By Izzy Hurcum
Every year, tens of thousands of record collectors descend onto record stores across the UK to celebrate Record Store Day (also known as RSD), an annual event featuring exclusive releases and limited-edition vinyl pressings. This year’s event featured more than 500 exclusive titles.
Nearly two decades after its launch, Record Store Day remains one of the biggest dates in the calendar for independent record retailers. But how much does the event actually benefit stores, and does it still fulfil its original purpose?
What was the reception like for Record Store Day 2026?
The reception of RSD at a store largely depends on multiple factors such as a store’s location, their allocated stock, and the general release list for that year. Even things like a store’s age and reputation can have impacts on how many people show up for the event each year. Emma Perks, owner of Spinning Around Records in Telford, said: “We had more people than ever come down this year. It’s my third year doing it, so I get growth each time, but with the list being the biggest ever, it definitely brought more people out for it.”
Record Vault is located just outside of Beaminster in Dorset and boasts of being the UK’s most rural record store. 2026 was the first year that the store, owned by Ian Picken, had participated in Record Store Day after opening in November 2024. Picken said “The reception was excellent. We are the most rural record shop in the UK so a lot of people in the local area were pleased to have a local store with good RSD stock. It was a very successful day.”
What motivates owners to take part?
There is an obvious answer to this question, money, and owners certainly agree that it is a huge motivator, however many of them mentioned that the event was special, a celebration of music and vinyl culture that they want to include themselves in. Up in Edinburgh, owner of Thorne Records, Mark Thorne mentioned that the day was “a chance to celebrate your customers and the store.” He also joked that Record Store Day is “the Mother’s Day for record shops!”
Record Vault’s Ian Picken shared that part of his motivation to participate this year included “being able to have the chance to engage with existing customers and gain new customers,” as well as the increased number of sales and the PR it brings in for the shop.
Are there any downsides of taking part?
The downsides of taking part in the event vary with every shop. Some say it is simply the increased workload while others compare it to a logistical nightmare which takes months to plan and prepare for. Gordon Gibson, owner of Action Records in Preston, mentioned that the only downside he faces is the amount of work he has to do. “It can be quite stressful,” he said, “but you cannot pull in business like this and not expect it.”
Meanwhile in Colchester, owner of Stone Rock Records, Jonathon Stoneman, had a few things to say about the downsides he faced by participating in Record Store Day this year. “I had to pay a fairly large fee to be affiliated with RSD, though this didn’t allow for me to buy all possible stock,” he said, discussing the first downside he faces, buying stock. According to Stoneman, to buy stock you must have an account and be a regular purchaser at major distribution companies such as Universal, Warner Bros and Sony to even gain access to their RSD stock lists. “I have an account but had not bought from one of these companies and so I missed out on a big chunk of titles that people were after,” he continued.
Keeping on the topic of stock, Stoneman also mentioned the issue with ordering said stock from the distribution companies. He said: “They released the full list of titles to the RSD website around Jan/Feb, so that the public could see what was on offer, with RSD taking place mid-April. But deadlines to order this stock closed within a month, meaning I was unable to get a full understanding of what people who would come to my shop would want.” This later posed to be an issue when the store opened on Record Store Day and as per the rules of the event, no preorders were allowed. Stoneman had to order stock in without any guarantee that the person who asked for it would come to the store and buy it on the day. “I had a customer who asked for some bits [and never came on the day] and when I asked later if he still wanted, he said he got it elsewhere. It cost me £40 and is still in my crates.” he recalled.
Stoneman’s overall impression of the day was that “it didn’t feel like a celebration of independent record shops. Instead, it felt like a celebration of the fact that distribution companies can basically print money by re-releasing albums or singles that people love.” He claimed that the distribution companies are weaponising nostalgia and exclusivity to make a profit and using independent record stores as the middlemen. “There are a couple of record shops and customers I know who feel very similar to me,” he adds, “the original reason for the event was to spread awareness for indie stores when vinyl wasn’t at the heights it has returned to, but it has been hijacked alongside the vinyl revival to cash in on vinyl’s renewed popularity.”
Up North Records, owned by Ronnie Moore, in Chester city centre.
How important is Record Store Day to a store’s yearly revenue?
With tens of thousands of record collectors taking part in the event in the UK alone every single year, it is clear that the event has a significant impact on a store’s revenue. This number of participants only increases when the sale of the records moves online starting on the Monday following the event. In Kingston-Upon-Thames, Banquet Records owner Jon Tolley said on social media that in one night they received more orders than they do in an entire month.
Ronnie Moore, who runs Chester’s own Up North Records, said that the stores revenue on Record Store Day is “usually equal, if not more, than the Christmas period for us, but that is not always the case. The stock we have left over can have a significant impact on the success of RSD.”
Despite what Jonathan Stoneman said about all the downsides of participating in Record Store Day, he said that the say was a “fantastically successful day” for his store and is the best day in his store’s history. He is torn however, “it made up for a relatively crappy month, but also insured the remaining one to two weeks of April were fairly quiet due to customers spending lots of money on Record Store Day as stock was expensive, and many didn’t come back for the rest of the month.” He then went on to reflect on the store’s profits, “in the end, with all I spent on stock and the fact April was quiet before and after, it ended up being quite a normal month of profit for me. My highest month for sales, but the profit was quite similar.”
So, does Record Store Day actually benefit independent stores?
The answer is a clear yes, with the benefits massively outweighing the cons. The event might take a lot of planning, risk-taking and effort but the community, profit, and PR it brings in for these small independent stores makes it all worth it in the end. Emma Perks of Spinning Around Records said, “It’s a lot of work with the planning and prep, but completely worthwhile and gives you a massive boost. It’s also nice that people do discover you via RSD and become regular customers after the day.”
“Record Store Day definitely benefitted my shop,” said Stoneman, “I had a lot of people through the door on the day, a lot of whom I had never seen in my shop before, so it was good for the visibility, as well as the money that flowed through the door.”
Music Journalists and avid Record Store Day participants Izzy Hurcum, Freya Hoare and Leah Simons discuss Record Store Day and its benefits to independent record stores.
