#478: Record Store Day (April 16 2016)

GETTING MORE TALE #478: Record Store Day (April 16 2016)

I thought Record Store Day was supposed to be a celebration of indi record stores.  That’s nice and all, but my first Record Store Day ever was at a chain:  Sunrise Records in a shopping mall.  I’m not sure what qualifies as “indi” but I do see a lot of similarities with Record Store Day and other much-hyped spending spree events, like Force Friday.  Overpriced items, not enough stock and waiting for stores to open seem to be the order of the day.  Having said that, I have never seen anything like Record Store Day 2016.  Nor did the staff at X-Disc-C in Kitchener, the store I chose to hit up this year.

I don’t always shop on Record Store Day, but when I do, it is for a good reason.  The first time I went was in 2011, for an AC/DC single featuring two then-exclusive live recordings.  That was a lot of fun, but imagine my chagrin a year later when these two songs were released on the Live at River Plate album.  It seems most RSD-exclusive items are either:

a) songs that get released on albums later on,
b) vinyl reissues of things you already have,
c) stuff that sits around for months or years after as shelfwarmers.

This year, my RSD holy grail list had only one item on it:  the 12″ picture disc single for Iron Maiden’s 20 minute epic “Empire of the Clouds”, from The Book of Souls.  Incidentally, that single was more expensive than the 2 CD album itself:  $33 with taxes.  What’s so special about it?  It has no exclusive music, but it does include a 21 minute interview with Bruce Dickinson about the R101 airship disaster that the song is based on.  That made it worth owning.   There were at least four stores in town carrying it.  Mill Pond Records in Cambridge were doing a big promotion on the radio with Darryl Law, offering big discounts and free CDs.  The had four copies of “Empire of the Clouds” in stock.  I wrote that store off the list first, gambling that it would be too busy.

I planned my strategy to acquire this very limited single (5500 copies).  Online prices later on will be far too high, at least for me unless I decide to sell my organs on the dark web.  Encore Records has long been the most reliable store in town, and they were carrying it (quantity unknown).  Failing that, just a few blocks away at X-Disc-C, there were three copies in stock.  The plan was for me to go to Encore while my wife Jen went to X-Disc-C.  We left the house at 8:15 for the 9:00 am opening.  That even left time for a coffee stop, at a way too busy Timmy’s on Weber St.  My only real concern at that point was parking downtown.  Kitchener is currently being ripped up to build a controversial light rail transit system.  The traffic tie-ups and difficult access points are only adding to the controversy.  Even so, and even with the Kitchener Farmer’s Market open since 6:00 am, parking was not a problem.  In fact there was plenty.

Encore Records was a couple blocks away, but I turned right back around as soon as I saw the line!  There were at least 40-50 people up there, waiting to get in.  I had never seen anything like that before, not on Record Store Day.  Not for records.  “Fuck this,” I said as I hiked back.  Re-joining Jen, we headed to X-Disc-C which was only a short jaunt away.  We knew they had three copies.  I had never been to this location before, tucked away on a side street near the market.  We knew we were getting near when we heard the sounds of Gordon Lightfoot serenading us on outdoor speakers.  This was followed by the new Wolfmother.  And we were first in line!  Iron Maiden would be mine!

I posted on Facebook, “First in line.  I am the line.”

About five minutes later another guy joined us, maybe a bit older than me.   We exchanged “good mornings” and chatted.

“I’m only here for one thing,” he hinted.

“Maiden?” I asked, and he nodded.  “Me too,” I said in response.  “He has three in there, so it looks like we’re good.”

“They’re already open over across the street,” he told me, referring to Encore.

“Really?  But did you see that crowd?  There were at least 40 people standing there.  Can that store even hold 40 people?”

I was surprised when he answered, “Yeah, I was second in line.  I’ve been waiting outside since 6:30 in the morning.”

