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Today Is Record Store Day 2011
An anonymous reader writes "Today marks the 5th annual Record Store Day, a celebration of independent record stores. As a music lover, I think this day is of dire importance." I know Free Comic Book Day (for 2011, that's May 7) has gotten a lot of people into comic stores who otherwise wouldn't — partly because of the many free comics given away — but hadn't heard of the record-store equivalent. It'd be nice for record stories to give away tons of 7" vinyl promos.
It'd be nice for record stories[sic] to give away tons of 7" vinyl promos.
They'd be sued into oblivion if they tried. Can't have them promoting piracy and stealing money from the artists, now can we?
Funny may not give karma, but +5 Informative never made anyone snort coffee out their nose.
How quaint.
So like, do they sell paperwork or something?
You've gotta be completely oblivious, or a troll. Either way, I'm responding only to point that out.
Gosh I actually logged in to comment on this... Yes I went out to Stirling today and supported one of my local shops there; they had bands on out front and back and even the Scottish weather managed to stay mostly sunny. Never seen the place so busy before! Long live the analogue hole :)
Better give out free players too.
How many people out there wouldn't have the equipment to play those 7" promos if they were given one?
There was this very obese guy with shorts and a scraggly beard behind the counter. I asked if he had any Van Halen.
In a very sarcastic voice, has asked, "Roth or Van Hagar stuff."
I said they both had merits and I'd like to see either.
He said, "Whateverrr. The educated and sophisticated know beyond all doubt that Van Halen with Roth AND Anthony is the only true way to go. Now, please leave this store and I never want to see your ignorant plebian face again. Thank yooouuuuuuuu."
He then proceeded to insult and condescend to every one else in the store.
He reminded me of someone and I can't place him.
Jack Black a la High Fidelity
Physical music still has one advantage over digital: quality. Apart from that, digital wins in every other way...
Liner notes/artwork.
Until I can (legally) download albums in FLAC format, I'll continue to buy CD albums from a record store.
Summation 2
It'd be nice for record stories[sic] to give away tons of 7" vinyl promos.
Yep, there's no better way to attract new customers than by giving away a product that no mainstream customer actually cares about. There's a significant portion that wouldn't even stop by for free CDs.
-- i am jack's amusing sig file
Aside from the fact that they're both frequently included in digital purchases, neither of those is music...
Can you be Even More Awesome?!
Generally, the stores participating are small shops that sell lots of vinyl 12" and 7" records, so there is still some merit in having these stores around. Well, at least for the people who still purchase and listen to vinyl records.
I really miss the one shop record stores, even as they transitioned from vinyl to CD. There's just something about flipping through the disks, looking at the covers, checking out all the knicknack crap they'd have, T-Shirts, posters, etc. For bookstores (not the mega stores) it was always awesome to go through their collections, grab a paperback and a magazine, and then go grab a cup of coffee. Borders and B&N commercialized and neutered that experience, and Amazon obliterated it. I guess it's our own fault though; the public's continued demand for speed and convenience seems to always outweigh the experience. Like comparing a nice train ride to a flight. I'm really not that old, honest. ;)
Independent record stores suck.
Really? You know who else sucks? Big music & the RIAA. Do you think it's a coincidence that Anonymous has chosen today to be 'Boycot Sony Day'?
Indie & local stores need support just like every other small business does. Support your local shopkeepers, they're your neighbors and usually understand what real customer service is.
This story is about vinyl... Is it really an "EP" if it comes as a zip file? Really?
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
independent music is as accessible and creative as it has ever been. check it out.
'The fact is that that with the Internet and big box retailers, there is just no logical reason for them to exist anymore.'
Except the ones that serve as a focal point for an entire music scene, host live gigs, expose you to music you might never have come across online, act as a labour exchange for local bands, and generally don't suck, e.g.:
http://www.spillersrecords.co.uk/
http://www.amoeba.com/
It's not that big a deal to me
I thought /. was against the Record Industry and the limits Brick and Mortar put on sharing music?
Just down the page is the article about the merits of Google buying all the record companies while they, Amazon and maybe Apple put everything up on the Cloud for access.
Why are we supporting Brick and Mortar now?
Some of my favorite places during my life have been small (mom & pop) bookstores!
I killed da wabbit -Elmer Fudd
If you have anything to play a 7" promo on, you're probably already a customer.
I haven't seen a record player in decades.
If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. - James Madison
Offtopic:
I know the White Hat Black Hat framework.
What does a Silver Hat hacker do?
