WEBVTT 00:00:10.699 --> 00:00:13.660 Welcome to my weekly mixtape, a podcast that 00:00:13.660 --> 00:00:16.719 takes the classic mixtape approach to building 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:19.359 a modern playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn. 00:00:19.460 --> 00:00:22.120 Tonight, I am excited to share with everybody 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:24.500 this throwback interview from back in the Toon 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:27.500 Styles days with Cary Colleton, who's the co 00:00:27.500 --> 00:00:31.140 -founder of Record Store Day. We actually talked 00:00:31.140 --> 00:00:34.520 deep about the history of the event. Kind of 00:00:34.520 --> 00:00:37.060 all the inner workings around how it gets put 00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:40.039 together, how those classic releases get made. 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:42.579 I mean, this is everything you want to know about 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:45.399 Record Store Day if you're someone who actually 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:48.399 celebrates. Now, don't worry. When I say an episode 00:00:48.399 --> 00:00:50.979 is from the vaults, I actually go through and 00:00:50.979 --> 00:00:53.520 listen. And, you know, a little kudos to Jay 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:56.560 and I here. There's nothing dated in this episode. 00:00:56.700 --> 00:00:59.859 So bravo to us. And I hope you guys enjoy this 00:00:59.859 --> 00:01:03.399 deep dive into this cultural phenomenon known. 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:05.959 as record store day and if you like what you're 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:08.340 hearing here on my weekly mixtape you can always 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:11.280 help me out by either telling a friend leaving 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.319 the show a five -star review wherever you're 00:01:13.319 --> 00:01:16.959 tuning in or becoming a Patreon mixtaper over 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:21.280 at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:23.840 There you can find ad -free episodes of the show, 00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:26.879 gain early access to upcoming episodes, chime 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:29.439 in on future topics, become a guest curator, 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:32.480 and so much more. Once again, that's patreon 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:36.739 .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. And with 00:01:36.739 --> 00:01:39.319 that, I hope you enjoy this sit -down with Record 00:01:39.319 --> 00:01:44.959 Store Day co -founder Cary Colleton. So for any 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:48.540 music fan, Record Store Day is a holiday that 00:01:48.540 --> 00:01:51.159 probably eclipses Christmas, I would say. It 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:54.879 is the day for the record and music lovers to 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:59.980 go out to the stores and purchase ungodly amounts 00:01:59.980 --> 00:02:04.540 of vinyl and CDs and any other exclusive releases. 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:07.280 Every music fan knows about Record Store Day. 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:09.840 So it's a pleasure to have you on to talk about 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:14.319 this. Well, thank you very much. I would dispute 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:16.360 that every music fan knows about Record Store 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:19.780 Day yet because we're still going. So we still 00:02:19.780 --> 00:02:21.960 feel like we have a job to do in making sure 00:02:21.960 --> 00:02:26.439 that eventually every music fan knows about record 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:29.620 stores and about this special day. Touche. All 00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:32.219 right. Well, look, being the music nerds that 00:02:32.219 --> 00:02:35.360 Jay and I are, we have been fans of Record Store 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.379 Day since the inception because we have been 00:02:38.379 --> 00:02:41.319 consuming physical media since... I don't know, 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:44.080 since I did that instead of toys when I was a 00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:45.879 kid. I went to the record store. I didn't go 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:48.800 to the toy store. So this is like the holiday 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:51.780 that I feel like was made for me. I think Jay 00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:54.379 feels the same. It was made. It was made for 00:02:54.379 --> 00:02:57.240 you. It was made exactly for you guys and all 00:02:57.240 --> 00:03:00.800 the other yous out there in the world. I'm glad 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.500 you feel that way because that's exactly the 00:03:02.500 --> 00:03:04.960 idea. So why don't you talk about how Record 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.240 Store Day began and how you cultivated this quote 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:12.360 unquote holiday? yearly for the music fan? Sure. 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:16.080 Well, to start off, I'll say there is no plan. 00:03:16.199 --> 00:03:19.919 There is no guidebook. I don't believe that if 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:22.400 anybody had set out to say, okay, I'm going to 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:26.479 make this, that you could actually have had like 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:29.500 a step -by -step plan to do it. There's no checklist. 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:33.159 There's no none of that. We literally started 00:03:33.159 --> 00:03:37.210 by saying, you know what? We're tired of hearing 00:03:37.210 --> 00:03:40.669 in the press and hearing in popular culture that 00:03:40.669 --> 00:03:43.810 record stores are dead. Wasn't it great when 00:03:43.810 --> 00:03:46.969 we had record stores? It's so sad that we don't 00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:49.409 have record stores anymore. And the reason we 00:03:49.409 --> 00:03:51.469 started getting frustrated with that is because 00:03:51.469 --> 00:03:54.229 the people who started Record Store Day, our 00:03:54.229 --> 00:03:58.409 day -to -day job was working in or with record 00:03:58.409 --> 00:04:02.610 stores. And we knew that, yes, Tower Records, 00:04:02.949 --> 00:04:07.349 RIP, And we knew that there were issues with, 00:04:07.409 --> 00:04:11.490 you know, FYE and other big chain record stores. 00:04:11.729 --> 00:04:14.550 But we also knew that individual independent 00:04:14.550 --> 00:04:17.750 record stores and even chains of record stores 00:04:17.750 --> 00:04:20.829 that were independently owned were very flexible 00:04:20.829 --> 00:04:24.709 and were very smart. And they were the people 00:04:24.709 --> 00:04:27.250 we worked with. And we saw that that was still 00:04:27.250 --> 00:04:29.230 viable and they were still there and they were 00:04:29.230 --> 00:04:33.220 still kicking it. And why was every story? basically 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:35.560 written before any questions were asked, and 00:04:35.560 --> 00:04:37.279 it was all about the death of record stores and 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:39.639 the death of physical media. And we just thought, 00:04:39.779 --> 00:04:42.560 you know what, let's just have a party and have 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.519 a press release and send it out and invite as 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:47.259 many stores as want to be part of it to be part 00:04:47.259 --> 00:04:49.240 of it and do whatever it is that you do at a 00:04:49.240 --> 00:04:51.980 party and just feel like we had done something 00:04:51.980 --> 00:04:54.199 to get the word out there. Now, do you have a 00:04:54.199 --> 00:04:57.360 background in marketing and PR kind of work? 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.269 Because I know that a lot of... What goes into 00:05:00.269 --> 00:05:03.810 Record Store Day involves contacting a wide across 00:05:03.810 --> 00:05:07.009 the world, I'm assuming at this point. Oh, yeah. 00:05:07.089 --> 00:05:10.529 It involves communication of all kinds to all 00:05:10.529 --> 00:05:14.189 kinds of people. And I personally, I may be the 00:05:14.189 --> 00:05:17.649 luckiest person in the world career wise. I started 00:05:17.649 --> 00:05:19.649 working in a record store when I was in college. 00:05:20.050 --> 00:05:22.629 And at the same time, I also worked at a radio 00:05:22.629 --> 00:05:26.009 station. And I was in college at a school called 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:28.579 Virginia Tech. It's in the mountains of... Virginia, 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:30.600 and it was like a little bubble. It was this 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:35.040 wonderful community where we basically, as kids, 00:05:35.079 --> 00:05:36.980 got to run around and do all this stuff with 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.579 music and book our own shows and run our own 00:05:39.579 --> 00:05:42.980 record stores and run radio stations and both 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:46.560 college and commercial. And it was amazing, but 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:48.860 it also taught you, okay, this job is fun, but 00:05:48.860 --> 00:05:51.500 it has to get done. And you have to learn how 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:55.259 to do this job. And that is what I've done all 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:58.420 the way through. to today with Record Store Day. 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:00.819 So I worked at a record store and then I helped 00:06:00.819 --> 00:06:03.399 open more record stores in this little regional 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:07.819 chain. And then I worked under Michael Kurtz, 00:06:07.819 --> 00:06:10.240 who I still work with on Record Store Day. He 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.139 was the marketing director for this little chain. 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:13.959 And I started working with him and I learned 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:16.480 how to do in -stores, how to work with labels, 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:18.800 how to work with artists, how to work with other 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:21.699 record stores. It's all things we've taught ourselves. 00:06:21.899 --> 00:06:25.519 It's all just be a good person, have a good heart. 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:29.139 Treat people with compassion and respect. And 00:06:29.139 --> 00:06:30.740 if you're going to ask them to do something, 00:06:31.060 --> 00:06:33.439 be willing to do it yourself. Be willing to go 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:37.459 and do it with them. And seriously, I don't lie 00:06:37.459 --> 00:06:39.779 when I say I am the luckiest person when it comes 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:42.639 to careers because that is what everything I've 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.720 taught myself to do. Record Store Day for me 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:48.360 is a lot about social media and outreach to people 00:06:48.360 --> 00:06:52.000 and outreach to customers and sending out. requests 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:54.319 for artists to do things and sending out requests 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:57.779 for stores to do things and helping stores become 00:06:57.779 --> 00:07:02.740 better retailers, become better businesses. Learning 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:05.579 on my end how to help them do that is what Record 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:07.779 Store Day has kind of become. We're all very 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:10.370 self -taught. in this world of record stores. 00:07:10.629 --> 00:07:12.610 And Carrie, that's really refreshing because 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:16.170 that hustle, that drive and motivation, showing 00:07:16.170 --> 00:07:18.930 off your passion for what you do, I think it's 00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:21.970 lost on a lot of people. And that's kind of what 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:24.050 I think ties back into what you were originally 00:07:24.050 --> 00:07:26.709 saying at the top of the show. It kind of fueled 00:07:26.709 --> 00:07:28.810 that, oh, well, I guess just record stores are 00:07:28.810 --> 00:07:31.589 dead because who buys records anymore? Yeah, 00:07:31.589 --> 00:07:34.750 well, and I think it's telling too that obviously 00:07:34.750 --> 00:07:37.230 the biggest names in record stores were Tower. 00:07:37.350 --> 00:07:41.970 And again, Tower didn't close because people 00:07:41.970 --> 00:07:44.410 stopped buying records or caring about records. 00:07:44.529 --> 00:07:46.689 There are a lot of reasons why Tower closed. 