Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores around the world. A number of records are pressed specifically for Record Store Day, with a list of releases for each country, and are only distributed to shops participating in the event.
Plaque commemorating the creation of Record Store Day
Jesse Hughes was introductory ambassador for Record Store Day
Taylor Swift became the first "global" ambassador in 2022
A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were developed, such as eight track tapes, compact cassettes and compact discs (CDs). Today, in the 21st century, record stores mainly sell CDs, vinyl records and, in some cases, DVDs of movies, TV shows, cartoons and concerts. Some record stores also sell music-related items such as posters of bands or singers, related clothing items and even merchandise such as bags and coffee mugs.
German record shop (1988)
A record shop in The Hague, Netherlands
Record shops also host musical performances, especially on Record Store Day: Magnapop are pictured here playing at an American store in 1994, with flyers for their album Hot Boxing visible in the background
Second hand record store in Spain (2016)