It’s Record Store Day coming up this Saturday 17th April, when independent record store retailers band together to remind the music loving public of the ancient pastime of actually walking in to a record shop, browsing around, asking for some advice and buying some music that you can actually hold in your band. It’s happening all over the world with groups like Blur and Bat For Lashes recording one off singles for sale, and celebrities serving behind the counter and so on.
Except in Australia.
Here, music retailers aren’t so much brothers in arms as torn between two lovers as the indie chains duke it out against the larger retail chains for a bit of record love. It seems that the Australian Music Retailers Association (AMRA) tried to join in on the cardigan clad indie fun but were told they weren’t wearing the right type of chucks by the event’s organisers in the US. AMRA includes retailers such as JB Hi-Fi, Sanity and Leading Edge. So this year they decided to hold their own version – Record Store Day Australia – neatly bypassing the trademark.
Suzanne Bennett of Melbourne indie shop Basement Discs told Billboard: “This is meant to be about promoting the little guy – the independently-owned and operated record stores. This is supposed to be our one day in the sun.” However, AMRA chairman Gavin Ward, also head honcho of Leading Edge Group, is brushing off the criticism, saying: “From our point of view, a record store is a record store.”
Since everyone’s got an opinion here, Tone Deaf is going to weigh in with one of our own. Support your local indie record store on Saturday. Not sure what defines an ‘indie’ record store? Here’s our test. If you’re looking for some advice on how to start getting into The Replacements’ back catalogue, or perhaps tracking down a copy of the Go-Betweens first album which shop do you go into? There’s the type of one where some kid with braces being paid bugger all an hour is dancing to Lady GaGa behind the counter or there’s the one where a person in a ripped Butthole Surfers t-shirt is earbashing someone about Big Star Records at the counter. The latter’s where you want to end up on Saturday. Check out the list of participating stores here.
We will be enjoying our tunes at @ RECORD PARADISE, 100 Chapel St, St Kilda, April 17 2010, 11am-6pm…..come join us!
Enjoy this clip from High Fidelity below