00:07:47.009 --> 00:07:50.069 And Colin Hanks' fantastic documentary goes into 00:07:50.069 --> 00:07:52.509 that. It wasn't because people didn't love records, 00:07:52.610 --> 00:07:55.750 didn't love Tower. And a lot of record stores 00:07:55.750 --> 00:07:58.129 closed for a lot of reasons. It's one of the 00:07:58.129 --> 00:08:00.730 reasons why we, on social media, kind of make 00:08:00.730 --> 00:08:03.649 a decision. We don't talk about a lot of closings, 00:08:03.649 --> 00:08:06.699 partially because... we're a made up holiday 00:08:06.699 --> 00:08:08.680 and made up holiday should be fun. And we talk 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:11.139 about all the good stuff that happens, but we 00:08:11.139 --> 00:08:12.399 don't talk about the clothing because they're 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:16.180 always so complicated. It's never just simply 00:08:16.180 --> 00:08:20.000 people stop buying records. Nobody cares. Everybody's 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:22.300 downloading or everybody's streaming. It's never 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:25.300 just that there's always something else. And 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:28.740 that is not unique to record stores. That's any 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:31.699 business. It's restaurants, it's hardware stores, 00:08:31.939 --> 00:08:35.259 whatever. Everything is so complicated when you're 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:38.419 running a small business, which is the other 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:41.340 side of what Record Store Day celebrates and 00:08:41.340 --> 00:08:45.899 promotes. Music and physical media and the love 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:49.799 of records. I have three turntables in my house, 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:52.500 but one television. I am very into the vinyl 00:08:52.500 --> 00:08:55.340 aspect of Record Store Day, but it's not the 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:57.840 only thing Record Store Day is about. And that 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.940 other side of it is... Those people have the 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:03.159 hustle. The stores that succeed are the ones 00:09:03.159 --> 00:09:05.440 who are smart and quick and on the ground and 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:07.799 staying in touch with their stores, whether they 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:12.159 have 27 stores like Newberry Comics, and Lord 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:14.200 knows they may be 28 at this point, I don't know, 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:17.700 or a single store that has just opened within 00:09:17.700 --> 00:09:20.120 the last year or two. Those people have a lot 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:23.659 in common, whether they know it or not. And one 00:09:23.659 --> 00:09:26.220 of the things they have in common is us, is Record 00:09:26.220 --> 00:09:29.899 Store Day. fighting for them and screaming about 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:32.559 them in the most pleasant way we can think of. 00:09:32.779 --> 00:09:36.639 And then also taking on a role lately of trying 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.360 to help them be better at what they do. Well, 00:09:39.419 --> 00:09:42.379 Carrie, you and I, and I think Jay are all on 00:09:42.379 --> 00:09:45.179 the same wavelength here. Jay and I have been 00:09:45.179 --> 00:09:48.220 in radio and television and media for 20 something 00:09:48.220 --> 00:09:51.500 years here. And when I was in college, I worked 00:09:51.500 --> 00:09:54.700 in a record store and I always thought that my 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:58.080 ending dream job would be able to just sit and 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.019 talk about music all day long because that's 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:02.720 just something I enjoy. If I'm not listening 00:10:02.720 --> 00:10:04.559 to it, I'm talking about it. And like you have 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:08.980 three turntables and one TV. I have stereo equipment 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:12.080 scattered all throughout the house. So that way 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.220 I can listen wherever I want, whenever I want. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:16.620 And I can always tell you when the new upcoming 00:10:16.620 --> 00:10:18.480 albums are, but I couldn't tell you what happened 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:23.440 on any episode of Game of Thrones. So I can do 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:26.330 both. I can do both. I have so much. Useless 00:10:26.330 --> 00:10:28.529 knowledge in my head. I could do both. Well, 00:10:28.610 --> 00:10:30.690 let me say that you had mentioned something I 00:10:30.690 --> 00:10:33.409 thought was very interesting. Talking about that 00:10:33.409 --> 00:10:36.490 you don't talk about the negative. And sometimes 00:10:36.490 --> 00:10:40.110 when stores close, I feel like there's an agenda 00:10:40.110 --> 00:10:43.509 with trying to push the new formats, the new 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:46.710 mediums. And the new medium over the last decade 00:10:46.710 --> 00:10:49.929 has been downloading and streaming. Now, Record 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:52.190 Store Day celebrates the physical medium, but 00:10:52.190 --> 00:10:54.190 you can't deny that streaming and downloading 00:10:54.190 --> 00:10:57.129 are a massive chunk of the music consumption 00:10:57.129 --> 00:11:00.169 pie, so to speak. So I'd like to know what your 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:02.690 thoughts are on digital and if the two formats 00:11:02.690 --> 00:11:05.509 could live, and I apologize in advance for the 00:11:05.509 --> 00:11:10.070 terrible pun, in harmony. That was actually not 00:11:10.070 --> 00:11:15.750 the worst pun. It could have been so much worse. 00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:20.730 The really interesting thing about this is there 00:11:20.730 --> 00:11:24.289 are so many opinions on this. This question internally 00:11:24.289 --> 00:11:27.730 in the music industry, and let me just say real 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:30.370 quick, when I say we don't talk about the negative 00:11:30.370 --> 00:11:33.210 at Record Store Day, I'm not going to do a post 00:11:33.210 --> 00:11:36.409 about a store closing necessarily because it's 00:11:36.409 --> 00:11:39.149 really sad, and it's sad for the people who work 00:11:39.149 --> 00:11:40.590 there, the people who shop there, and for all, 00:11:40.649 --> 00:11:42.830 like I said, it's so complicated, and social 00:11:42.830 --> 00:11:47.289 media. is so complicated and can be so painful. 00:11:47.370 --> 00:11:49.889 And it needs to be, you know, the discussion 00:11:49.889 --> 00:11:52.149 of a store closing really needs to be much more 00:11:52.149 --> 00:11:54.049 in depth than you can do on a Twitter or Instagram 00:11:54.049 --> 00:11:56.830 or Facebook post. So we don't really do it there, 00:11:56.929 --> 00:12:00.710 but we do talk to the store and we do discuss 00:12:00.710 --> 00:12:03.429 these things internally. And, you know, within 00:12:03.429 --> 00:12:06.649 the industry, within Record Store Day, all of 00:12:06.649 --> 00:12:09.669 that is discussed and we are not Luddites in 00:12:09.669 --> 00:12:12.659 any way. We all know about streaming. We all 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:15.120 know about digital. The people we work with at 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:18.799 the labels and distribution balance both things. 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:22.980 You know, they are a label. Their job is to sell 00:12:22.980 --> 00:12:26.120 music, whether it's a stream, a download, a TV 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:30.519 sync, or a record, or a CD. That's all the same 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:34.240 company. So all of that exists, and we are involved 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:36.279 in those conversations. We know about those things. 00:12:37.070 --> 00:12:39.070 The question of whether they can live in harmony 00:12:39.070 --> 00:12:43.509 has kind of become the industry version of Bear 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:47.929 v. Shark or Stones, Beatles, you know, the question. 00:12:48.289 --> 00:12:52.850 And I believe they can live together in harmony. 00:12:53.149 --> 00:12:57.330 And I think they kind of have to. I think streaming 00:12:57.330 --> 00:13:00.210 and a lot of record stores have Spotify playlists. 00:13:00.309 --> 00:13:03.029 A lot of record stores dabble in that. A lot 00:13:03.029 --> 00:13:05.889 of record stores who are also record labels have. 00:13:06.460 --> 00:13:08.759 download cards in their records because they 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:12.379 understand people are complicated. People have 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:14.139 many ways they want to hear things. There are 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:17.039 a lot of situations where I love playing my, 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:20.279 you know, Coal Mine Records soul compilations 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:22.600 on vinyl is where I think they sound best. But 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:25.620 if I'm on a beach vacation or something where 00:13:25.620 --> 00:13:27.340 that music's going to sound great, but I don't 00:13:27.340 --> 00:13:29.440 have my turntable, then yeah, my download card 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:32.659 is fantastic to have. All of that, people... 00:13:33.019 --> 00:13:35.620 Everybody listens to things differently in different 00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:38.840 places in different situations. I think streaming 00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:41.820 is a really great way to learn about new music, 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:44.360 to introduce yourself to new music, to test something 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.940 out almost as a listening station. And then once 00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:51.120 you decide that you really like it, spend some 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:53.220 time with it. There's a lot of music out there. 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:56.700 It may take you two weeks or so to listen to 00:13:56.700 --> 00:13:58.919 a record two or three times through and realize, 00:13:59.139 --> 00:14:00.740 yeah, you know what? I need this in my life. 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:03.659 I need this in my collection. And I think there 00:14:03.659 --> 00:14:05.759 are enough people who are doing that, who are 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:09.899 using streaming for certain things, certain discovery, 00:14:10.039 --> 00:14:13.779 and then translating that to a physical purchase 00:14:13.779 --> 00:14:17.080 for whatever reason that is. I have a great sound 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:20.000 system. I want to make sure the artist is getting 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:23.460 paid. I want to have the cover art. Whatever 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:25.799 your reason for physical is, and there are so 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:27.700 many different reasons that people have physical 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:31.659 music collections, I think. Streaming is, I do 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:34.419 it all the time. I'm reading an article, a press 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:36.139 release about something, and I'm just going to 00:14:36.139 --> 00:14:38.240 click and listen to it because it's super convenient. 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:41.519 There's no denying that. That's amazing you say 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:45.279 that because when I first dabbled with streaming, 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:48.759 I never thought of streaming for me personally, 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:51.120 and everyone has their different means. But for 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:55.080 me, I always felt that streaming was the perfect 00:14:55.080 --> 00:15:00.240 tool to test drive new bands. Yeah. What I love 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.320 about independent record stores is though, sometimes 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:07.679 they have a pulse based on knowledge that you 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:11.460 might not get from Spotify or from title or just 00:15:11.460 --> 00:15:14.279 from digging around just because they have so 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:16.940 many different people coming in. Word of mouth 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:20.299 is massive for any band out there. And I think 00:15:20.299 --> 00:15:22.120 that's a big part of this. And I feel like the 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:25.700 independent record stores are your hubs for the 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:28.039 word of mouth. If you're not at a live show, 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:30.309 I feel like. That's the next place you would 00:15:30.309 --> 00:15:33.309 be to find out about these bands. Oh, absolutely. 