It has now been just under two weeks since Record Store Day 2026 which was a record breaking year seeing an increase of 25% in sales according to the Digital Entertainment and Retail Association when compared to last year.
Record Store Day, which took place this year on April 18 2026, is an annual event where exclusive records are made specifically for the day are released. They are limited number releases and can vary from new coloured pressings to ones that are available only on that day which won’t be repressed. In recent years it has seen global superstars participate in the event such as Taylor Swift and The Weeknd.
The first Record Store Day was back in 2008 and was originally started in order to help and celebrate the independently owned record stores. There are many independent stores in Wolverhampton but one store, Vinyl & Vintage has been taking part in the event for the past 16 years now.
With more and more prolific artists participating and prices going up, people have started to question the original purpose of it being in support of independent stores. We spoke to Vinyl & Vintage store owner, Claire Howell, about her experience with the day. When asked if the day helps the store from a business standpoint.
In some ways, the opposite effect
Claire Howell
She went on to explain that it costs a lot of money to even get the stock into the store and they hope to sell at least 80 to 90 percent of that stick within the first week just to break even.
I pretty spend the entire year saving for Record Store Day to make sure I can afford to buy the records.
Howell
After she laughingly said that she has considered not participating in several years, she then told us that as a sole trader, the experience of getting the stock in can be very frustrating.
I have to do all the ordering myself, I have to contact and have accounts with around 17 different record companies – whilst there is one list, there isn’t one ordering platform.
Howell
However, she doesn’t want to seem too harsh on the event by saying that,
Anything that shines a light on record shops is a good thing.
But it is a financial burden and if you don’t know what you are doing, I know there have been some businesses that have gone under.
Howell in her final comment regarding how the day affects business.
On the day fans queue up for hours despite waking up in the early hours of the morning where they still keep up high spirits that they will get that special record.