Thanks to the 82 exclusive releases and limited availability, customers lined up at record stores all around the country on Saturday morning and helped kickoff Record Store Day 2009 with a bang. Reports suggest traffic pick-ups and sales volume this year will be more than last year's inaugural event.
“It was my best day by far," says Eric Levin, owner of Criminal Records in Atlanta and the head of the Assn. of Independent Media Stores coalition. “We had 600 people in the store; it was well-controlled chaos. My vinyl sales alone yesterday was larger than last year's total Record Store Day take."
Michael Kurtz, executive director of the Music Monitor Network, tells Billboard that from the stores that he heard from, “the majority of the stores had matched last year's volume by mid-afternoon."
He added that stores, who have been already selling increasing amounts of vinyl to both the old and younger demos, were particularly shocked by “the massive amount of young people coming into stores looking for vinyl." The exclusives and other commercial releases timed for Record Store Day, really add the extra sizzle, store executives tell Billboard. “All these little gems that the labels created for us - what an incredible effort from the small labels to the big guys, it was really stunning," Criminal Records Levin says.
“It was my best day by far," says Eric Levin, owner of Criminal Records in Atlanta and the head of the Assn. of Independent Media Stores coalition. “We had 600 people in the store; it was well-controlled chaos. My vinyl sales alone yesterday was larger than last year's total Record Store Day take."
Michael Kurtz, executive director of the Music Monitor Network, tells Billboard that from the stores that he heard from, “the majority of the stores had matched last year's volume by mid-afternoon."
He added that stores, who have been already selling increasing amounts of vinyl to both the old and younger demos, were particularly shocked by “the massive amount of young people coming into stores looking for vinyl." The exclusives and other commercial releases timed for Record Store Day, really add the extra sizzle, store executives tell Billboard. “All these little gems that the labels created for us - what an incredible effort from the small labels to the big guys, it was really stunning," Criminal Records Levin says.