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
Here's my free EP: http://www.acetonestudio.com/goodandstrong_ep.html
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Whooosh!
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Exactly.
There are some seven uses in this post above me.
Does he want to download seven copies per song?!!
Nah -
We need a system that fairy takes a single paid copy and lets you make ReSpins as you like.
(What, the Orig. Artists didn't do that?? Shame on them if the original is tempo 25% too fast and timbre 37% too high.)
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
I never liked music shops of any sort, because I could never figure what CDs to buy from the purty pictures on the covers. Only a few places ever bothered to put up a music sampling station, but none of them had a fast-forward button, so it took an excessive amount of time to sample the music. (It's surprising how many songs have a long prelude they tells you nothing about the music that's to come. And without fast-forward, you can't skip the prelude.)
Radio and Pandora are pretty much the best way to discover music, and iTunes-like places are the best way to buy it.
Not that this wasn't entirely predictable.
It's a Gray Hat who likes to stand out/show off.
I'm not actually claiming to be a gray hat, mind you. It sort of started as a joke, and by the time I realised no one understood what I meant it was too late.
Funny may not give karma, but +5 Informative never made anyone snort coffee out their nose.
I disagree vehemently. What you say may be true in some cases, but I still miss Jammyland in NYC for their great reggae and dub selection and the opportunity to just bump into legendary recording artists stopping in to deliver their new releases or pick up a payment. Browse and listen to tunes at high volume, hang out and chat. There is/was a lot of value in that. It's the misplaced elitism of some stores that ruins it.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Permanent Records in Chicago was doing just that early this morning.
It is most likely that the independent stores promote independent music not controlled by the RIAA, so I suggest that your comment is redundant.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Correct. See sig.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Pencils are obsolete. Ban them! I am going to put a record on now because my iPod suddenly stopped working. See what I mean?
http://www.acetonestudio.com
Aside from the fact that they're both frequently included in digital purchases..
While I have purchased admittedly little, and only from the Amazon MP3 store, I've only gotten the cover image.
neither of those is music...
By that reckoning, neither one offers any advantage over the other because you get the music no matter which one you choose.
I don't understand why so many have been so dismissive of this record store day and in particular vinyl. My iPod stopped working lastnight. Maybe it is fixable, maybe not but I'm not in a panic of 'oh noes, I can haz NO music'. I have a couple of hundred vinyl albums that will keep me going until I figure out the technical issue with the iPod. So I don't have access to the 11,000+ tunes that are or were on the iPod but it's not the end of the world. And if there is no electricity I'll just play my acoustic guitar. And if all the strings should break I'll just bang some sticks and rocks together. It's all music and the medium really doesn't matter that much. Disclosure: I am an independent musician and producer. See sig.
http://www.acetonestudio.com
I don't know, but brown hat hackers specialize in penetrating macs.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Honestly, the biggest thing to miss is being able to talk to somebody who actually cares about the music. Sure depending upon which store you could end up with comic book guy or the guys from Hi Fidelity telling you that whatever you're looking for sucks, but so much music is found through social means, it's just not the same looking through online listings.
Yeah, I agree. It's kinda like that with musical instrument stores. I'm a guitar player too, so inevitably I find myself browsing the online sites, or going to Guitar Center or whatever. But nothing beats going into a small family-owned shop and talking to some guy who really loves music, loves playing guitars, and doesn't pull the "used car salesman" BS like the big box stores do.
What is a record store, dad?
don't cut it off www.mgmbill.org
I think that really goes for any specialist hobby or practice. You can usually tell a good camera shop by the amount of knowledge the sales people have about the craft.
I have, going into NYC to spend a few hours looking through the old stuff at Colony Records, hoping to find a keeper or something to trade with Slim at Times Square Records. Moonglows, Flamingos, Orioles, colored vinyl 45s'
I had a great time at my neighborhood record store today, which I've shopped at for 20+ years. They had bands all day, the very nice RSD exclusives to pick through, tons of records, cds to dig through and all the free PBR you could drink. When I was a kid my dad would take me to record stores, and now I take my kids. Some of the people there today are music writers that I've followed for a long time, their recommendations used to guide me (this was when there was only newspaper, not the internet to learn about new toons) and they continue to today with their picks they play. As a lifelong music fan there are few things I like better than spending a few hours browsing the stacks, the fact that today it was 10x more crowded with loud/live instore bands entertaining us, just made it that much more fun.
fak3r.com
Wait til the same happens to bookstores.
Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
You're cute. Are those the only options I have?
No. You could also just be a jackass.
downloading....