The entire nation has had to make changes due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the record industry is no exception.
Record Store Day, a day usually met with celebration, community and concerts, was instead one of the many casualties of 2020.
On Aug. 29, music lovers and vinyl collectors congregated outside their favorite indie record stores to participate in the first of three days of the long-awaited and postponed event.
Normally held on the third Saturday in April, Record Store Day has been celebrated nationwide for over a decade. Music enthusiasts gather to share their love of vinyl, and artists partner with indie record stores to release limited edition, rare, or unique albums that are only available for the day. The exclusive items often bring big sales for many small record stores.
Fans of Record Store Day and vinyl in general were excited to get back one of the many things they thought they had lost in the coronavirus pandemic. Jordan and Lorie Barber, a mother-daughter duo, waited in line for two hours for new releases from The Who and Bastille.
“I was so sad when they canceled [Record Store Day] back in April, but I was so happy to hear they were doing it later on, and on three different days,” Jordan Barber said.
It has been a hard year for Graywhale Entertainment, just as it has been for many small businesses.
“As I’m sure you know, we closed our Sandy location,” the general manager, Dustin Hansen, told those lined up outside the Taylorsville store. “But that’s what we had to do to stay afloat.”
While Graywhale and many other record stores managed to open for Record Store Day, there were still a number of stores that could not. Many stores that weren’t able to physically open turned to online sales, marking the first time in the 12-year history of Record Store Day that releases were sold exclusively online.
If you missed out on the first Record Store Day of 2020, there are still two more chances this year on Sept. 26 and Oct. 24. Keep an eye on the Record Store Day website and local record stores’ social media accounts for updates on the next two drops this fall.