00:15:33.450 --> 00:15:37.970 And I feel strongly that a human is the best 00:15:37.970 --> 00:15:41.210 algorithm for recommendation. And you're never 00:15:41.210 --> 00:15:45.070 going to match a human saying, oh, dude, you 00:15:45.070 --> 00:15:47.750 like that record. Maybe you should listen to 00:15:47.750 --> 00:15:50.909 this one. Or, oh, I'm about to put this one on, 00:15:50.990 --> 00:15:52.450 stick around for a couple songs and see what 00:15:52.450 --> 00:15:54.710 you think. Or, yeah, somebody came in and bought 00:15:54.710 --> 00:15:56.769 that last week and we listened to it. Because 00:15:56.769 --> 00:15:59.750 the clerks get... that same feedback and inspiration 00:15:59.750 --> 00:16:04.350 from the customers. And I don't think that Spotify, 00:16:04.529 --> 00:16:06.350 yes, they're going to look at what you're playing 00:16:06.350 --> 00:16:08.929 and they're going to recommend very similar things. 00:16:09.110 --> 00:16:12.169 And I am not savvy in that way. I don't know 00:16:12.169 --> 00:16:14.450 how algorithms work. They confuse me sometimes, 00:16:14.710 --> 00:16:17.389 but I use them. I know they exist and they're 00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:19.629 helpful, but it also seems to me like a lot of 00:16:19.629 --> 00:16:23.309 times. Everything is very similar. I listen to 00:16:23.309 --> 00:16:25.269 this, so it recommends this. It kind of sounds 00:16:25.269 --> 00:16:27.450 just like what I was just listening to. And that's 00:16:27.450 --> 00:16:29.870 not, in my mind, really discovery. That's a lovely 00:16:29.870 --> 00:16:33.450 playlist and maybe perfect for whatever I'm doing 00:16:33.450 --> 00:16:36.789 and I want a certain theme. But for discovery, 00:16:37.049 --> 00:16:40.250 I still think the idea of humans talking to each 00:16:40.250 --> 00:16:42.669 other and learning from each other and being 00:16:42.669 --> 00:16:46.409 in a social place. Live shows are great for that 00:16:46.409 --> 00:16:48.629 because you're with other people and you're talking 00:16:48.629 --> 00:16:50.850 to other people. But how did you learn to go 00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:53.789 to that live show? Did you hear about it from 00:16:53.789 --> 00:16:56.490 someone? Did you discover it on Spotify? Yeah, 00:16:56.529 --> 00:16:58.990 you may have, but then you're going to be with 00:16:58.990 --> 00:17:01.970 other people and experiencing it. And that's 00:17:01.970 --> 00:17:04.410 a big factor in a record store. That's a big 00:17:04.410 --> 00:17:08.990 thing is the social element of it. And I, you 00:17:08.990 --> 00:17:11.549 know, it's a cliche that everybody's kind of 00:17:11.549 --> 00:17:15.589 snotty at a record store. You know, you're not 00:17:15.589 --> 00:17:16.970 going to have a great time. They're going to 00:17:16.970 --> 00:17:18.769 make fun of you or you're going to walk out and 00:17:18.769 --> 00:17:21.049 make fun of them. We've all seen high fidelity. 00:17:22.009 --> 00:17:25.170 Exactly. Exactly. And I, you know, I experienced 00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:27.930 that, not thankfully in the stores I worked in, 00:17:27.970 --> 00:17:30.829 but I experienced it. And to some small extent, 00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:33.269 I do put it down to the fact that I'm female 00:17:33.269 --> 00:17:36.450 and I would go in record stores. Not anymore, 00:17:36.549 --> 00:17:40.279 because there are more and more. females working 00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:42.359 in, owning, and shopping in record stores. It's 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:44.279 almost laughable when people bring that up now, 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:46.779 but it definitely did not used to be the case. 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:49.519 I just feel like the social element, and that's 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.119 something I talk about a lot when people say, 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:57.339 why are record stores still working? Why are 00:17:57.339 --> 00:18:00.500 they still going? And part of it is that social 00:18:00.500 --> 00:18:04.299 aspect. People really love being able to just 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:06.160 walk into a grocery store and be by themselves 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:08.339 and walk around and buy groceries because they 00:18:08.339 --> 00:18:10.140 can figure out what they need and what they want. 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:13.319 People can buy gas without talking to another 00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:17.420 human. Music is a different thing. And in a lot 00:18:17.420 --> 00:18:20.920 of ways, books are the same way. And I don't 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:22.839 know, maybe food should be that way. Maybe you 00:18:22.839 --> 00:18:26.599 should have to talk to people. I don't know. 00:18:27.059 --> 00:18:29.700 But there are some things in the world that you 00:18:29.700 --> 00:18:33.279 still consume. that have such a social element 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:37.240 to them that it's really great to have a place 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:41.680 where like -minded people who are like -minded 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:43.740 in that they want to go and consume this music 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:47.000 with other humans but don't necessarily have 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:49.480 the exact same taste, if you're open to that, 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.960 record stores are a fantastic place, especially 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:56.940 now. A lot of them have coffee and beer and you 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:59.940 can listen to things. But going back to how streaming 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:02.839 is a great discovery tool, things are set up 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:05.380 in the world now of record stores and distribution 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:08.339 that it would be very difficult for them to open 00:19:08.339 --> 00:19:12.279 up every record and maybe even every CD and let 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:15.359 you listen to it before you buy it. Because for 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:17.319 a lot of reasons, vinyl is for the most part 00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.599 not returnable. So once a store gets it, if it's 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:21.500 not that it's defective, they can't return it. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:23.779 So they're very likely to not open it up and 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:26.400 let you play it before you buy it. Because that's 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:28.799 a risk and a not inexpensive one for them to 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:33.400 take. So the fact that they're streaming or some 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:35.319 other way to discover this music and then come 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:37.119 in and experience it in the world of the record 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:40.859 stores is good. We shouldn't kid ourselves. It's 00:19:40.859 --> 00:19:45.460 not going away. The problem of dealing with streaming, 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:47.779 quote unquote, is not going to get easier or 00:19:47.779 --> 00:19:51.660 go away. It's either embrace it. Exactly, exactly. 00:19:53.390 --> 00:19:55.329 I want to tie this back in because there's a 00:19:55.329 --> 00:19:57.250 couple of things that you mentioned that are 00:19:57.250 --> 00:20:00.109 extremely interesting, bringing it back down 00:20:00.109 --> 00:20:02.470 to that local level where you talked about how 00:20:02.470 --> 00:20:04.910 your record stores are in your communities. How 00:20:04.910 --> 00:20:07.210 much of a role do you think the record store 00:20:07.210 --> 00:20:10.529 day and record stores in general play for new 00:20:10.529 --> 00:20:14.289 local music getting discovered as well? Oh, my 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:19.710 God. Huge, huge. And only getting. Huger, which 00:20:19.710 --> 00:20:22.769 isn't a word, but it's... It is now. It's early. 00:20:24.089 --> 00:20:28.509 I should not be creating words. So one of the 00:20:28.509 --> 00:20:30.009 things about Record Store Day that's so exciting 00:20:30.009 --> 00:20:32.910 is when we have big performers come and celebrate 00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:34.809 Record Store Day by doing an in -store event. 00:20:35.430 --> 00:20:37.170 You know, Foo Fighters have played in two different 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:39.690 record stores. Little record stores on Record 00:20:39.690 --> 00:20:43.049 Store Day. Iggy Pop shows up and serves ice cream 00:20:43.049 --> 00:20:46.349 sandwiches. I mean, Pearl Jam shows up and donuts 00:20:46.349 --> 00:20:49.859 and... We've had Wilco performances. Yeah, there 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:52.519 was some band, Metallica or something. Exactly. 00:20:52.900 --> 00:20:55.880 They were, honest to God, the first to kind of 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:58.460 really embrace what we were doing. And they were 00:20:58.460 --> 00:20:59.640 like, you know what? We're going to go to our 00:20:59.640 --> 00:21:01.720 record store in a local and we're going to sign 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:04.180 records. And they did it for like four hours. 00:21:04.460 --> 00:21:07.079 That's awesome. That's so insane. And I don't 00:21:07.079 --> 00:21:10.339 care if you don't like Metallica. That's amazing 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:13.480 that they did that. They may be big. They might 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.759 go somewhere. Right. They might be. My voice 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:17.640 gets really high when I talk about how cool that 00:21:17.640 --> 00:21:23.559 was. But the majority, so there are 1 ,200, give 00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:25.599 or take, participating record stores in the U 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:28.519 .S. alone. And that's not worldwide because we 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:31.559 are worldwide, man. We are big. But in the U 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:33.619 .S. alone, that's 1 ,200 stores having a day 00:21:33.619 --> 00:21:36.460 -long party. The majority of the people performing 00:21:36.460 --> 00:21:38.940 at those parties and celebrating what the record 00:21:38.940 --> 00:21:41.180 store means to them and to their communities. 00:21:42.059 --> 00:21:44.680 are local bands, the majority of the music. I 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:48.039 mean, there are like 15 band bills at these stores. 00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:51.920 And the videos from those are my favorite part 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:56.220 of the day because everyone is happy. Everyone 00:21:56.220 --> 00:22:00.279 is thrilled. It's guys and girls and children 00:22:00.279 --> 00:22:05.140 performing at their local record store and being 00:22:05.140 --> 00:22:07.920 treated like rock stars because the record store 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:10.910 recognizes. that this is part of our community. 00:22:11.349 --> 00:22:14.190 I mean, there are some record stores where they're 00:22:14.190 --> 00:22:17.150 basically a band practice space, you know, book 00:22:17.150 --> 00:22:19.950 a Tuesday in store before the store closes and 00:22:19.950 --> 00:22:23.089 come on, let's watch you grow up. Waterloo and 00:22:23.089 --> 00:22:27.849 Austin, there are three or four artists who basically 00:22:27.849 --> 00:22:29.769 have been playing at Waterloo since they were 00:22:29.769 --> 00:22:32.930 little kids, just kind of honing their craft 00:22:32.930 --> 00:22:34.930 and getting better and better and better. And 00:22:34.930 --> 00:22:37.470 the way that record stores embrace their local 00:22:37.470 --> 00:22:42.200 musicians is, is just so indicative of what community 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.779 is. They will consign your records. They will 00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:48.660 put up your show flyers. They will put up a flyer 00:22:48.660 --> 00:22:51.960 to help you put your band together. And I guarantee 00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:54.960 there's been store staff who have said like, 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:57.200 oh, you should come back and talk to this person 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:00.690 who plays guitar. who usually comes in on Tuesdays. 00:23:00.750 --> 00:23:03.509 You guys might get along. I know there are bands 00:23:03.509 --> 00:23:05.549 that have started over the racks. I know there 00:23:05.549 --> 00:23:07.930 are. That's amazing. And record stores, more 00:23:07.930 --> 00:23:10.809 and more of them are putting out, doing their 00:23:10.809 --> 00:23:13.529 own thing in this land of DIY music where everybody 00:23:13.529 --> 00:23:15.190 can put out a record if they really want to. 00:23:15.250 --> 00:23:18.150 Record stores are starting labels and supporting 00:23:18.150 --> 00:23:20.789 their local artists by putting them on the label. 