Think about that for a moment.  That means there was somebody who got there even before 6:30!  People really wanted that Iron Maiden record.  Behind us, a small line began to form, young and old.

“I left to come here because I couldn’t see the Maiden when I walked into Encore.  Other people swooped in and they were gone before I could even see them.”  I expressed a little bit of surprise about the popularity of a record that only had an interview track on the B-side.  That doesn’t matter to everybody though.  “I’m not going to play it,” he said.  “I’m not even going to open it.  I’m going to frame it.”

A few more people joined us in line including one guy in an Iron Maiden T-shirt.  I don’t think he had a chance anymore.  There seemed to be two dominating artists that people in line were looking for:  David Bowie, and Iron Maiden.  Then the door opened.  I grabbed the first Iron Maiden, and the guy behind me got the second.  I did not see who got the third.

At X-Disc-C, they told me they had never seen a Record Store Day opening like this before.  They seemed unprepared as most of their items hadn’t even been priced yet.  I wonder if Encore Records also got slammed unprepared at opening.  They usually only have two guys working on busy days, and I think only three people even work there at all.  It’s great to see them so busy, but I wondered about the whole experience.

These stores probably don’t make much money on these Record Store Day exclusives, and these early birds were looking for specific items.  If they didn’t have it, they walked.  They didn’t stick around to browse, nor was there room to browse.  Two people walked out before I even paid for my Maiden!   The buying frenzy atmosphere isn’t the kind of record shopping experience most of us look for.  We like to take our time, check every nook and cranny, converse and enjoy it.  These limited Record Store Day items seem to create schools of sharks swooping in on very limited items, and when they’re gone the customer buys nothing and moves on.

I will open and play my Iron Maiden record, once.  I’ll record it, and only look at it henceforce.  It’s a gorgeous picture disc in a gatefold sleeve.  The cover replicates the Daily Mirror newspaper from October 6 1930, the day after the R101 burst into flames.  An awesome Eddie illustration from the picture disc is seen through the die-cut cover.  It truly is a beautiful collectible.

Record Store Day was fun, but I don’t think it does much to celebrate the indi record store.  It does bring out the hard core collectors, but the overall atmosphere feels too much like a bloody Black Friday sale than a true record shopping experience.

Come back tomorrow for a review of the “Empire of the Clouds” RSD exclusive single.

 

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36 comments

  1. Congrats on getting a copy of the Maiden, Mike! And good on ya for getting out there and being ready to go when the doors opened. Funny, RSD celebrates independent shops, which are usually smaller places that are never all that busy. Then RSD takes over with all these exclusives and the places get overrun. Missing the point? I mean, you said nobody stuck around to browse. Makes me think if they were only available online , then the record stores wouldn’t even be necessary. But the name of it Record Store Day! Gah, I dunno. Anyway, good on ya, dude!

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    1. Record Store day is a crock. I’m pretty certain of that now. It’s very telling that these stores don’t make money on Record Store Day items…Something I heard through the grapevine.

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      1. I chatted to the owner of one of my regular shops the week before – he confirmed that not only are the margins tiny on many of the items, there have been instances of the ‘recommended price’ being less that the retailers cost. WTF?

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        1. I actually believe that.

          I’ll tell you Bruce, I wanted to shop around and buy other things but it was chaos — just not possible to shop properly. I’ll go back on a normal day.

          Liked by 1 person

        4. Probe Records in Liverpool verify that – they make a little money on it, but not too much – BUT they gamble on increased footfall meaning other stuff, with better margins, get sold too.

          Liked by 2 people

  3. Great post and congrats on the acquisition. I find that RSD requires planning like that, more and more. Unless something really piques my interest in future, I think my days of lining up are over. I took my chances at going in later this year and scored big. If I hadn’t though, I would browsed and found something to purchase in support of the stores. Speaking of which, do you ship often at Millpond? Friends of mine own that store.

