New date is set for summer 2021
Organizers of Record Store Day (RSD) have set Saturday, June 12, 2021 as the date to celebrate buying physical media — vinyl to be exact — from independent record stores around the world. The annual event typically takes place in April, but will be held in summer 2021 likely due to the unknown restrictions still surrounding COVID-19.
The 2020 event was moved from April 18th to June 20th but then renamed RSD Drops and delivered on three different Saturdays in August, September and October due to the pandemic.
A list of exclusive titles will be unveiled closer to the event date.
In September, we reported that orders and vinyl purchases on Discogs over the first Record Store Day weekend in late August were up in 2020 compared to previous years. Discogs saw 60,571 orders that weekend alone compared to 42,929 in for RSD 2019, a 41.1% increase.
The global vinyl record market is expected to grow over the next five years. Studies suggest that the global vinyl record market grew at a CAGR of around 7% during 2014-2019 and will continue moderate growth through 2025. More than 5.8 million records were sold between January and June 2020, which is up 33.73% compared to the same period in 2019.
Events such as RSD and its Back to Black Friday counterpart have contributed greatly to the growth of vinyl. However, fans are shopping at big chain retailers for their wax as well. Barnes & Noble has offered its Vinyl Weekend for a few years now, even prompting one for Labor Day and Black Friday in 2020, where it offers discounts on titles, players and more.