00:23:21.049 --> 00:23:23.730 And that's just great to see too. That's just 00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:26.730 more, you know, that's just the cycle there. 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:30.519 So I want to piggyback off of the ambassadors 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:33.920 that you were talking about earlier. Yeah. That 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:37.440 seems like a hard get for the Foo Fighters, for 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:40.480 Metallica, for Pearl Jam. From a marketing perspective, 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:43.740 how do you create those partnerships with the 00:23:43.740 --> 00:23:45.480 bands? Do you have to go through management, 00:23:45.579 --> 00:23:47.920 the label? Talk about how that comes to fruition. 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:52.779 It's really different with every situation. And 00:23:52.779 --> 00:23:55.380 that's the case with every release, with every... 00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:59.240 The Ambassador is a really crazy thing that grew 00:23:59.240 --> 00:24:03.660 out of Record Store Day. When I said that there's 00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:07.740 no plan for this, there's no checklist, Ambassador 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:11.500 wasn't on our list. We wanted artists to be a 00:24:11.500 --> 00:24:13.900 part of Record Store Day from the beginning because 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:18.079 there are three groups of people in a record 00:24:18.079 --> 00:24:19.940 store. There's the people who own it and run 00:24:19.940 --> 00:24:22.480 it, the people who shop in it, and the people 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:25.150 who make the music that's sold in it. So to have 00:24:25.150 --> 00:24:26.990 a day that celebrates it, you need all three 00:24:26.990 --> 00:24:29.329 groups of people to participate. That was the 00:24:29.329 --> 00:24:33.109 basic strategy. You're in this group. What do 00:24:33.109 --> 00:24:38.950 you want to do? So I think it was 2009, maybe 00:24:38.950 --> 00:24:43.250 our second year. Jesse Hughes from Eagles of 00:24:43.250 --> 00:24:46.470 Death Metal, they were doing a piece, Eagles 00:24:46.470 --> 00:24:49.329 of Death Metal was, and he was talking to somebody, 00:24:49.390 --> 00:24:52.190 I think at his label maybe or management. And 00:24:52.190 --> 00:24:54.329 he was like, you know what? This is a great thing. 00:24:54.450 --> 00:24:57.710 What a great made up holiday. You need an ambassador. 00:24:58.029 --> 00:25:00.950 I'm going to be it. And just try and stop me, 00:25:01.029 --> 00:25:07.049 basically. No, please don't do that. How dare 00:25:07.049 --> 00:25:10.849 you tell anybody about this? It's a big secret. 00:25:11.190 --> 00:25:14.650 So he went out and just basically, I think he 00:25:14.650 --> 00:25:17.369 had a sash. I'm trying to, the days blur together 00:25:17.369 --> 00:25:19.940 for me. They really do. I think he had a sash 00:25:19.940 --> 00:25:21.640 and I think he just went out and was basically 00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:23.759 like, I'm here to tell everybody about this great 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:25.460 thing called Record Store Day and these great 00:25:25.460 --> 00:25:27.839 places called record stores. And it was fantastic. 00:25:28.059 --> 00:25:30.920 And then kind of as a fluke, you know, it could 00:25:30.920 --> 00:25:33.960 have ended just there. Like Jesse, he was crazy. 00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:38.779 That was awesome. I somehow was doing an interview 00:25:38.779 --> 00:25:43.269 with. His bandmate Joshua Homme of Queens of 00:25:43.269 --> 00:25:45.849 Stone Age and Death Metal and Them Crooked Vultures. 00:25:45.849 --> 00:25:47.289 I was just going to say Them Crooked Vultures. 00:25:47.569 --> 00:25:49.950 Yep. I'm actually wearing a Them Crooked Vultures 00:25:49.950 --> 00:25:53.829 t -shirt right now. Awesome. So I was doing an 00:25:53.829 --> 00:25:55.890 interview with him for – I think we were going 00:25:55.890 --> 00:25:58.369 to put it on our website on recordstoreday .com. 00:25:58.470 --> 00:26:00.250 So I was doing an interview with him and I said, 00:26:00.369 --> 00:26:03.170 you know, your buddy Jesse was our ambassador 00:26:03.170 --> 00:26:05.730 last year. Are you going to just let him kind 00:26:05.730 --> 00:26:09.799 of one -up you in that arena? And he was like, 00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:12.160 no, I'm not. I'm not going to let him do that. 00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:14.980 And I said, well, you realize I'm taping this, 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:18.940 right? You realize this is recorded and you have 00:26:18.940 --> 00:26:21.279 just agreed. And he was like, yeah, yeah, this 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:24.380 is fantastic. So he was the next ambassador because 00:26:24.380 --> 00:26:29.200 he agreed to it and I had a recording. And he 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:31.779 is the one who created this. You should go on 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:34.460 our page and find the Ambassador Archive history 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:39.299 page. The video he made. as his ambassadorial 00:26:39.299 --> 00:26:43.380 statement was fantastic. And it's like all these, 00:26:43.480 --> 00:26:46.500 like, it's kind of like shot like a sci -fi movie 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:48.980 and it's him swiveling around in a chair and 00:26:48.980 --> 00:26:51.920 saying things like, you need a soundtrack and 00:26:51.920 --> 00:26:56.259 just this crazy Joshua sort of thing, but it 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:59.519 was perfect. And that's how ambassador videos 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:03.720 were born for us. So we got Jesse to create the 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:06.869 ambassadorship. We got this fluke of me talking 00:27:06.869 --> 00:27:10.230 to Joshua and him saying, okay, and creating 00:27:10.230 --> 00:27:14.309 this video. And then from there, it was just 00:27:14.309 --> 00:27:17.690 kind of, you know, we talked to labels and management 00:27:17.690 --> 00:27:20.789 all the time about what can we do year round? 00:27:21.069 --> 00:27:23.470 Cause that's, that's something I hope we get 00:27:23.470 --> 00:27:25.289 into as well is that record store day is not 00:27:25.289 --> 00:27:27.690 just one day. It's not just two days. It's year 00:27:27.690 --> 00:27:30.109 round because records come out all year round. 00:27:30.329 --> 00:27:33.539 So as we're talking to people, we kind of, get 00:27:33.539 --> 00:27:37.720 a sense of which artists make sense, which artists 00:27:37.720 --> 00:27:40.460 you can, you always want an ambassador when you 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:44.900 announce them to be somebody that a person can 00:27:44.900 --> 00:27:47.680 say, yeah, I get it. I see them in a record store. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:50.900 I buy that. Okay. That makes sense. So there 00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:53.359 are some artists that would be great for us in 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:56.059 terms of their reach, but may not necessarily 00:27:56.059 --> 00:28:00.539 be. You might have to explain a little bit about, 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:02.839 no, no, they really do shop at record stores. 00:28:04.259 --> 00:28:08.099 And we may or may not have had a few artists 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:09.660 that were a little bit more along that line, 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:12.559 but for the most part, when we are talking with 00:28:12.559 --> 00:28:15.680 people about ambassadorships, it's actually pretty 00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:18.920 easy because you're only going to have those 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.059 conversations with people who are already genuinely 00:28:22.059 --> 00:28:25.400 get what you do, have at this point, most of 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:28.089 them have already. done a release for Record 00:28:28.089 --> 00:28:31.390 Store Day or have made an appearance or have 00:28:31.390 --> 00:28:34.829 somehow participated and celebrated with us. 00:28:35.049 --> 00:28:37.569 So they kind of get it. You know, we have some 00:28:37.569 --> 00:28:40.029 requests we make from the very beginning, which 00:28:40.029 --> 00:28:43.230 is, you know, on our end, we need you to help 00:28:43.230 --> 00:28:46.109 us spread the word. We need you to agree. You 00:28:46.109 --> 00:28:47.730 know, you'll do some press. You'll make a video. 00:28:47.910 --> 00:28:51.069 You'll be our ambassador. And they've all done 00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:53.910 it in different ways. And they've all done it. 00:28:54.170 --> 00:28:56.390 really well and authentically. And we've had 00:28:56.390 --> 00:28:58.390 a couple people come to us and say, I want to 00:28:58.390 --> 00:29:01.589 do this for you. And I'm pretty sure Chuck D 00:29:01.589 --> 00:29:05.789 came to us, which is still fairly mind -blowing 00:29:05.789 --> 00:29:09.109 to me. By the way, Chuck D, top five hugger. 00:29:10.869 --> 00:29:13.369 He's an amazing hugger. And I don't think he'd 00:29:13.369 --> 00:29:15.960 be upset with me saying that. Alright, so we're 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:18.759 talking about the fun part of the process coming 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:21.160 together. Let's talk a little bit about the challenges, 00:29:21.220 --> 00:29:23.019 the marketing challenges involved in creating 00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:25.220 a nationwide event with hundreds of independent 00:29:25.220 --> 00:29:27.079 record stores across the country. I know we kind 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:29.759 of touched on that a little bit earlier, working 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:32.960 with your background in marketing and PR, how 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:35.119 you reach out to those people. So talk about 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:38.519 the evolution of that process. Sure. Well, I 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:41.319 mean, I think I mentioned we have about 1 ,200... 00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:44.940 quote unquote, pledge sign stores. And I can 00:29:44.940 --> 00:29:46.740 explain what a pledge is in just a minute. But 00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:49.819 when we started, I think we were about 200 stores 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:52.740 is where we were. And some of those were easy 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:56.740 to get because my record store day is not my 00:29:56.740 --> 00:29:59.799 day job. It's not my full time job. Record store 00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:02.299 day is a project that kind of comes out of my 00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:04.220 full time job. And that's the same situation 00:30:04.220 --> 00:30:07.799 for everybody who runs or is kind of on the advisory 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:12.470 board of record store day. My real job. is director 00:30:12.470 --> 00:30:15.329 of marketing for a coalition of indie record 00:30:15.329 --> 00:30:18.829 stores. So when I said that we all worked with 00:30:18.829 --> 00:30:20.829 record stores day in, day out, that's how we 00:30:20.829 --> 00:30:23.390 knew they existed and were doing well or still 00:30:23.390 --> 00:30:26.089 thriving and opening, it's because we all had 00:30:26.089 --> 00:30:28.630 day jobs. There are three coalitions in the United 00:30:28.630 --> 00:30:32.470 States. They're all various sizes. The types 00:30:32.470 --> 00:30:34.670 of stores that are in them are a little bit different, 00:30:34.769 --> 00:30:38.539 but they all came together. for marketing purposes 00:30:38.539 --> 00:30:40.519 and business purposes. Because when you're an 00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:43.740 independent store, either a single store or like 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:45.900 a three -store chain or whatever, you don't have 00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:48.319 the power to call up a label with the same sort 00:30:48.319 --> 00:30:51.480 of buying power or marketing message power as, 00:30:51.480 --> 00:30:55.200 say, a Target or Best Buy or Tower or FYE or 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:57.819 any of those places. So the coalitions brought 00:30:57.819 --> 00:31:00.940 these indies together, like -minded indies across 00:31:00.940 --> 00:31:04.150 the country. into these three different coalitions, 00:31:04.170 --> 00:31:07.369 and they do amazing work for the stores in terms 00:31:07.369 --> 00:31:11.730 of marketing, in terms of being a liaison, and 00:31:11.730 --> 00:31:13.650 that sort of thing. And Record Store Day is a 00:31:13.650 --> 00:31:16.289 project that has grown out of those coalitions. 