Record Store Day: The Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century

by Larry Jaffee

Record Store the Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century provides the official inside story on how Record Store Day managed to revive the vinyl format from oblivion over the past fifteen years with some of the biggest artists jumping at the chance to sup-port independent record stores. This alliance and renewed camaraderie between artists and record stores set in motion the world's largest annual music Record Store Day.

The voices of numerous artists, record store owners, and the creators of Record Store Day take the reader from this phenomenon’s shaky beginnings through the crisis of 2020, illustrating how record stores went from irrelevance to irrevocably changing the music industry forever.

Record Store Day is sure to appeal to record collectors who line up the night before in a quest to snare limited-edition collectibles on vinyl, while capturing the important role that independ-ent record stores play in their communities.

Genres: Music

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 12, 2022

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting to read about the origin story of one of my favorite days and times of the whole year each and every year which is Record Store Day ( and Record Store Day Black Friday ). From the improbable vinyl resurgence in the age of the CD and digital format for listening to music through the numerous Record Store Days that have occurred since we have a day or two devoted to the Independent record store and through that celebrating the warm sounding physical and beloved vinyl record.
Jaffee traces RSD from its humble beginnings aping Free Comic Book Day which started in 2002 by coming up with a concept to celebrate record stores in 2007 by introducing the idea to a group of record store managers and executives across the United States at a gathering on the east coast.
Each successive year it grew in popularity and buy-in from more record labels, stores, and even other countries.
My first one was a happy accident walking into a store on a Saturday in April of 2010 and being amazed at the neat stuff I found by Nirvana and Lennon to name a few. I think it really caught fire in 2012 though.

[Michael Roeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another commenter said that the topic might not have justified a book, and I tend to agree. Quite a bit of the book is padded with quotes from record stores and RSD ambassadors. The book straddles the line between a book of the history of RSD and the resurgence of vinyl which run hand-in-hand. So, not a lot of new information here for the dedicated followers of RSD, but an enjoyable read nonetheless and serves as a nice snapshot of RSD to date.

[Haley S · Rating 3 out of 5]

i agree with others saying there wasn’t really enough here for a book, i would have loved to see this instead in a coffee table book kind of format, with more photos. with so many colorful pressings and picture discs, seems like a no brainer.

[Gabriel Rojo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writer is truly passionate about the topic but this seems to have been written in a hurry with zero editing. There are grammar and punctuation mistakes galore, repeated information, and overall lack of structure. Shame as the presentation of the book itself is lovely.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting stories here, especially about the creation of Record Store Day. Overall, not sure if there was enough for a whole book.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating history of how Record Store Day resurrected vinyl from the 1-2 punch of CDs and streaming. The oral histories and reminisces of those involved flesh out the who how when and why.

[Du · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and solid overview of RSD. I liked the chapter breakdowns and the ambassador interludes were a good way to separate content.