Just when you thought 2021 couldn’t get more exciting for independent record stores — Record Store Day Black Friday is happening this week.
We were very active participants in both Record Store Days this summer and you can find our coverage of both days here and here.
We still have some issues with Record Store Day and how smaller stores are being treated in regard to the number of copies of very popular titles being shipped, but the program has been hugely successful and who doesn’t want to stand in line on Black Friday to purchase records.
There’s nothing at Best Buy worth buying. We’ve already seen some of the options and you’re better off shopping from home on the sofa using your computer.
RSD Black Friday will be held this year on November 26, 2021.
Since its inception, Black Friday has turned the day after Thanksgiving into the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season. Traditionally, Black Friday has been about super-cheap prices on mass-produced goods and primarily takes place in malls and big box stores.
But we really like the idea of a shopping season, especially when that shopping is all about, at its heart, a way to show the people you like that you like them. (And a way for them to show you, too. Gift-GETTING is also awesome!)
We work year-round to shine a light on the independent businesses in your local community that sell you records and other things that make you happy, make you smile, make you sing, bring you comfort, bring people together (with proper safety protocols in place, of course!).
This year that has felt more important than ever, as local businesses of all kinds face unprecedented challenges, and we’ve been so happy to see how you’ve all supported them.
Everything you find in a record store (or on a record store’s website) would make a great gift for someone, so in this year when the holiday season may be a little strange, but also a little special, and it may feel even better to wrap up and give a little something to someone, helping record stores be a part of that ‘shopping season’ makes more sense to us than ever.
There are artists, labels, managers and distribution companies who feel the same, and we’ve put together a list of titles for that season that will be available at participating record stores.
They come out on Black Friday (this year 11/26) but may be available at record stores throughout the rest of the year, because record stores are the best place to go with a Holiday Wish.
RSD Black Friday record list can be found here.
Some very interesting albums on the list. Stay warm while standing in line.