00:31:16.289 --> 00:31:19.130 So the first year, all those coalition stores 00:31:19.130 --> 00:31:21.470 were in. They were part of Record Store Day. 00:31:21.609 --> 00:31:25.430 And some of them are very famous stores. Rasputin 00:31:25.430 --> 00:31:28.210 in San Francisco, which is where Metallica was, 00:31:28.569 --> 00:31:31.839 Bull Moose. up in Portland, Maine, Zia Records 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:36.980 in Arizona and Las Vegas, Waterloo, Easy Street 00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:39.259 and Silver Platters up in Seattle, all over the 00:31:39.259 --> 00:31:41.980 map. So those coalition stores were in because 00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:46.400 they knew us and they trusted us. But then there 00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:49.339 were other stores who were smaller maybe and 00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:52.039 who didn't know us and who had been kind of kicking 00:31:52.039 --> 00:31:55.140 it around for a while and finding maybe that 00:31:55.140 --> 00:31:58.920 it wasn't as easy to do. what they had been doing, 00:31:59.180 --> 00:32:01.420 you know, the industry's changing, times are 00:32:01.420 --> 00:32:03.279 changing, things are getting a little tougher. 00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:05.700 And then we come in, these people they don't 00:32:05.700 --> 00:32:08.859 know, and say, hey, we're going to have this 00:32:08.859 --> 00:32:11.660 day called Record Store Day, and it's about you. 00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:13.759 You want to be part of it? We're not asking for 00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:15.900 anything. Just, do you want to be part of it? 00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:19.529 They didn't really trust us. You know, they don't 00:32:19.529 --> 00:32:22.329 know. We could be the man. How do they know? 00:32:22.829 --> 00:32:25.930 I mean, record store folks are generally nice 00:32:25.930 --> 00:32:28.730 now, as I've said. They're not the Jack Black 00:32:28.730 --> 00:32:30.630 character that they might have used to been. 00:32:30.990 --> 00:32:33.690 But they're also by nature cynical, I think. 00:32:34.109 --> 00:32:38.009 Almost every one of them, myself included. I 00:32:38.009 --> 00:32:40.089 might have been like, what? What are you talking 00:32:40.089 --> 00:32:42.849 about? That sounds ridiculous. I think every 00:32:42.849 --> 00:32:45.049 business has to have some pause and some caution 00:32:45.049 --> 00:32:48.309 in order to be successful. Absolutely. So that 00:32:48.309 --> 00:32:51.210 first year, we did get kickback from some stores 00:32:51.210 --> 00:32:55.630 who now are like kind of our most devoted record 00:32:55.630 --> 00:32:59.490 stores. But I totally respect that, as you say, 00:32:59.569 --> 00:33:03.069 that pause. So it grew year over year. It was 00:33:03.069 --> 00:33:05.289 easier to get stores as we could go back and 00:33:05.289 --> 00:33:07.210 tell the story. Oh, look, this is what this became. 00:33:07.569 --> 00:33:09.910 The problem the first year is, just like I said, 00:33:09.950 --> 00:33:11.970 we didn't know what it was going to be. Hey, 00:33:12.029 --> 00:33:13.950 we're literally just having a party. Do what 00:33:13.950 --> 00:33:16.539 you'd like to do. We'll help promote it. you 00:33:16.539 --> 00:33:18.519 know, that could have fizzled. That could have 00:33:18.519 --> 00:33:21.759 been nothing. But I do think we felt in our hearts 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:24.740 that people like record stores and this would 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:26.619 be a fun thing. There's no way we ever would 00:33:26.619 --> 00:33:28.680 have known what it would grow to be, what it 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:31.440 has become, the opportunities it's brought, the 00:33:31.440 --> 00:33:33.559 challenges it's brought. All of that has been 00:33:33.559 --> 00:33:36.740 a learning process and continues to be. But from 00:33:36.740 --> 00:33:38.960 that first year, it got easier because we were 00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:41.299 able to go back and say, this happened here. 00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:43.720 This happened here. This was successful. These 00:33:43.720 --> 00:33:46.930 stores. did really well financially, and also 00:33:46.930 --> 00:33:49.829 felt the love on that day, would you like to 00:33:49.829 --> 00:33:52.410 be a part of it? That also was the case on the 00:33:52.410 --> 00:33:55.410 label side and management side, because again, 00:33:55.529 --> 00:33:58.289 artists don't want to do things that are stupid 00:33:58.289 --> 00:34:01.150 or aren't going to be successful, and some of 00:34:01.150 --> 00:34:03.589 them waited a couple years. Some of them still 00:34:03.589 --> 00:34:07.150 wait to see, does that work? Did that work? Paul 00:34:07.150 --> 00:34:09.469 McCartney gave us a quote the very first year, 00:34:09.610 --> 00:34:12.030 which was huge, because he had just played at 00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:15.960 Amoeba in Los Angeles. And he loved his experience. 00:34:16.679 --> 00:34:19.800 Nick Hornby gave us a quote and Metallica played, 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:22.980 you know, signed in a store. And that, that was 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:25.960 kind of like a, a good signpost for us that we 00:34:25.960 --> 00:34:27.739 were on our way and that we were onto something 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:30.599 there. But again, it all had to grow and people 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:34.219 had to trust us. And that goes back to what I 00:34:34.219 --> 00:34:37.719 said about, we all are teaching ourselves all 00:34:37.719 --> 00:34:40.199 of this along the way. And the whole way through, 00:34:40.239 --> 00:34:42.809 all we do is. You treat people with respect. 00:34:43.269 --> 00:34:45.570 You're honest with them. You're as transparent 00:34:45.570 --> 00:34:48.789 as you can be about what your goals are, what 00:34:48.789 --> 00:34:52.510 your intentions are. And this is a fun thing. 00:34:52.829 --> 00:34:56.170 If it's a struggle for you to be with us on Record 00:34:56.170 --> 00:34:59.929 Store Day, then don't worry yourself. Wait until 00:34:59.929 --> 00:35:03.070 it makes sense. And that was kind of our approach 00:35:03.070 --> 00:35:05.630 to all of this. We'd love to have you with us. 00:35:06.250 --> 00:35:08.130 Let's think of a way to make that happen where 00:35:08.130 --> 00:35:10.570 everybody's comfortable and everybody... feels 00:35:10.570 --> 00:35:12.090 good about what we're doing. And that applies 00:35:12.090 --> 00:35:14.630 to artists. It applies to customers. It applies 00:35:14.630 --> 00:35:17.250 to stores. I get emails from customers all the 00:35:17.250 --> 00:35:19.989 time. That's part of what I do is respond to 00:35:19.989 --> 00:35:23.449 the email that comes in and the communication 00:35:23.449 --> 00:35:26.690 between us and customers and us and stores is 00:35:26.690 --> 00:35:31.090 often me. And people who don't really get the 00:35:31.090 --> 00:35:34.469 idea get very upset that they didn't get their 00:35:34.469 --> 00:35:38.820 special piece or the store didn't get. something 00:35:38.820 --> 00:35:40.659 and they don't understand how things work or 00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:43.980 what our actual goal is. And I've been able to 00:35:43.980 --> 00:35:47.079 change people's minds and kind of talk them off 00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:50.539 a ledge because people get really angry really 00:35:50.539 --> 00:35:54.880 quickly. But just being as honest and transparent 00:35:54.880 --> 00:35:56.639 and saying, I'm really sorry you didn't get that 00:35:56.639 --> 00:35:59.860 record. Our goal was to celebrate the store. 00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:02.239 Hopefully you got something else that you're 00:36:02.239 --> 00:36:04.920 going to love. And this may sound weird coming 00:36:04.920 --> 00:36:07.179 from someone at Record Store Day, but you didn't 00:36:07.179 --> 00:36:09.840 get that record, you're going to live. It's okay. 00:36:10.980 --> 00:36:14.300 So now I have to ask about that. Every year there 00:36:14.300 --> 00:36:17.739 are hundreds of exclusive titles to Record Store 00:36:17.739 --> 00:36:20.500 Day, whether they be regional or national exclusive 00:36:20.500 --> 00:36:23.960 titles. Can you talk about the process that's 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:27.159 involved in securing each one of those releases? 00:36:27.159 --> 00:36:29.059 Not every single one since the beginning, but 00:36:29.059 --> 00:36:32.079 the general process that you need to go through. 00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:36.820 to actually secure that exclusive Record Store 00:36:36.820 --> 00:36:41.440 Day release. Sure. And that is, once again, man, 00:36:41.440 --> 00:36:43.519 this is going to sound like I'm repeating myself, 00:36:43.599 --> 00:36:46.980 but again, that is a process that has changed 00:36:46.980 --> 00:36:50.159 and adapted and grown since the first year. The 00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:51.960 first year, I think there were less than 20 titles, 00:36:52.019 --> 00:36:54.320 and they were pretty much all from Warner Brothers, 00:36:54.480 --> 00:36:56.639 because they were like, yeah, well, let's just 00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:58.559 try this and see if it works. That wasn't even 00:36:58.559 --> 00:37:00.679 necessarily always going to be a part of Record 00:37:00.679 --> 00:37:03.579 Store Day. It made sense for it to be a part 00:37:03.579 --> 00:37:07.059 of Record Store Day special releases. But it 00:37:07.059 --> 00:37:09.659 wasn't the thing that wasn't in our head that 00:37:09.659 --> 00:37:11.559 this was going to be the thing that happens on 00:37:11.559 --> 00:37:14.960 Record Store Day. It has grown into the thing 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:16.820 that happens on Record Store Day, at least in 00:37:16.820 --> 00:37:18.679 the morning. In the afternoon is when the parties 00:37:18.679 --> 00:37:22.239 happen. But so, again, that's different with 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:25.539 almost every title. It could possibly be something. 00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:28.739 And Michael Kurtz, who is a co -founder and someone 00:37:28.739 --> 00:37:30.639 I've worked with for years at Record Stores. 00:37:31.179 --> 00:37:33.860 This is kind of his, he's the captain of this 00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:36.360 side of things. He works year round and is in 00:37:36.360 --> 00:37:39.659 fact working right now with people on Record 00:37:39.659 --> 00:37:42.980 Store Day titles, as well as Black Friday titles. 00:37:43.739 --> 00:37:46.360 So he talks to people all the time. And it could 00:37:46.360 --> 00:37:50.019 be an idea that he has and takes to the label 00:37:50.019 --> 00:37:52.820 management or distribution. It depends on the 00:37:52.820 --> 00:37:56.039 artist who you speak to in their world and says, 00:37:56.280 --> 00:37:58.960 is this possible? Can we run this up? Can we 00:37:58.960 --> 00:38:03.159 see what happens? Titles could morph from that, 00:38:03.219 --> 00:38:04.980 become something else, become something bigger, 00:38:05.059 --> 00:38:06.599 become something smaller, kind of fall by the 00:38:06.599 --> 00:38:08.880 wayside. That's not going to work. Profit and 00:38:08.880 --> 00:38:10.739 loss, that's not going to work for them for this. 00:38:10.739 --> 00:38:13.179 For this year, it doesn't fall in the cycle of 00:38:13.179 --> 00:38:16.980 this new release. And then sometimes labels, 00:38:17.099 --> 00:38:19.780 quite often, labels and distribution will bring 00:38:19.780 --> 00:38:24.139 things to us and make suggestions. And we have 00:38:24.139 --> 00:38:27.289 got it down. as close to a quote -unquote science 00:38:27.289 --> 00:38:30.090 as you possibly can with musical releases because 00:38:30.090 --> 00:38:32.230 they're all different, they're all special, they're 00:38:32.230 --> 00:38:35.769 all fantastic. We take that information and there 00:38:35.769 --> 00:38:39.650 are a group of record store owners and buyers 00:38:39.650 --> 00:38:43.269 and staff members from across the country, different 00:38:43.269 --> 00:38:45.590 regions, different markets, big stores, small 00:38:45.590 --> 00:38:49.110 stores, who kind of weigh in. They're not the 00:38:49.110 --> 00:38:51.349 final say necessarily, but they weigh in and 00:38:51.349 --> 00:38:54.539 say, yeah, that works, or look. We don't want 00:38:54.539 --> 00:38:57.420 that to get swallowed up in the day. Like that's 00:38:57.420 --> 00:39:00.179 too small a piece or that artist isn't well known 00:39:00.179 --> 00:39:03.539 enough. We never want somebody to be excited 00:39:03.539 --> 00:39:05.360 about doing something on Record Store Day and 00:39:05.360 --> 00:39:07.900 then just feel like they were one of something 00:39:07.900 --> 00:39:13.179 on a list. So we say no to things because we 00:39:13.179 --> 00:39:15.699 want the day to feel good for everybody. And 00:39:15.699 --> 00:39:19.260 it may be that your artist is too not well known 00:39:19.260 --> 00:39:22.460 enough yet. Emerging artists, baby bands have 00:39:22.460 --> 00:39:24.639 a tough time on Record Store Day because there 00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:27.840 are Bob Dylan's on the list and Flaming Lips 00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:31.440 on the list and U2 on the list and big things. 00:39:32.000 --> 00:39:36.159 So we say yes or no. We help guide what the numbers 00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:40.360 are. All of that gets discussed and worked through 00:39:40.360 --> 00:39:44.420 and then it gets whittled down to what the final 00:39:44.420 --> 00:39:48.179 list is going to be. And that final list always 00:39:48.179 --> 00:39:53.230 feels really large. 