Record Store Day: The Ugly

Record Store Day is a great display of greed at its finest. I was never disillusioned to the point where I believed all the bands, record labels, stores and collectors were in it for good intentions, but as each year passes, the more I realize how ugly it’s becoming.

The RSD organizers, I believe, are in it for the right reasons -to keep independent record stores alive, promote music and to push physical products. In the days leading up to RSD, numerous stores were releasing their shipments on Ebay in attempts of raking in the big bucks. The RSD organizers have limited power at best, but ensured that these stores would not be able to partake in future RSD’s. In order for a store to receive the exclusive RSD records, they need to sign a pledge ensuring that they will not sell their records before-hand and they will not place their items for sale online the day of -they can however sell the remaining stock online after RSD. From what I could tell, the majority of stores upheld the pledge and were doing the right thing. It was unfortunate however to see certain stores attempting to sell their eight dollar records for a much larger return on Ebay in the days preceding RSD.

Just like ticket scalpers, RSD has its fair share of people who are just looking to flip their purchases for insane amounts. This is one of my biggest gripes when it comes to RSD. Far too often, the psycho who wakes up at 3:00AM and waits in line is the same one who plans on grabbing every limited release and selling them for ten times the amount the next day. I saw a White Stripes 7" which cost no more than eight dollars selling on Ebay for nearly one-hundred. The respect between fans of music is far too often taking a back-seat to flashing money signs. After waiting in line for two hours, one of the store clerks relayed the message that many people were essentially saying I want one of every release -regardless of whether or not they had any interest in the music. It’s sad but true, the actual fan who has respect for the community is losing out to the prick who can’t wait to sell his loot to the die-hard fan who missed out on a number of the releases.

I may be naive, but I feel like the core intentions of RSD are genuine. I also believe that a good chunk of the people who buy these records have good intentions and are looking out for each other. However, there’s just too many who just view it as an opportunity to make some easy cash. I still love RSD, and I’m counting down the days until next years, but it has some flaws, and sadly, those flaws are inherent. We live in a greedy society, and the pigs will continue to do whatever they can to make an extra buck