cons of RSD. As a label owner he can see the effects from both sides. “The shop side of RSD is great, it’s a lovely day and lots of people pass through including people who don’t necessarily come in here usually, so I would be stupid if I slagged off that part of it. But as a record label owner, there are some issues i’ve encountered. I run two small underground labels and have been putting out records for about 7 years. I have noticed that some of the releases and exclusives the major labels are pushing clog up the plant for months on end. That means that for the people like me, who press records all year round and have supported the industry when no one was interested in vinyl, have been marginalised. That negatively affects our release schedules – you can have a lot of money tied up in two or three releases that can’t be released and momentum is lost. Some of the bigger labels releases are quite unnecessary, we are not talking about stuff that’s rare but reissues of records that you can find anywhere for about 20p. So why that has got to be released now? I just don’t know”.
As a label owner, Chris Farrell does feel some frustration towards the prioritisation of certain releases on Record Store Day. “It is frustrating for us, as a label and a shop, when we are trying to push new music and the system is clogged up with endless Led Zepplin reissues. There are countless things like that out there anyway”.
He goes on to say, “on one hand, RSD is great because it helps us as a business and raises the profile of independent stores like us. But as a label it is frustrating because the majors have more power, so no matter how much work we do in trying to attract everything around the promotion of our records and label, even early on we seem to get put on the back shelf and drowned out by the major releases”.
Idle Hands are a dance music specialist and although RSD essentially ignored that area of music in the early years, it has recently included more genres. However, Farrell points out that RSD is still “A rock orientated initiative”.
Back over the Severn in Newport, DJ and label owner Paul Blandford of Deathproof fondly remembers having to go to Cardiff to buy his house and techno records in Catapult, now sadly a distant memory. “I used to go there especially, even before I was a DJ. It was a social thing as well, me and a few mates would get on the train and go to Cardiff. We would spend more than an hour in there – I would go for house and techno but look at anything from Break Beat to Drum and Bass”.
Currently, there are no dance music stores in Newport which demonstrates one of many contrasts between Bristol and Newport’s socio-economic situation. While the English city appears unaffected by the recession, with rising house prices and buzzing high streets both day and night, Newport is languishing far behind.
Newport relied heavily on its steel industry which has all but disappeared. In the valleys running north, the coal industry died out under Thatcher’s government. Since then, business and investment into the area has been at a minimum, and those who did relocate to Newport like LG Electronics, have packed up and moved on.
In 2010 golf’s prestigious ‘Ryder Cup’ was hosted at The Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, bringing thousands of spectators from across The Atlantic. Instead of enticing new business opportunities for the City, Newport served as a warning for what ‘small town America’ might become, documented in an article by The Washington Post. In this piece, writer Anthony Faiola uses Newport as an example of a town that has already fallen over ‘The Fiscal Cliff’. Faiola writes:
‘Consider this hard-hit Welsh city in western Britain, where the shopping district is a shadow of its former self. A litany of chain stores and mom-and-pop shops have gone bust or moved, sending the vacancy rate soaring from 15.7 percent in mid-2010 to nearly 30 percent today.’
This does not mean Newport is devoid of taste and culture. Notorious for its history of music, the city still celebrates in showcasing its talented acts; particularly in Lepub, a highly respected venue that is vital to Newport’s cultural community.
For over 20 years Diverse Music has remained prominently independent and served Newport’s music lovers throughout the hard times. But Diverse is a beacon for vinyl collectors far beyond the boundaries of the city. This record store and its online mail order has specialized to cope with past recessions and the ‘Spotify’ generation.
Quiffed Owl spoke to Matt Jarrett who co-owns Diverse with Paul Hawkins. We asked Matt if he had noticed a growth in sales of vinyl records since RSD began, and if so, did he think that it was a direct result?
“Yes and no’, he replied. ‘We always stuck with vinyl, especially online, so we didn’t jump on any kind of bandwagon once it started. All that happened was that we had more competition. That said, RSD raised the profile of vinyl and I am sure a lot of our younger customers who are now shop regulars have been influenced in their buying habits by the media reporting on Record Store Day and vinyl sales in general”.
We were interested to know whether he thought RSD had helped or hindered Diverse as an independent business.
“I am not sure it has done either. It’s a great day but all the customers see is the end product. The weeks before are frantic with the guess work that is stock ordering, receiving stock, and the constant enquiries about what stock is coming in when we don’t even know ourselves. 750 odd units to be released on one day for a small shop is a huge amount of work and that doesn’t take into account the backlog of emails and normal stock orders. It can be a massive pain in the arse”.
