Every year, it seems, the chorus of complaints about Record Store Day (RSD) gets louder - and from all quarters: distributors, record labels, artists and even independent record stores themselves. This time around, it's the turn of Rupert Morrison of much-loved Totnes shop Drift Records to explain in a Guardian article why "what was once a shot in the arm for physical retail is now an albatross around the neck of the establishment it purports to help".
This claim is nothing new - but, as he implies, the problems that it causes are now even more acute. The twin spectres of Brexit and the pandemic are having just as devastating an impact on music retail as they are on live music, and RSD only makes matters worse.
The well-publicised vinyl shortage and supply chain issues are already crippling the industry - delaying release dates and consequently creating an enormous administrative burden for shop staff, who are having to continually update and apologise to disgruntled customers, as well as wrecking bands' and labels' marketing schedules and tour plans. In those circumstances, it's hard to think of anything more damaging for indie shops than an event that encourages major labels to clog up pressing plants months in advance with superfluous limited-edition releases that will in many cases be bought in store at face value but then immediately flogged online for significant profit.
I've been reporting on calls for a rethink and reboot of RSD since 2014, and nothing seems to have changed; on the contrary, the situation has got worse and such calls have continued to go unheeded. So, as convincing as Morrison's argument is, I wouldn't hold out much hope of it making much of a difference.
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