So Record Store Day is coming up this Saturday. For one day, music fans across the country will fan out to the existing record stores out there, pick up awesome vinyl and cool limited edition CDs, and remember for a day how awesome it is to be a collector. While this is great, that used to happen every Tuesday. I’m sure there are some people out there that still go to record stores every Tuesday to pick up new releases, but they’re the exception to the rule. To drive that point home, Buzzfeed has a sobering collection of 40 closing or closed record stores.
Sure, it’s a given that more and more people prefer downloading to physical copies. It’s also not breaking news that most of the downloaders aren’t paying for their music. That’s not going to stop any time soon, but as someone that used to enjoy buying an album the day it came out, listening to it over and over again while perusing the artwork and liner notes, and getting recommendations from knowledgeable record store clerks, this is a bummer. I get the same feeling looking at these pictures as I do at pictures of the faded luxury of present day Detroit or Asbury Park.