There are certain myths surrounding RSD which Matt points out are not necessarily true. “Record Store Day is a fantastic day with live music and the music community coming together, but it is by far the busiest day of the year for us and people seem to think we make loads of money but we don’t. We can’t return anything and a lot of the stock is stuck in the racks. It’s great for customers but can be immensely frustrating for shop owners”.
Although the general consensus amongst the store owners we spoke to was that RSD is a fundamentally a good thing, there are difficulties that can be thrown up. An excellent article by Eric Harvey in Pitchfork argues that the biggest labels, artists and brands have essentially hijacked RSD using its notoriety and publicity to promote their products. Harvey sees this as crass exploitation of a concept and initiative introduced to negate this and support the opposite.
Adrian Dutt of Bristol’s Rise Records and owner of Howling Owl record label (of which fellow Rise employee and critically acclaimed musician Oliver Wilde is signed to) shares elements of that theory.
He expresses to Quiffed Owl that, “This year there has been a backlash from labels, complaining they can’t get the records out because of the pressing getting clogged up.”
Adrian then refers to his band and the label he runs, Howling Owl.
“If I didn’t work here (Rise), we wouldn’t have much chance to stock our releases it in any shops (On RSD).”
“We support smaller labels but we have found that the day is being taken over by major labels just re-issuing old stuff. Hiking the prices up and getting away with charging those prices on one day, they normally wouldn’t be able to get away with this”.
“It’s an amazing day, I love it, its so good for our shop and others but it does seem to be slightly losing its way.”
Adrian Dutt and Oliver Wilde then explain an interesting idea that Howling Owl has come up with to try and stem the one sided tide of the major labels and bring back RSD’s magic.
“We have started this thing where we put a record out on our label with 1 copy a day for however long. You can only get 1 copy, for 1 day, all over the world. We give them to shops for free and they sell it and make the money from it. We will also be leaving some lying around in weird places. It is an attempt to engage people in a different way. It’s a bit of fun. It’s good because we have people like the Guardian on side – not that there are any sides – but the idea has taken off.”
Adrian reiterates what Chris Farrell of Idle Hands had previously alluded to.
“We are a small indie label (Howling Owl) and it’s hard enough to press records because we haven’t got much money. But when everything is so clogged up and our releases are put on hold or delayed because of re issues, we haemorrhage money. The press plants are being cash cowed by major labels who swing influence. A lot of shops feel the same way. Some don’t want to be involved this year but can’t afford not to.”
Matt Jarrett of Diverse highlights some interesting points in relation to the commercialism of RSD and if it has achieved its objective.
“I think its has achieved its aim in getting people back into record shops. Over the last 3 years it has been slowly evolving into something major labels can capitalise on. They take a lot of flack from the indie’s but I think the majors get it right on RSD. They release quirky picture discs, novelty shaped vinyl covers, split 7 inches. I think that is what RSD should be about. Releasing exclusive and interesting products that wouldn’t be available for the rest of the year”.
There are certainly enough opinions from the front line to add weight to the argument that RSD is being slowly taken over by the powers in form of major record labels and artists. There is no doubt, however, that RSD has raised the profile of vinyl and music in the independent sector, as Seb Newton of Rise tells us, “There has been a huge surge in sales over the last couple of years. In 2007 it was a much smaller event, since then it has grown exponentially”.
When asked if RSD was the sole reason for the growth in sales and popularity of vinyl, Seb suggests there are other contributing factors. “It has become quite a fashionable thing. There has also been a retaliation towards digital music and people seem to like the physical copy, personally I think it sounds better”.
Rise, like Diverse provide in store entertainments particularly showcasing local talent. Oliver Wilde reels off a list of bands and acts from the Bristol area who would play in store, many connected to Howling Owl. Across the board, the day is seen as exciting and generally positive, where music lovers, regulars and more often than not, annual shoppers can come together and enjoy the music they love and search the racks for that special release.
No matter which side of The Severn you may sit, RSD is for everyone who loves music. Despite the recent backlash against the perceived exploitation, it is contributing to improving sales in both cities.
Matt Jarrett offers some advice for RSD to refresh itself so, “People can get behind it again.. perhaps it needs a year off to re-think itself?”
Quiffed Owl 