300 titles, 350 titles. But 00:39:53.230 --> 00:39:56.690 you have to keep in mind, Record Store Day is 00:39:56.690 --> 00:39:59.530 for all kinds of record stores, all kinds of 00:39:59.530 --> 00:40:02.409 customers. You always want the list to represent 00:40:02.409 --> 00:40:06.150 somebody's favorite or something that someone 00:40:06.150 --> 00:40:10.409 is going to like. And it's crazy. I mean, I ask 00:40:10.409 --> 00:40:13.809 you to watch it to some extent when we launch 00:40:13.809 --> 00:40:15.949 the list of Black Friday titles. But when we 00:40:15.949 --> 00:40:19.840 launch the list of Record Store Day titles, Follow 00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:22.800 the social media comments like when Pitchfork 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:25.280 or Consequences Sound or somebody reposts it 00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:28.039 or when we post it. The social media comments 00:40:28.039 --> 00:40:31.780 will be, this list sucks, that title's awful. 00:40:32.019 --> 00:40:34.420 And then almost right underneath it will be somebody 00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:37.519 saying, I can't wait for that title. Music is 00:40:37.519 --> 00:40:41.380 subjective. Yeah, it's crazy to me, but heartening 00:40:41.380 --> 00:40:44.300 at the same time. Like people will say, oh, this 00:40:44.300 --> 00:40:46.900 list is awful. I only want five things on the 00:40:46.900 --> 00:40:51.619 list. Well, that's fantastic. There are five 00:40:51.619 --> 00:40:54.039 things you want to go buy at a record store. 00:40:54.360 --> 00:40:58.500 Hallelujah. And by the way, the neighbor in your 00:40:58.500 --> 00:41:01.880 office, he's got three things and they're completely 00:41:01.880 --> 00:41:05.900 different than yours. And everybody's three things 00:41:05.900 --> 00:41:09.760 make up the list. And that's, to me, that's, 00:41:09.760 --> 00:41:11.920 you know, perfect. That's the way it should be. 00:41:12.179 --> 00:41:14.719 But, you know, and that way you get into a whole 00:41:14.719 --> 00:41:17.150 nother. conversation about social media and the 00:41:17.150 --> 00:41:19.869 things I've learned and seen. But it's crazy. 00:41:19.989 --> 00:41:22.550 Oh, this sucks because of this title. That's 00:41:22.550 --> 00:41:25.889 my title I'm looking forward to. Well, let's 00:41:25.889 --> 00:41:28.070 dive down that rabbit hole then. Yeah, of course. 00:41:28.269 --> 00:41:33.389 How has social media benefited or hindered the 00:41:33.389 --> 00:41:36.269 Record Store Day process? There's no question 00:41:36.269 --> 00:41:38.409 that it's benefited us. I mean, the benefits 00:41:38.409 --> 00:41:41.559 far outweigh. the annoyances or the problems 00:41:41.559 --> 00:41:44.679 or the issues. And the idea that we are able 00:41:44.679 --> 00:41:47.820 to kind of be a central focus point for people 00:41:47.820 --> 00:41:50.559 finding stores near them, that still happens. 00:41:50.780 --> 00:41:54.519 I mean, we get so much more traffic. We get a 00:41:54.519 --> 00:41:56.599 lot of traffic on our website and we can see 00:41:56.599 --> 00:41:58.559 who's going where and what pages are clicking 00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:00.980 on. And it's people going to the store search, 00:42:01.239 --> 00:42:04.219 looking for stores near them. or stores near 00:42:04.219 --> 00:42:06.280 where they're going to be. You're traveling for 00:42:06.280 --> 00:42:07.860 the summer. You're finding out where are the 00:42:07.860 --> 00:42:10.320 record stores. And we know that people are using 00:42:10.320 --> 00:42:13.380 us as a hub to find those stores. And I feel 00:42:13.380 --> 00:42:16.119 like they're using our social media in the same 00:42:16.119 --> 00:42:19.239 way. I'm chuckling because every time we go on 00:42:19.239 --> 00:42:23.099 vacation, my wife knows that I'm always the first 00:42:23.099 --> 00:42:24.840 thing I'm looking for. Like, oh, sure, yeah, 00:42:24.880 --> 00:42:27.280 there's some beautiful beaches and lakes and 00:42:27.280 --> 00:42:29.320 things to do in the area. But are there any record 00:42:29.320 --> 00:42:36.110 stores? I mean, geez. Exactly. make the best 00:42:36.110 --> 00:42:40.150 souvenirs right yes they really do and for people 00:42:40.150 --> 00:42:43.150 that are music nerds like me i actually in my 00:42:43.150 --> 00:42:45.730 mind i will pull out a cd and be like i remember 00:42:45.730 --> 00:42:48.170 when i bought this in myrtle beach on our 10 00:42:48.170 --> 00:42:51.389 year anniversary and my wife will look at me 00:42:51.389 --> 00:42:54.349 like what like that how did you remember i said 00:42:54.349 --> 00:42:56.449 oh of course i i was looking for this cd but 00:42:56.449 --> 00:42:58.590 i found this one instead and it was so great 00:42:59.280 --> 00:43:01.420 And it's just something that the only music, 00:43:01.420 --> 00:43:03.880 true music consumers and collectors understand 00:43:03.880 --> 00:43:06.139 that plight right there. So bear with me for 00:43:06.139 --> 00:43:08.099 a moment. Cause I've got a, I got a side story 00:43:08.099 --> 00:43:11.039 on that. Okay. We were talking about tower records 00:43:11.039 --> 00:43:13.780 and when I, you know, growing up upstate New 00:43:13.780 --> 00:43:16.960 York. Did your schools do the field trips at 00:43:16.960 --> 00:43:18.480 the end of the year? You get to go to different 00:43:18.480 --> 00:43:21.639 cities or whatever? Yes. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So we 00:43:21.639 --> 00:43:25.599 were going to New York City, and we somehow got 00:43:25.599 --> 00:43:28.119 ourselves, the bus got down in front of a Tower 00:43:28.119 --> 00:43:30.960 Records, and I said, we need to stop so I can 00:43:30.960 --> 00:43:34.940 run in there. And I had been looking for the 00:43:34.940 --> 00:43:39.599 1986 Transformers the movie soundtrack. And the 00:43:39.599 --> 00:43:41.300 bus driver said, all right, you know, we got 00:43:41.300 --> 00:43:43.699 about five, 10 minutes extra. We can go. The 00:43:43.699 --> 00:43:46.840 chaperone said, go. We went in and we were just 00:43:46.840 --> 00:43:49.300 like kids in candy stores, but we were kids in 00:43:49.300 --> 00:43:51.179 a record store and we were just pawing through 00:43:51.179 --> 00:43:54.460 this. And I found the last copy of that soundtrack. 00:43:54.579 --> 00:43:57.769 And that's I still have that disc. I should hope 00:43:57.769 --> 00:44:00.070 so. Oh, yeah. I mean, what a fantastic memory. 00:44:00.269 --> 00:44:02.469 And I really wish someone had videoed a bus full 00:44:02.469 --> 00:44:05.190 of kids running into a record store. I bet you 00:44:05.190 --> 00:44:08.349 those record store employees were terrified to 00:44:08.349 --> 00:44:12.349 see a board of students coming in at 13, 14 years 00:44:12.349 --> 00:44:15.849 old, waving scads of money saying, buy my record. 00:44:17.469 --> 00:44:19.769 Oh my gosh, that's fantastic. Let's bring this 00:44:19.769 --> 00:44:22.769 part up because I know, and again, not to dwell 00:44:22.769 --> 00:44:24.929 on the negative, but I know that this is an issue 00:44:24.929 --> 00:44:28.369 that music fans and store owners and of course 00:44:28.369 --> 00:44:30.269 your team have had to deal with, which is the 00:44:30.269 --> 00:44:34.289 online flipping of your record store titles. 00:44:34.570 --> 00:44:37.289 So people will go in, it's kind of like scalpers 00:44:37.289 --> 00:44:39.690 on Ticketmaster. They go in, they wait, they 00:44:39.690 --> 00:44:41.369 get the list, they go in on record store, they 00:44:41.369 --> 00:44:44.150 scrape up a bunch of them and walk out and sell 00:44:44.150 --> 00:44:48.340 them for a premium. Yeah. So I'm happy to talk 00:44:48.340 --> 00:44:51.119 about this because that's what I do for the three 00:44:51.119 --> 00:44:52.880 or four weeks before Record Store Day and then 00:44:52.880 --> 00:44:55.699 the weeks afterward. And I'll say a couple things 00:44:55.699 --> 00:44:58.340 starting with, man, they suck and I hate those 00:44:58.340 --> 00:45:02.159 people. And they are a product of the society 00:45:02.159 --> 00:45:05.719 we live in. And, you know, I just want everyone 00:45:05.719 --> 00:45:08.659 to know. The ones I hate worse are the ones who 00:45:08.659 --> 00:45:12.500 pre -sell and they list things on Record Store 00:45:12.500 --> 00:45:15.090 Day from the day we launch the list. They will 00:45:15.090 --> 00:45:17.510 take all the pictures, even though we watermark 00:45:17.510 --> 00:45:19.750 them now that says buy it from a record store 00:45:19.750 --> 00:45:21.849 so that people know, oh, this isn't someone who 00:45:21.849 --> 00:45:24.050 has that record. They are literally taking the 00:45:24.050 --> 00:45:27.010 artwork from Record Store Day, listing it on 00:45:27.010 --> 00:45:30.070 eBay for usually $100, no matter what it is, 00:45:30.190 --> 00:45:32.630 because that's easier. They can just batch list 00:45:32.630 --> 00:45:37.210 things. And then they almost every time will 00:45:37.210 --> 00:45:40.489 say at the bottom, this is a presale, this will 00:45:40.489 --> 00:45:42.909 ship, and it always ships like three or four 00:45:42.909 --> 00:45:45.059 days after Record Store Day. Because they go 00:45:45.059 --> 00:45:48.579 out and they try and buy them. And people are 00:45:48.579 --> 00:45:51.139 like, well, that just seems silly. But think 00:45:51.139 --> 00:45:53.440 about it. If we have 300 titles on our list and 00:45:53.440 --> 00:45:56.619 you're listing everything for $100 and people 00:45:56.619 --> 00:45:58.699 are buying them because they're either A, too 00:45:58.699 --> 00:46:02.579 lazy, or B, just want this and don't care about 00:46:02.579 --> 00:46:05.539 supporting record stores, they will pre -buy 00:46:05.539 --> 00:46:07.840 it and give you the $100. If you've got 300 things 00:46:07.840 --> 00:46:12.989 listed at $100 each, that's a lot of money. So 00:46:12.989 --> 00:46:16.610 you can even hire people to go shop at other 00:46:16.610 --> 00:46:18.949 stores and wait in line and you have your list 00:46:18.949 --> 00:46:23.409 and you buy the things. And we spend weeks before 00:46:23.409 --> 00:46:25.730 Record Store Day and we are – I'm going to pat 00:46:25.730 --> 00:46:29.010 myself on the back here. We are really good at 00:46:29.010 --> 00:46:31.550 finding out if those listings are actually tied 00:46:31.550 --> 00:46:34.570 to a store. That was my next question. How would 00:46:34.570 --> 00:46:38.230 you do that? Well, we do a lot of – the internet 00:46:38.230 --> 00:46:41.829 helps us because, A, sometimes people are really 00:46:41.829 --> 00:46:47.260 dumb. And they forget they forget that we are 00:46:47.260 --> 00:46:50.679 on the Internet, too. And we can look at things. 00:46:50.739 --> 00:46:52.519 And I can't really go into too much detail because 00:46:52.519 --> 00:46:54.099 I don't want to make people. Oh, no, no. Let 00:46:54.099 --> 00:46:57.440 me rephrase. We don't want to encourage this 00:46:57.440 --> 00:46:59.840 in any way. But that was my general question, 00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:03.400 because if a store B finds out that they're getting 00:47:03.400 --> 00:47:06.619 10 copies of a Bob Dylan album, maybe they're 00:47:06.619 --> 00:47:08.500 going to put two out on the shelves and then 00:47:08.500 --> 00:47:11.840 eight of them up on eBay. How do you know? Well, 00:47:12.079 --> 00:47:14.539 in a lot of cases, we do know. And it really 00:47:14.539 --> 00:47:18.480 comes down to things like Google Maps and home 00:47:18.480 --> 00:47:22.239 buying records. And what is that address? I mean, 00:47:22.300 --> 00:47:25.760 we are really good and we have been. And I hesitate 00:47:25.760 --> 00:47:27.300 to go into too much more detail. No, of course 00:47:27.300 --> 00:47:29.619 not. But it's a shame that you even have to deal 00:47:29.619 --> 00:47:31.880 with a situation like this. It is. And I will 00:47:31.880 --> 00:47:35.719 say that there are some. People on eBay who we 00:47:35.719 --> 00:47:38.300 know who they are. We know where they live. We 00:47:38.300 --> 00:47:40.960 have not tied them to a store yet. But every 00:47:40.960 --> 00:47:45.539 year we ship a few off. And we've had people 00:47:45.539 --> 00:47:49.260 banned from stores. We've had stores completely 00:47:49.260 --> 00:47:51.820 banned from the list because it was them or their 00:47:51.820 --> 00:47:55.300 employees. We've had stores who will never be 00:47:55.300 --> 00:47:58.039 part of Record Store Day again. And I think I 00:47:58.039 --> 00:48:00.519 mentioned the pledge earlier. The pledge also 00:48:00.519 --> 00:48:03.539 grew out of things that are, as we learned, We 00:48:03.539 --> 00:48:06.159 learned that people will open their store at 00:48:06.159 --> 00:48:09.119 midnight, which is insane to me because this 00:48:09.119 --> 00:48:10.820 is the day of the year. You could open your store 00:48:10.820 --> 00:48:13.880 at 6 p .m. and you'd still have a line. It doesn't 00:48:13.880 --> 00:48:17.260 matter, but you're opening at midnight. But that 00:48:17.260 --> 00:48:20.019 is a disservice to your customers who didn't 00:48:20.019 --> 00:48:21.760 get there at midnight and a disservice to your 00:48:21.760 --> 00:48:23.539 other stores in your area who feel like they 00:48:23.539 --> 00:48:26.039 have to open earlier. So we ask stores to do 00:48:26.039 --> 00:48:27.679 three or four things. Don't open at midnight. 