RECORD STORE DAY returns on Saturday April 19th over the Easter break. We catch up with a host of stores around the country to find out what they have planned.
For a list of just some of the RECORD STORE DAY releases available click on the link below:
http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases
Tag us @restassuredzine on Instagram with your Record Store Day hauls. We may even give the person with the biggest haul a prize or two.
Don't forget these stores trade the other 364 days of the year too and need your ongoing support, not just a one off visit.
Store Name: Resist Records
Location: Basement 294 King St, Newtown NSW
Contacts: 02 9557 8771 / www.resistrecords.com
In the past 12 months would you say business has been up or down in comparison to the year previous?
The past year has been one of our strongest sales wise, not by a great amount, but consistent.
Do you think the changes in exchange rates and increased postage costs from US labels has been reflected by an increase in your store trading over the past 12 months?
Definitely those factors help, I also think if you have the stock people want to buy, they should support your store. The biggest issue with competing with online stores and mainly labels is the ridiculous amount of coloured vinyl and various limited pressings they do, as a store it's impossible to compete with that.
How did Record Store Day rate in comparison to say the Christmas period of 2013 for you? Has it become firmly established now would you say?
It's a very different trading period. Much of the business on Record Store Day is people who very rarely go record shopping, or people who are just looking for a certain RSD title. Christmas is very much people coming in buying presents for friends / partners / themselves. The thing with the Christmas trade is often it's busier after Christmas as kids have money to spend. After Christmas, Record Store Day is definitely the busiest day of the year.
With the further closure of Kill The Music in Brisbane and soon to be Fist 2 Face in Melbourne, do you think the writing is on the wall for independent record stores? Is there a need to diversify your business at all?
It's a tough one. I think any small business regardless of what it sells needs the support of the public to stay alive. When Kill The Music announced it was closing, there was an outpouring of support for the store, however if those people supported the store it may never have contemplated closing down. People buy a lot of music and merch online from predominantly US companies, if only they spent a little bit of their money in the local community, it can make a massive difference.
How much of your business would you say is regular or repeat customers compared to people walking in off the street?
Being the store we are (specializing in hardcore and punk music and merchandise and located in a basement) all of our business is from repeat or new customers, never from walk ins.
What sort of stock do people usually overlook or not realise is available from your shop?
A lot of our customers pre order titles from the US, only to find we will have it on the racks before they receive their pre order. Other then guaranteeing limited coloured vinyl copies (which 90% of time we actually get), we can get any items that are available.
Why is owning physical copies of music, better than being an MP3 collector?
Too many people who only listen to music on a digital device would often skip the majority of songs and only listen to a few songs on an album possibly overlooking what may be a great record. Often albums take a few listens before they become familiar and become a favourite.
What is a record you have been recommending a lot of late to customers?
Majority of recommendations are for new titles or re issues, so it just comes down to what the customer is into. With how accessible music is these days, most people come in with an idea of what they are looking for.
What is a record in your store you personally can't believe isn't flying off the shelf?
There are always so many titles you order thinking they will fly off the shelf, but never do, but then when you sell the last one and it's out of print, that's when people want it! Over the years I've learnt to order less and re order then to order bulk and hope to sell through it.
What exclusive Record Store Day releases will customers be able to find in-store on RSD?
Pending being delivered in time, we should have the following:
Battery "Whatever It Takes..." LP
Bayside "Time Has Come / Indiana" 7''
Beltones "On Deaf Ears" LP
Between The Buried And Me "Colors_Live" LP
Bloodlet "Live On Wmfu-FM" LP
Buried Alive "The Death Of Your Perfect World" LP
Cave In "Jupiter LP + Rarities 12''
Chiodos "R2me2 / Let Me Get You A Towel" 7''
Close Your Eyes "Prepackaged Hope" 7''
Creepoid "Wet" 12''
Dads "Woman" 7"
Die Kreuzen "Cows And Beer" 7''
Earth Crisis "Gomorrah's Season Ends" LP
Farside "Keep My Soul Awake" 7"
Full Of Hell / Psywarfare "Split" LP
Husker Du "Candy Apple Grey" LP
Integrity "Den Of Iniquity" LP
Integrity / Vegas "Split" 7"
Noisem / Occultist "Split" 7"
Off! "Learn To Obey" 7"
One Man Army "Dead End Stories" LP
Poison Idea "Getting The Fear" 7"
Public Enemy "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To.." LP
Rot In Hell "Ruined Empire" LP
Sensefield "Building" LP
Set Your Goals "The Reset Demo 10 Year Anniversary Edition" 10"
Sick Of It All "Based On A True Story" LP
Street Dogs/Noi!Se "Split" 10"
Strife "In This Defiance" LP
Sunny Day Real Estate / Circa Survive "Split 7"
The Smith Street Band "Don't Fuck With Our Dreams" 10"
Tim Timebomb And Friends "Mixtapes #1, #2, & #3" 3xLP
Toxic Reasons "Ghost Town" 7''
Toxic Reasons "War Hero" 7''
Up Front "Spirit" LP
Up Front "What Fire Does" 7"
V/A "Oi! This Is Streetpunk: Volume 4" LP
Any RSD releases you've got your eye on yourself?
Will definitely pick up a copy of the Off! 7", Public Enemy LP, Strife LP and a few others if we have the stock left over.
Do you have anything else planned for Record Store Day?
Other then stocking what we can of the RSD titles, it's very much business as usual for us.
