Popjustice
  • Home
    • Briefing archive
  • Features
  • Playlists
  • Get Popjustice emails
  • About Popjustice
    • About
    • Popjustice: Est 2000
    • The Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
  • Contact
    • General contact details
    • Submit music
  • Forum
Recent Posts
  • New Music Monday: Griff's Black Hole is super, and massive
  • New Music Friday: Let's kick off 2021 with some KLF
  • The Top 45 Singles Of 2020
  • New Music Friday: Mae Muller doesn't want to be dependent
  • New Music Friday: There's a big one from Royal & The Serpent
Hello! In theory you should only be seeing this if you're using a mobile or tablet. How's the site looking? If anything's wonky click here and tell us so we can fix it. Thanks! x
Popjustice
  • Briefing
  • Features
  • Playlists
    • New Music Friday: The Popjustice Edit
    • Big Hit Energy
    • 21st Century Pop
    • 2018% Solid Pop Music
    • Full archive
  • About
    • About Popjustice
    • Contacting Popjustice
    • Send music
    • Popjustice: Est 2000
    • The Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize
  • Forum
  • The Briefing

2014 A‑Z: R is for RECORD STORE DAY

  • December 29, 2014
  • Popjustice

one-direction-midnight-memories-record-store-day-7y'

2014az

As you know, Record Store Day is an annual excuse for labels to repackage and resell music which, with a few exciting excep­tions, fans have already purchased at least once.

But Record Store Day is about more than that, of course. It's about the world's remaining music stores going "HIYA WE EXIST", and getting people through the door on one day in the hope that those same people might come through the door on another day.

Sadly, in April, we saw some people getting their knickers in a twist over the fact that One Direction were involved in 2014's Record Store Day. They didn't want One Direction fans to be going into record shops, because record shops should exist only to sell Four Tet albums, and getting the wrong type of teenager through the door would ruin everything. It's a wonder you don't see more record stores on the high street these days, isn't it.

The funny thing about Record Store Day's main marketing angle — the limited edition releases — is that because the majority of these releases are about repack­aging and altern­at­ive format­ting, rather than new tunes, the whole thing makes a complete mockery of the Four Tet brigade's all-about-the-music ideology. Many Record Store Day purchases will never be played, because playing them would reduce the record's supposed value, even if that value is largely arti­fi­cial.

So those discs will sit on a shelf, or they will be propped osten­ta­tiously next to a faux-vintage record player. They'll be looked at, they might be touched, let's face it they'll probably be smelt, but they won't be heard. Fans might as well be queueing on a Saturday morning for a Vampire Weekend keyring and glit­ter­pen gift set. Ironically, Record Store Day makes a One Direction fan out of everyone.

  • One Direction
Previous Article
  • The News

Jessie J lived off of Miley Cyrus' success for three years, maybe more

  • December 29, 2014
  • Brad O'Mance
Have a read
Next Article
  • The Briefing

2014 A‑Z: S is for SPOT THE DIFFERENCE!!

  • December 29, 2014
  • Popjustice
Have a read
Further listening
Greatest hits
  • Robbie Williams interview
  • Alison Goldfrapp interview: "I feel good about this"
  • Olly Alexander interview: "I'm a convincingly happy human being"
Further reading
  • 1
    New Music Monday: Griff's Black Hole is super, and massive
  • 2
    New Music Friday: Let's kick off 2021 with some KLF
  • 3
    The Top 45 Singles Of 2020
  • 4
    New Music Friday: Mae Muller doesn't want to be dependent
  • 5
    New Music Friday: There's a big one from Royal & The Serpent
  • 6
    New Music Friday: Baby Queen takes the throne
Est 2000. Still going.
Socials

 Spotify
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Instagram
 Soundcloud

'Quick links'

About Popjustice
Contact Popjustice
Sign up for the news­let­ter
Submit music
Est 2000
Twenty Quid Music Prize

Playlists

21st Century Pop
New Music Friday: The Popjustice Edit
2018% Solid Pop Music
The Sound Of Popjustice
Playlist archive

© 2020 Popjustice Ltd. Scrolled to the bottom now you're here
  • Privacy, Ts & Cs, cookies etc
  • Corrections

Input your search keywords and press Enter.