00:48:27.800 --> 00:48:30.960 You have to be 8 a .m. or the equivalent time. 00:48:31.559 --> 00:48:33.619 on the East Coast. So if you're on the West Coast, 00:48:33.679 --> 00:48:35.599 you can open at 5 a .m. because it's 8 a .m. 00:48:35.599 --> 00:48:39.239 on the East Coast time. So you can't gouge. There 00:48:39.239 --> 00:48:41.800 are kind of price limits. There's a range of 00:48:41.800 --> 00:48:45.119 pricing, but you can't gouge because in a weird 00:48:45.119 --> 00:48:47.719 way, this day is not about you making all that 00:48:47.719 --> 00:48:49.679 money on that release. You're going to make money 00:48:49.679 --> 00:48:51.519 on that release because we've made sure there 00:48:51.519 --> 00:48:54.300 is a margin for everyone who plays a part. There's 00:48:54.300 --> 00:48:55.739 a margin for the distributor. There's a margin 00:48:55.739 --> 00:48:57.699 for the label. There's a margin for Record Store 00:48:57.699 --> 00:49:00.010 Day, by the way. does not have a part in that. 00:49:00.130 --> 00:49:02.869 We play no part in the buying and selling or 00:49:02.869 --> 00:49:05.110 distributing of the releases. We have nothing 00:49:05.110 --> 00:49:08.010 to do with what gets ordered, what gets shipped, 00:49:08.130 --> 00:49:09.949 what gets priced, and what gets put out on a 00:49:09.949 --> 00:49:13.550 store rack. Nothing. We make no money on the 00:49:13.550 --> 00:49:16.570 releases unless we have created and released 00:49:16.570 --> 00:49:18.869 the title ourselves, which we've done three or 00:49:18.869 --> 00:49:22.789 four times. Wow. One follow -up on that, though, 00:49:22.809 --> 00:49:26.110 with the price gouging, from a marketing perspective, 00:49:26.809 --> 00:49:28.869 If you were a record store owner and you were 00:49:28.869 --> 00:49:31.730 price gouging, let's say the release was MSRP 00:49:31.730 --> 00:49:35.469 of $29 .99 and you're putting it up for $74 .99, 00:49:35.630 --> 00:49:38.349 you're not going to be getting any repeat business 00:49:38.349 --> 00:49:40.050 out of it. So you're kind of defeating the whole 00:49:40.050 --> 00:49:43.329 purpose of bringing the people into the store 00:49:43.329 --> 00:49:46.429 for this holiday. Absolutely. And you know what 00:49:46.429 --> 00:49:51.639 else? People love to snitch. They just love it. 00:49:52.199 --> 00:49:54.579 And I'm fine with it. Like somebody will buy 00:49:54.579 --> 00:49:57.340 that. This happens every year. Somebody will 00:49:57.340 --> 00:49:59.519 buy that $74 record and they'll take a picture 00:49:59.519 --> 00:50:01.239 of the receipt and they'll send it to me and 00:50:01.239 --> 00:50:03.980 they'll say, this store was gouging. Isn't that 00:50:03.980 --> 00:50:06.619 against the pledge? And I'll say, yes, it is. 00:50:06.780 --> 00:50:08.300 And then we have a conversation with the store. 00:50:08.480 --> 00:50:11.679 Wow. That's great. Wow. I mean, we have to take 00:50:11.679 --> 00:50:13.780 this seriously. At the end of the day, it's a 00:50:13.780 --> 00:50:16.599 business. It is a business, but think about it 00:50:16.599 --> 00:50:19.840 this way. And a lot of stores don't. Record Store 00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:23.179 Day is the biggest, most effective marketing 00:50:23.179 --> 00:50:25.780 campaign your business will ever be a part of. 00:50:25.880 --> 00:50:28.739 And you don't have to pay for it. Right, right. 00:50:28.940 --> 00:50:31.719 I luckily in our area of New Jersey, there are 00:50:31.719 --> 00:50:35.780 several record stores within very local distance 00:50:35.780 --> 00:50:39.679 to where Jay and I are from. And the vibe in 00:50:39.679 --> 00:50:41.980 the community around it is such a celebration 00:50:41.980 --> 00:50:44.500 that the titles are as important as they are. 00:50:44.760 --> 00:50:48.590 It's more of. vibe of sitting down and talking 00:50:48.590 --> 00:50:50.869 music with other like -minded people that are 00:50:50.869 --> 00:50:53.929 all excited to be there and to talk music. And 00:50:53.929 --> 00:50:56.010 I feel like some of these negative things really 00:50:56.010 --> 00:50:58.730 kind of suck the fun out of what the whole day 00:50:58.730 --> 00:51:01.190 is about. And I wish people can just kind of 00:51:01.190 --> 00:51:04.070 gather around and enjoy the, I use this term 00:51:04.070 --> 00:51:07.530 in a positive way, the nerdery surrounding being 00:51:07.530 --> 00:51:12.179 a music fan. And when I say like I'm able to, 00:51:12.300 --> 00:51:13.820 you know, when somebody emails me and they're 00:51:13.820 --> 00:51:15.519 really upset that they didn't get a record and 00:51:15.519 --> 00:51:17.800 record store day sucks because I didn't get this 00:51:17.800 --> 00:51:20.539 record or record store day sucks because this 00:51:20.539 --> 00:51:22.719 record that I wanted is now for sale on eBay. 00:51:23.280 --> 00:51:26.000 Record store day sucks. You suck. I'm not coming 00:51:26.000 --> 00:51:28.639 back. And they they use harsher words because 00:51:28.639 --> 00:51:30.400 they don't actually sometimes think there is 00:51:30.400 --> 00:51:32.460 a human on the other end of what they're sending. 00:51:33.760 --> 00:51:38.679 But I. almost always respond after a little while, 00:51:38.780 --> 00:51:41.539 after I take a walk, respond and say, look, I'm 00:51:41.539 --> 00:51:44.059 really sorry. Here's what Record Store Day is. 00:51:44.239 --> 00:51:46.300 Here's what we intend. Here's what it's meant 00:51:46.300 --> 00:51:50.019 to do. Here's the larger picture. Please don't 00:51:50.019 --> 00:51:53.059 take what this awful person on eBay is doing 00:51:53.059 --> 00:51:56.300 and blame us or the record stores because you 00:51:56.300 --> 00:51:59.360 could pay $25 for a bag of $3 Oreos with Game 00:51:59.360 --> 00:52:02.820 of Thrones on them when that finale was out on 00:52:02.820 --> 00:52:05.780 eBay. When Target does a collaboration with a 00:52:05.780 --> 00:52:08.280 clothing designer, people scoop everything into 00:52:08.280 --> 00:52:10.300 a basket, take it home, and sell it on eBay. 00:52:11.099 --> 00:52:13.860 It is not just us. It's sneakers. Oh, my God. 00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:16.860 Sneaker drops, which happen every other day. 00:52:17.159 --> 00:52:20.420 Those things sell out immediately. ever going 00:52:20.420 --> 00:52:21.860 to get them on the street. You're going to get 00:52:21.860 --> 00:52:24.000 them on eBay for three times more than they would 00:52:24.000 --> 00:52:26.320 have been had you actually been able to line 00:52:26.320 --> 00:52:28.400 up and go to your local Foot Locker or whatever 00:52:28.400 --> 00:52:31.619 the store is now. And that happens with everything. 00:52:31.800 --> 00:52:34.260 Everything that is desirable and limited is going 00:52:34.260 --> 00:52:37.920 to be on eBay. It's not just us. So I do want 00:52:37.920 --> 00:52:40.300 to follow up on that with, let's say there is 00:52:40.300 --> 00:52:43.380 a title that you know is going to be the hot 00:52:43.380 --> 00:52:46.519 title for Record Store Day. And let's say it's 00:52:46.519 --> 00:52:49.619 limited to a thousand pressings. If you know 00:52:49.619 --> 00:52:52.420 it's going to be hot and it's going to be going 00:52:52.420 --> 00:52:56.360 up on eBay within seconds, is there any reason 00:52:56.360 --> 00:52:59.900 why you would not press two, five, ten, twenty 00:52:59.900 --> 00:53:02.179 thousand copies of it to make it more available? 00:53:02.239 --> 00:53:06.900 Does that detract from the special aspect of 00:53:06.900 --> 00:53:09.460 the release? And this is coming from just a question 00:53:09.460 --> 00:53:12.440 that I would have if I missed out. Right. No, 00:53:12.559 --> 00:53:15.599 and I totally understand that question. Here's 00:53:15.599 --> 00:53:18.559 a two pronged answer. One, again, it depends 00:53:18.559 --> 00:53:21.019 on the artist and it depends on, well, actually 00:53:21.019 --> 00:53:23.400 it's a three pronged answer. One, we don't always 00:53:23.400 --> 00:53:27.159 know what that title is going to be. We don't 00:53:27.159 --> 00:53:30.739 always know. Sometimes it's a surprise what that 00:53:30.739 --> 00:53:34.880 title is going to be. Two, it's not our decision. 00:53:35.659 --> 00:53:38.300 Ultimately, it's the decision of the artist and 00:53:38.300 --> 00:53:40.820 management, what that number is. And there have 00:53:40.820 --> 00:53:43.260 been times when we will go back to them and say, 00:53:43.340 --> 00:53:46.309 look, Store pre -orders for this are ridiculous. 00:53:46.650 --> 00:53:49.650 Or even before it gets solicited to stores, we 00:53:49.650 --> 00:53:51.610 think based on sales history, it needs to be 00:53:51.610 --> 00:53:55.389 this number. And the artist will say, look, we 00:53:55.389 --> 00:53:58.210 really want this to be limited and special. We 00:53:58.210 --> 00:54:02.510 want that to be a very, very rare piece. And 00:54:02.510 --> 00:54:06.130 it's not our decision to make, ultimately. And 00:54:06.130 --> 00:54:08.809 if you go too far in the other direction, if 00:54:08.809 --> 00:54:12.059 you do this too often and say, I mean, it's never 00:54:12.059 --> 00:54:13.840 going to be an exact science, although we think 00:54:13.840 --> 00:54:17.940 we're getting better. If, say, you think you 00:54:17.940 --> 00:54:20.119 should make $3 ,000, the demand for that title 00:54:20.119 --> 00:54:24.780 was actually $4 ,000. So what if you had made 00:54:24.780 --> 00:54:27.820 $5 ,000? And then everybody could have gotten 00:54:27.820 --> 00:54:30.219 what they wanted. Then there would be 1 ,000 00:54:30.219 --> 00:54:34.019 pieces sitting either in record store shelves, 00:54:34.179 --> 00:54:36.760 and if it's vinyl, they can't return it, or in 00:54:36.760 --> 00:54:38.840 a distributor's warehouse, and that's money on 00:54:38.840 --> 00:54:41.769 their books. or at a label, and that's money 00:54:41.769 --> 00:54:44.210 on their books. And when the label does an exclusive 00:54:44.210 --> 00:54:46.530 record shorty piece, they can't then take it 00:54:46.530 --> 00:54:50.349 and sell it to anybody else. So they're stuck 00:54:50.349 --> 00:54:55.849 with it. And that, over 12 years, little pieces, 00:54:56.150 --> 00:54:59.070 little amounts, can add up. And we do not want 00:54:59.070 --> 00:55:01.570 that. We do not want that more than anything. 00:55:02.070 --> 00:55:06.530 Because that means... A, you don't have, for 00:55:06.530 --> 00:55:08.050 stores, it means you don't have space. You don't 00:55:08.050 --> 00:55:10.250 have the financial ability to turn and bring 00:55:10.250 --> 00:55:12.309 in some new releases. You don't have, you know, 00:55:12.309 --> 00:55:15.610 that's bad. You also don't want the labels or 00:55:15.610 --> 00:55:18.590 distribution to be stuck with anything. And ideally, 00:55:18.670 --> 00:55:21.530 we work very hard to say, okay, there's like 00:55:21.530 --> 00:55:24.889 500 pieces of this title still remaining that 00:55:24.889 --> 00:55:28.889 you can sell. And stores will understand this 00:55:28.889 --> 00:55:31.190 piece is just as cool a week later as it was 00:55:31.190 --> 00:55:34.039 the day before Record Store Day. It's not a loser 00:55:34.039 --> 00:55:37.039 because it didn't sell on record store day. Someone's 00:55:37.039 --> 00:55:39.420 going to walk into your store in six weeks, and 00:55:39.420 --> 00:55:41.360 they're going to see this piece by this artist 00:55:41.360 --> 00:55:44.340 that they loved, and it's exclusive to an indie 00:55:44.340 --> 00:55:48.659 record store. That's amazing. Of course. I hate 00:55:48.659 --> 00:55:50.380 it so much when the stores use the word leftover. 00:55:50.960 --> 00:55:53.539 It's a joke at this point. Stores will forward 00:55:53.539 --> 00:55:56.199 me social media posts from other stores that 00:55:56.199 --> 00:55:58.699 call them leftovers because that has, to me, 00:55:58.780 --> 00:56:01.179 like a negative connotation, much as I love Thanksgiving 00:56:01.179 --> 00:56:04.110 leftovers. It's not that. It is an exclusive 00:56:04.110 --> 00:56:06.670 indie piece that you can only get at record stores. 00:56:06.809 --> 00:56:08.510 It doesn't matter if it's three weeks after record 00:56:08.510 --> 00:56:12.230 store day or, you know. But that's the basic 00:56:12.230 --> 00:56:14.909 answer is it's always better to have too few 00:56:14.909 --> 00:56:17.889 than too many in the grand scheme of things, 00:56:17.989 --> 00:56:21.369 no matter how many people didn't maybe get that 00:56:21.369 --> 00:56:24.849 record. Of course. And the other thing, the two 00:56:24.849 --> 00:56:27.769 days after record store day, when the most things 00:56:27.769 --> 00:56:30.789 are being flipped on eBay. If you count up the 00:56:30.789 --> 00:56:32.909 number of releases that were actually put out, 00:56:32.969 --> 00:56:34.570 and I don't mean the actual titles that were 00:56:34.570 --> 00:56:37.409 on the list, I mean there were 5 ,000 pieces 00:56:37.409 --> 00:56:39.510 of this title, and you count up the actual physical 00:56:39.510 --> 00:56:41.389 number of pieces that went out, and then you 00:56:41.389 --> 00:56:44.710 count up the number of eBay sales, it's minuscule 00:56:44.710 --> 00:56:46.550 compared to the number that actually went out 00:56:46.550 --> 00:56:49.829 into the marketplace. So the majority of titles 00:56:49.829 --> 00:56:52.809 are going home with people who are going to keep 00:56:52.809 --> 00:56:54.610 them and listen to them. And stores have gotten 00:56:54.610 --> 00:56:57.840 much better. A lot of stores can recognize you're 00:56:57.840 --> 00:57:00.460 flipping, you're flipping, you're out. Stores 00:57:00.460 --> 00:57:03.260 get great joy in doing that, actually. Of course, 00:57:03.300 --> 00:57:05.320 because at the end of the day, that's showing 00:57:05.320 --> 00:57:07.820 they're protecting their customers and letting 00:57:07.820 --> 00:57:10.559 the customers that are there to purchase those 00:57:10.559 --> 00:57:13.679 albums get their hands on it. Because then the 00:57:13.679 --> 00:57:16.880 people, let's say Jay is the eBay flipper right 00:57:16.880 --> 00:57:18.980 in front of me online and he gets the last copy 00:57:18.980 --> 00:57:22.059 of an album I wanted. That record store knows. 