Store Name: Clarity Records
Location: 60 Pulteney St, Adelaide
Contacts:
- clarityrecords.net
- facebook.com/clarityrecordsadelaide
- twitter.com/clarityrecords
- This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In the past 12 months would you say business has been up or down in comparison to the year previous?
It has been up. Thankfully we are in a good location and with vinyl sales on the rise each year continues to be stronger for us.
Do you think the changes in exchange rates and increased postage costs from US labels has been reflected by an increase in your store trading over the past 12 months?
As I read this question I had a customer call wanting to compare our prices to online prices. I believe it has slightly increased because I get people saying that our prices are cheaper than buying online because of the huge shipping costs. As much as I find it annoying when people compare us to online, I'd like to think people would want to support local record stores rather than maybe try and save a couple of dollars, I am thankful that people are returning to record stores because it works out cheaper for them and they can have the record instantly rather than having to wait 2-3 weeks for shipping.
How did Record Store Day rate in comparison to say the Christmas period of 2013 for you? Has it become firmly established now would you say?
Record Store Day is the busiest day of the year and smashes any day during the Christmas period. It is definitely firmly established and has gained interest from a wide range of music listeners.
With the further closure of Kill The Music in Brisbane and soon to be Fist 2 Face in Melbourne, do you think the writing is on the wall for independent record stores? Is there a need to diversify your business at all?
To be honest, running a record store is stressful and tiring. You have to constantly stay on top of everything and with all the competition with online retailers and JB HI-FI, if you fall behind you can miss out on selling some essential releases. Therefore I can completely understand if a store was to close because they have simply just had enough, but I think if the work ethic is there and you are getting the right releases into your store then I think the independent record store will always have a future.
It is good to diversify and not be too closed minded with what you stock in store. I am thankful that I chose to not only stock the genre of music I like because without the wide range of types of music and music related items in the store I believe we would struggle.
How much of your business would you say is regular or repeat customers compared to people walking in off the street?
I would say maybe 50/50. We get a lot of repeat customers which we are very thankful for but because of our location we get a lot of walk-ins and semi-regulars.
What sort of stock do people usually overlook or not realise is available from your shop?
Not too much, everything is looked over pretty well.
Why is owning physical copies of music, better than being an MP3 collector?
Where do I start? Everything! From the sound to actually being able to physically hold and look at each release.
What is a record you have been recommending a lot of late to customers?
For hardcore stuff the new Shackles record. For "other" stuff the new Mogwai.
What is a record in your store you personally can't believe isn't flying off the shelf?
Not really. We have some good secondhand stuff that I think has been here longer than what it should
What exclusive Record Store Day releases will customers be able to find in-store on RSD?
They will just have to come in and see. We don't reveal what we are getting until the day. We have ordered too many titles to list.
Any RSD releases you've got your eye on yourself?
The Taang! Singles boxset and probably the Off 7"
Do you have anything else planned for Record Store Day?
We are opening for 24 hours on the day. From 12am-12am. We are also having a 20% off storewide sale. At night we are having a free instore show that will kick off around 8pm. There will also be a bunch of treats in the store. We have a huge day ahead of us!
Store Name: Tym guitars
Location: 5 Winn st, Foirtiude valley
Contacts:
Phone: 31615863
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: http://www.tymguitars.com.au
In the past 12 months would you say business has been up or down in comparison to the year previous?
Down in some stuff. Up in others.
Do you think the changes in exchange rates and increased postage costs from US labels has been reflected by an increase in your store trading over the past 12 months?
It probably will.
How did Record Store Day rate in comparison to say the Christmas period of 2013 for you? Has it become firmly established now would you say?
We're not really a Christmas shop so RSD is pretty much always our biggest day of the year. It has been for the last two years.
With the further closure of Kill The Music in Brisbane and soon to be Fist 2 Face in Melbourne, do you think the writing is on the wall for independent record stores? Is there a need to diversify your business at all?
There's a lot of factors effecting record stores and the general state of retail is just one of them. High rents and cheap online in also killing it but I truly believe we NEED record stores as meeting places and human interaction. I'm not just a record store, but I have diversified in the last 2 years anyway as it's not just record stores that need to change with the times.
How much of your business would you say is regular or repeat customers compared to people walking in off the street?
Maybe 75% regular ? We're a destination shop so people come from all over the world to visit us but I have a great core group of customers who get what we do.
What sort of stock do people usually overlook or not realise is available from your shop?
We're pretty open about everything we do I think ?
Why is owning physical copies of music, better than being an MP3 collector?
The physical product will ALWAYS be more exciting and viable to the real music fan. MP3 and digital serves a purpose that needs to be filled, and some (most) people are fine with that. The satisfying thing about buying/owning vinyl, even over CD's is that you have something physical and tangible. You can feel, smell and stare at it for hours, and that's before you even listen to it.
What is a record you have been recommending a lot of late to customers?
Roku Music-Collider. Psicomagia-ST. Mugstar-...sun,broken.. The Shrine-Bless Off. There's too many.
What is a record in your store you personally can't believe isn't flying off the shelf?
Dumb Numbers-ST
What exclusive Record Store Day releases will customers be able to find in-store on RSD?
Tym records re-issue of the Hard-Ons Girl in the Sweater 7", Tym records Sweet Apple 7", A bunch of Cardinal Fuzz stuff. Heaps of great stuff.
Any RSD releases you've got your eye on yourself?
The Dinosaur Jr/Cure split 7"
Do you have anything else planned for Record Store Day?
I'll be working from about 9am to past 10pm so ...............