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    1. I actually haven’t been there yet because I only started hearing able Millpond recently. They’ve been advertising like mad on the radio this past month. So I’ll be heading there soon (probably this weekend) and check it out. I did browse their website and found it to be quite good!

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      1. I’ve only been there once myself and that was before I started collecting vinyl. However, I can attest that the owners are good peeps.

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  5. Congrats on the score. That disc and the packaging are awesome. Also, I guess the interview doesn’t have to sound as good, and that is the biggest reason you bought it.

    I noticed there were way too many picture discs this year. I’m not a fan of them. If they want to lure me in, coloured vinyl, gatefold, awesome artwork and rarity will do it, but picture discs will not.
    Nice to look at but I would assume not so nice to listen to.

    I got a few I will be writing about soon.

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    1. Yeah I will only play a picture disc once if possible. It’s too bad but they are not really a practical format.

      I wonder what Jack White’s liquid-filled record sounds like for quality!

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  6. The same shop owner I mentioned above gave me a report this afternoon. He had a good day and was happy enough. And get this. He had at least 50 RSD titles (quite a few of which were still available) but the one that walked out quickest was Madonna on pink vinyl. Go figure.

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  7. RSD has become more about the big record companies gouging the store owners and consumers in my opinion. Store owners probably get told they need to order excess quantity or titles they don’t want. Then they get stuck with stock. The titles are already at a loss, and they have to reduce them more to sell them.
    Also, there is.no rhyme or reason to the ordering orocess. 2 stores may order in the same day, and one gets stock for RSD, and one does not. That is not fair. If it arrives late many buyers will have bought elesewhere, and the store is stuck with it. Go to any record store today and you will find RSD stock still there from years past.
    I agree RSD is more like Black Friday. Tons of people in line, many for the same item. However, like a sucker, I had to participate.

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    1. I will only participate when I feel the merch warrants it. A bunch of reissues, I could care less. Coloured vinyl of stuff I already have…don’t care. There has to be exclusive audio for me to care. And it has to be truly exclusive, not a preview of something coming next year. I sadly have very very few RSD items that turned out to actually have exclusive audio on them. Them Crooked Vultures 10″ single was one. I have an RSD Steve Earle 7″ with the iTunes bonus track on the B-side. That to me is worth having because it saves you from having to buy the iTunes.

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  8. From the people I’ve spoken with, I’m afraid you’re right about the RSD/Black Friday comparison. RSD seems to be good in theory but the benefits aren’t necessarily going to the right people

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    1. I think it was better when it was less known. In 2011 I waited in line, but it was only a few people waiting. There was no frenzy. There was plenty to go around. I took my time and bought non-RSD stuff too.

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  9. I’m no metal fan (as I’m sure you guessed from the lack of coverage over on my blog) but I know this is a big deal – congrats on your win!

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  12. Reading this article and the comments with interest AND envy. I wish I had a metropolis somewhere nearby that had one, let alone two, indie music stores…within walking/parking distance. Then I would make as many days possible into Record Store Day(s)! Sadly, my closest independent music store is pretty far away and takes a commitment to get me there (otherwise, it’s off to the BigBox or on-line, sadly and regretfully, but I gotta get the rock). I went to the aforementioned indie store a coupla days before Christmas this past year, and the place was packed with people, browsing, and buying, and inquiring with the staff, all in the quest to “Give The Gift Of Music”! That to me, was a true Record Store Day.

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  13. Meticulous planning … a change in said plan … like playing a semi-final a man down, but getting the win! Nice.

    I dropped into the nearest RSD participating record store today (mainly to looksy for Sturgill Simpson’s new album and the RSD Sunday Nights release – no luck on both counts) and just like last year they have a fair load of trash left. More than two copies of some titles.

    No win for me. Bah.

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      1. Good on James! Another win!

        You never really associate RSD with anything but records, eh? That’s a tape last year and a CD this year from Metallica? Vinyl next?

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