00:57:22.829 --> 00:57:26.110 That Jay is the flipper. So now you have the 00:57:26.110 --> 00:57:28.389 guy in front in line who's screwing over the 00:57:28.389 --> 00:57:31.610 record store, followed by the person who goes 00:57:31.610 --> 00:57:33.329 to that record store all the time and supports 00:57:33.329 --> 00:57:36.050 that business missing out on a title and therefore 00:57:36.050 --> 00:57:38.949 leaving with a sour taste in their mouth. based 00:57:38.949 --> 00:57:41.130 on that record store. So it's definitely a connection 00:57:41.130 --> 00:57:43.070 between everything there. And for the record, 00:57:43.210 --> 00:57:45.389 Jay is not an eBay flipper. I was just using 00:57:45.389 --> 00:57:48.110 that. Good man, good man. Well, like I said, 00:57:48.130 --> 00:57:49.769 we've been able to identify who some of these 00:57:49.769 --> 00:57:51.349 flippers are, especially the ones who do pre 00:57:51.349 --> 00:57:54.610 -orders. And one year we identified one and we 00:57:54.610 --> 00:57:56.710 called the stores in his area. And one guy said, 00:57:56.809 --> 00:57:59.730 oh gosh, yeah, he's on our frequent buyer club, 00:58:00.010 --> 00:58:03.550 which means he's gonna get into the special line 00:58:03.550 --> 00:58:06.110 to get in early. He's in our frequent buyer club. 00:58:07.019 --> 00:58:09.219 The owner of the store waited until the morning 00:58:09.219 --> 00:58:11.539 of record store day and went out and addressed 00:58:11.539 --> 00:58:14.000 the line and said, hey, is this person here? 00:58:14.079 --> 00:58:15.880 Are you in line? And the guy was in line. And 00:58:15.880 --> 00:58:18.420 he's like, yeah, we know your eBay handle. Get 00:58:18.420 --> 00:58:21.360 out. I mean, he just called him out in front 00:58:21.360 --> 00:58:24.079 of everybody. I wouldn't recommend that always, 00:58:24.380 --> 00:58:28.739 the way to handle it. But he really had a good 00:58:28.739 --> 00:58:33.500 time that day. Wow. I mean, that is showing your 00:58:33.500 --> 00:58:36.329 solidarity with your customers. Yeah. But at 00:58:36.329 --> 00:58:39.030 the flip side, it is very confrontational. So 00:58:39.030 --> 00:58:40.909 that would have been a very awkward thing to 00:58:40.909 --> 00:58:43.690 see. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But kudos. It wasn't me. 00:58:43.809 --> 00:58:47.329 I didn't have to do it. Right. It sends a very 00:58:47.329 --> 00:58:49.730 strong message. I'll give them that. It's true. 00:58:49.909 --> 00:58:52.030 It's true. So let's talk about what gave you 00:58:52.030 --> 00:58:54.570 the idea to expand Record Store Day to Record 00:58:54.570 --> 00:58:57.329 Store Black Friday. That's a pretty easy answer. 00:58:57.429 --> 00:59:00.130 In the United States, for better or worse, love 00:59:00.130 --> 00:59:03.030 it or hate it, Black Friday is the kickoff to 00:59:03.030 --> 00:59:06.519 the shopping season of Christmas. season of gift 00:59:06.519 --> 00:59:11.179 giving. And for too many years, record stores 00:59:11.179 --> 00:59:14.880 were not a part of that. Even though every single 00:59:14.880 --> 00:59:17.400 thing that is sold in a record store makes a 00:59:17.400 --> 00:59:20.579 perfect gift. Every single thing, a gift card, 00:59:20.760 --> 00:59:24.840 a 45 adapter, tiny little things up to box sets, 00:59:24.920 --> 00:59:27.539 up to musical instruments, whatever you could 00:59:27.539 --> 00:59:30.300 give as a gift. And it's a great gift. And so 00:59:30.300 --> 00:59:32.559 we just decided, you know what? Again, it goes 00:59:32.559 --> 00:59:37.090 back to the press and the focus. If Black Friday 00:59:37.090 --> 00:59:40.550 is the biggest retail story in the United States, 00:59:40.789 --> 00:59:44.210 we want to help make record stores a paragraph 00:59:44.210 --> 00:59:47.489 in that story. And this is the way we do it. 00:59:47.849 --> 00:59:50.150 It's different. It's not Record Store Day Junior. 00:59:50.289 --> 00:59:52.949 The list is much smaller. The list is probably 00:59:52.949 --> 00:59:57.349 more large items, box sets, more windowed titles, 00:59:57.449 --> 00:59:59.210 which means eventually they'll be available. 00:59:59.949 --> 01:00:02.250 you know, at other retailers or online. But for 01:00:02.250 --> 01:00:04.210 right now, for the time period when you're looking 01:00:04.210 --> 01:00:06.210 at buying gifts and going out and spending a 01:00:06.210 --> 01:00:08.869 bunch of money on gifts for other people or making 01:00:08.869 --> 01:00:11.769 a wish list for yourself, record stores are part 01:00:11.769 --> 01:00:14.230 of that. And we're trying to make it not about 01:00:14.230 --> 01:00:19.550 cheap mass produced gift items, more about quality 01:00:19.550 --> 01:00:21.570 things, special things that you would want to 01:00:21.570 --> 01:00:24.989 get or you will want to give. And it's not necessarily 01:00:24.989 --> 01:00:28.019 made to sell out on that day. It's literally 01:00:28.019 --> 01:00:30.820 the kickoff of the shopping season so that it's 01:00:30.820 --> 01:00:32.280 just getting the word out there that there are 01:00:32.280 --> 01:00:35.699 cool things in a record store all season long. 01:00:36.179 --> 01:00:38.940 And you should do your gift giving it from a 01:00:38.940 --> 01:00:41.019 record store. And the fact that Small Business 01:00:41.019 --> 01:00:44.239 Saturday is the day after it is just a one -two 01:00:44.239 --> 01:00:47.960 gift. Yeah, a win -win. Yes. Have you, in your 01:00:47.960 --> 01:00:50.260 research, in the years you've been doing Record 01:00:50.260 --> 01:00:51.860 Store Day Black Friday, because I know that started 01:00:51.860 --> 01:00:54.219 kind of a few years after the inception of the 01:00:54.219 --> 01:00:57.230 full holiday. Have you noticed in your data that 01:00:57.230 --> 01:00:59.269 you guys have been capturing a different audience 01:00:59.269 --> 01:01:03.489 on that day? Maybe not the normal record store 01:01:03.489 --> 01:01:06.530 regulars, so to speak, that you're capturing 01:01:06.530 --> 01:01:09.889 kind of an outside focus group here? Yeah. Yeah, 01:01:09.969 --> 01:01:12.909 it is different. And I mean, a lot of our stuff 01:01:12.909 --> 01:01:15.590 is anecdotal because you hear from stores rather 01:01:15.590 --> 01:01:17.789 than we don't have somebody sitting there interviewing 01:01:17.789 --> 01:01:19.949 people as they come in and out. How often do 01:01:19.949 --> 01:01:21.590 you shop at a record store? Although, you know, 01:01:21.590 --> 01:01:23.210 somebody gives us a grant, we'll definitely do 01:01:23.210 --> 01:01:26.780 that. It is. And the day is structured a little 01:01:26.780 --> 01:01:28.500 differently for the stores. It's much more of 01:01:28.500 --> 01:01:31.179 a sales all day through and then on into Saturday 01:01:31.179 --> 01:01:34.059 and then fading into Sunday. It's definitely 01:01:34.059 --> 01:01:36.679 different clientele. And a lot of that is we've 01:01:36.679 --> 01:01:38.739 been promoting the idea of the wish list. Like, 01:01:38.780 --> 01:01:40.880 OK, you shop at a record store all the time. 01:01:40.940 --> 01:01:43.320 Here are things you might want to tell your mom 01:01:43.320 --> 01:01:46.059 or your kids or whoever that you would want so 01:01:46.059 --> 01:01:48.460 they can come and get them for you. It's brilliant. 01:01:48.780 --> 01:01:51.139 Brian and I have always said on the show, too, 01:01:51.239 --> 01:01:54.420 right back to the first episode. that music is 01:01:54.420 --> 01:01:56.559 probably one of the most personal things that 01:01:56.559 --> 01:01:59.139 you could give somebody, the gift of music, in 01:01:59.139 --> 01:02:01.840 any form, whether it be, like you mentioned, 01:02:02.019 --> 01:02:04.460 whether it be the record or whether it be a musical 01:02:04.460 --> 01:02:08.039 instrument or even a piece of a component to 01:02:08.039 --> 01:02:11.940 a turntable or something that you have that you're 01:02:11.940 --> 01:02:15.780 going to gift to somebody else. It speaks to 01:02:15.780 --> 01:02:19.260 that person. deeply because you're in tune with 01:02:19.260 --> 01:02:21.380 what their likes are, what they have a strong 01:02:21.380 --> 01:02:23.440 attachment to. And another pun there with the 01:02:23.440 --> 01:02:26.820 in tune. In tune. Yeah, nice. God, man, you guys 01:02:26.820 --> 01:02:28.860 are good. Come up with taglines, left and right. 01:02:29.440 --> 01:02:31.659 It's totally true. I mean, and that's what makes, 01:02:31.739 --> 01:02:33.900 as a complete side note, that's what makes the 01:02:33.900 --> 01:02:37.059 mixtape so, the idea of a mixtape so romantic. 01:02:37.440 --> 01:02:41.179 Exactly. So what are some of your favorite record 01:02:41.179 --> 01:02:43.920 story memories since its inception? Oh man, I 01:02:43.920 --> 01:02:46.500 knew you were going to say that. So my favorite 01:02:46.500 --> 01:02:48.760 record store memories, the very first record 01:02:48.760 --> 01:02:51.679 store day, I was in Baltimore at the Soundgarden. 01:02:51.900 --> 01:02:54.739 And it was also the day, the Soundgarden in Baltimore 01:02:54.739 --> 01:02:56.900 is in Fells Point, which is right on the water. 01:02:56.940 --> 01:02:59.500 It's historic. It's on a cobblestone street. 01:02:59.940 --> 01:03:02.440 It's fantastic. It's one of my favorite record 01:03:02.440 --> 01:03:05.500 stores in the world. And it was also Pirate Invasion 01:03:05.500 --> 01:03:09.920 Day. That had to be interesting. It was fantastic. 01:03:10.440 --> 01:03:13.880 And my little marketing mind was running around 01:03:13.880 --> 01:03:16.519 like putting records in the hands of these pirates 01:03:16.519 --> 01:03:19.840 and taking pictures and crossing the two. And 01:03:19.840 --> 01:03:22.239 that was extraordinary. That was just such a 01:03:22.239 --> 01:03:24.079 great day because that was the first one. And 01:03:24.079 --> 01:03:27.400 it was like, this is going to be fantastic. And 01:03:27.400 --> 01:03:30.619 then for the last record store days, most of 01:03:30.619 --> 01:03:33.699 the record store days, I stay home in Raleigh, 01:03:33.699 --> 01:03:36.860 North Carolina. A lot of what I do is on the 01:03:36.860 --> 01:03:40.159 internet. We stream a lot of in stores from stores 01:03:40.159 --> 01:03:43.599 across the country. We do a lot of posts and 01:03:43.599 --> 01:03:46.280 just basically we keep up with the world through 01:03:46.280 --> 01:03:48.219 the computer, which is fantastic and the best 01:03:48.219 --> 01:03:50.900 possible use of social media. And so I do a lot 01:03:50.900 --> 01:03:53.420 of that perched at a record store in Raleigh. 01:03:53.760 --> 01:03:56.119 I'm the person who brings the donuts. to the 01:03:56.119 --> 01:03:58.079 people standing in line really early in the morning 01:03:58.079 --> 01:04:01.219 at about three record stores here. I bring pizza 01:04:01.219 --> 01:04:04.440 in the afternoon. They all love me. Of course. 01:04:05.079 --> 01:04:07.920 And, you know, a couple times I've been fortunate 01:04:07.920 --> 01:04:12.719 to, there was a band that played at one of the 01:04:12.719 --> 01:04:15.400 record stores, and their fan base was very young. 01:04:15.500 --> 01:04:18.019 It skewed very young and very female. So there 01:04:18.019 --> 01:04:21.480 was a line of probably about 300 teenage girls 01:04:21.480 --> 01:04:25.920 and guys waiting to meet this band. And I was 01:04:25.920 --> 01:04:27.760 the last person they talked to before they moved 01:04:27.760 --> 01:04:31.619 up to meet the band. And I had tissues. I had, 01:04:31.780 --> 01:04:33.860 hey, it's going to be great. I helped people 01:04:33.860 --> 01:04:35.920 decide what they were going to say to the band, 01:04:36.039 --> 01:04:38.099 which was almost always, thank you so much. I 01:04:38.099 --> 01:04:41.199 love your music. And it was just, it was their 01:04:41.199 --> 01:04:43.800 first experience with getting that close to their 01:04:43.800 --> 01:04:46.739 idols. And it was their first experience at a 01:04:46.739 --> 01:04:49.940 record store. And you could see it fusing together 01:04:49.940 --> 01:04:54.239 in their heads. This place is awesome. And that's... 01:04:54.860 --> 01:04:57.420 exactly what we want to happen. And that was 01:04:57.420 --> 01:05:01.940 a really, really great moment. All right, with 01:05:01.940 --> 01:05:04.380 Record Store Day almost here, let me know what 01:05:04.380 --> 01:05:07.300 you are looking to pick up this year. You can 01:05:07.300 --> 01:05:10.360 hit me up on social media at My Weekly Mixtape, 01:05:10.360 --> 01:05:13.539 or you can also email me, myweeklymixtape at 01:05:13.539 --> 01:05:16.559 gmail .com. Would love to hear if you found those 01:05:16.559 --> 01:05:19.300 holy grails that you were looking for, or sadly, 01:05:19.360 --> 01:05:21.500 if that eBay guy got to the album before you 01:05:21.500 --> 01:05:24.360 did. But regardless, remember, you can find My 01:05:24.360 --> 01:05:26.599 Weekly Mixtape on almost all the social media 01:05:26.599 --> 01:05:29.690 haunts at... My Weekly Mixtape. You can also 01:05:29.690 --> 01:05:32.670 head to myweeklymixtape .com to check out the 01:05:32.670 --> 01:05:35.989 full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes. And 01:05:35.989 --> 01:05:37.489 if you like what you're hearing on the show, 01:05:37.570 --> 01:05:39.849 remember you can help me out by either telling 01:05:39.849 --> 01:05:42.429 a friend, leaving the show a five -star review 01:05:42.429 --> 01:05:45.050 wherever you're tuning in, or joining the Patreon 01:05:45.050 --> 01:05:49.750 community at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. 01:05:49.949 --> 01:05:52.670 There you can find ad -free episodes of the show, 01:05:52.849 --> 01:05:55.469 gain early access to future My Weekly Mixtape 01:05:55.469 --> 01:05:58.320 episodes, chime in on... future topics, become 01:05:58.320 --> 01:06:01.300 a guest curator and so much more. That's all 01:06:01.300 --> 01:06:03.280 for this week. Thanks again for listening. And 01:06:03.280 --> 01:06:06.360 until next time, I wish you and yours a safe, 01:06:06.360 --> 01:06:08.920 healthy and happy record store day. And most 01:06:08.920 --> 01:06:11.019 importantly, enjoy the tunes.