Cultivating Community in Music: Record Store Day

Everyone knows that we are currently in the midst of Easter Weekend. It’s a time of rest, no classes, candy, bunnies, and for some of us a time of religious reflection and celebration. But for some of us this a time for celebrating vinyl and the local independent record store. For any that don’t know, today is international Record Store Day.

I’m confused, what is Record Store Day?

Seven years ago back in 2007 a group of owners and employees from various independently owned record stores decided to make a holiday in honor of the watering hole of music culture: the music store. Record Store Day became a day where independent record stores across, not only the country, but the world would put up limited edition releases for sale from a selection of artists. On this day stores offer live music, free food and drink and various other freebies in light of the festivities. In a nutshell Record Store Day is a day to celebrate everything the independent record store has given to the music community.

So what has the record store given to the music community?

“I always tell the girls, never take it seriously, if ya never take it seriosuly, ya never get hurt, ya never get hurt, ya always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.” – Penny Lane, “Almost Famous”

*****

CD Reunion in St. Charles, MO. Photo by Annette Schaefer.

“I think these stores are important because we have the variety and, you know, the different genres of music, the different styles of music compared to the major stores; it’s not a big money maker for them, so I think  just having the variety of the stuff we have makes a very big impact,” said CD Reunion employee Bill Davis speaking on the record stores ability to reach a wider range of fans.

Every music fan has their own unique relationship with their favorite record store. It can be their place to waste hours digging through the racks hunting for a bit of treasure to add to their budding music collection. It can be a place to meet other fellow music fans, to discover new artists and maybe even discover yourself.

When I spoke to Slackers Team Leader Brooke Smith, she gave a bit of a personal account of her love of the indie record store:

“I feel like a lot of people develop who they are from record stores, I know I did.” – Brooke Smith, Slacker’s St. Charles

Slackers in St. Charles decorates their CD bins with many different music posters. Photo by Annette Schaefer.

But why does anybody even care about record stores anymore when you can just get music for free online?

We live in a culture these days that is used to having easy access to anything anyone could ever want with the convenience of the internet. You can purchase a new outfit, a new piece of furniture, or even your favorite band’s latest album all at the click of a button. So why should anyone care about the tangible format; it’s just a waste time, right? Not everyone thinks this way. There is a whole community of people who can’t stand having anything other than the music they can hold in their hands.

At Vintage Vinyl customers are known to wait outside the store for hours on Record Store Day to ensure they get the opportunity to pick up their desired limited release. Fans and workers alike make a day out of the holiday with live music and free beer all in the name of purchasing music from an independently owned store.

Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis puts up fliers for the yearly event. Photo by Annette Schaefer.

Vintage Vinyl Customer Service Representative Joe Steinman said it best as to why purchasing a hard copy is superior: “Well it’s just lovely to look at, lovely to hear. How can I say it? It’s awesome.”

Yes, I know, everyone says “it sounds better,” but it’s the truth and you can’t argue with facts.

What are you waiting for???

Even if you have never purchased a CD or a vinyl album in your life, what’s a better day to start than on an international holiday for record stores? This event is only for independently owned record stores, so if you show up at Best Buy, you’re just wrong. In the St. Louis area you can hit up stores like Vintage Vinyl, CD/Music Reunion, Slackers, V-Stock, etc. Every store has individual listings of what they are selling and are celebrating in their own unique ways, so hit up a few if you’d like. Today’s a day to celebrate music and those who put that music in our hands, so bust out you wallets and shop wisely!

Also check out Rock It Out Blog’s interview with one the founders for Record Store Day.

Why Do I Still Buy CDs?

My Instagram photo. @christie_road91

The internet has been a blessing and a curse for musicians and the music industry. It has helped artists quickly go from unknown to an internet sensation. Bands and musicians no longer require a middle man to get their music out to the masses when these days all it takes is a click of the upload button on YouTube or Soundcloud. The internet has all but demolished the industry of music and has given a direct connection between fans and their favorite musicians. On the other hand, the internet has made it far too easy for the Average Joe to post music that is not theirs and distribute it to the masses. Without much of an industry to fall back on, this can be financially painful for a lot of artists.

Most people I know don’t purchase music anymore. Many just wait for the torrents to hit the web or stream it all on Spotify. When I tell people that I actually still go to the store to purchase an album or go to the band’s site to pre-order it, people look at me like I’m insane and usually ask, “why don’t you just download it for free?” Well I’m going to tell you exactly why I still purchase my music and why I think it’s so important that you do too.

The Problem with Music Accessibility

My Thirty Seconds to Mars collection! Instagram: @christie_road91

Music is super easy to get, even easier than it was 10 years ago when I first started hearing about people illegally downloading music. You can now download videos for free off of YouTube with a easy to install software. You can download album leaks by doing a simple Google search (see Property of Zack’s in-depth article on this issue: Part 1 and Part 2). You can effortlessly stream music on Soundcloud, Spotify and more. Yes, there are plenty of artist that take advantage of these tools, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem.

If you haven’t been paying attention, there is hardly such a thing as a “rock star” any more. Probably even some of your favorite artists aren’t living on huge salaries and living financially secure. In fact a lot of them live an awful lot like most of us. In a world where many can access you music for free and even legitimate sites screw you out of your money, it’s hard to get to that “rock star” life style. For some artists it’s even hard justifying the continuation of their music career.

***you can see part of a story I did for my school’s paper on the problem with album leaks here.

Who Else Does This Hurt?

Photo by Annette Schaefer. One of my favorite record stores, CD Reunion in St. Charles, MO.

Think these musicians are just a bunch of spoiled whiny babies? This new way of accessing music doesn’t just hurt the music makers. True music fans always have their favorite local record stores (I know I have my regular places I visit), but a lot of these places are likely struggling to get by and I can venture to guess that if things keep going the way they are they won’t be around another 10 years from now. The record store is my favorite place to find new albums to add to my collection and to talk with people who are into music just as much as I am. It makes me sad to think that these places probably won’t be around much longer. Although there are efforts out there to help keep these places around such as “Record Store Day.”

So What Should You Be Doing?

Photo by Annette Schaefer. CD racks at Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis, MO.

I’m not going to force you to go out and buy a $15 CD, but I would like to encourage you to stop obtaining music for free.

1. If downloading is your thing, cool, but don’t be a cheapskate, and just pay for it.

2. Your entire music collection should not be your Spotify playlists; you pay little to nothing for that music and musicians receive little to no pay from these programs.

3. Buy used CDs if you don’t have a lot of money to spare. It’s affordable and still very legal.

4. Do not leak albums or download leaked albums. Be patient and let the band release their album without you blowing it for them. If you want the music right away, pre-order it. The money goes straight to the band and you will get your music the day it comes out. Plus you can get all kinds of extra goodies (stickers, shirts, pin, posters, etc) this way.

5. Go to concerts. Period. Musicians make most of their money from touring and selling merch. So go support your favorite artists. See them live and pick up some of the awesome gear they have available.

So in closing: stop being selfish and cheap and start actively supporting your favorite musicians. You’ll feel better as a fan and the bands/artists truly do appreciate it.

I was pretty excited about this purchase 😛

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