Exclusive Vinyl Record Releases Cued Up for ‘Back to Black Friday’
A RECORD STORE NEAR YOU, Nov. 22, 2011 – The frantic and sometimes perilous holiday shopping day known as Black Friday now extends to independent music stores throughout the country and around the world, with the release of limited edition vinyl recordings of music by performers old and new.
Back to Black Friday was established by Record Store Day in 2010 to specifically celebrate vinyl as a recording medium, and in April 2011 Record Store Day music releases along with in-store performances created the largest vinyl sales day in the history of Soundscan, the official method of tracking sales of music since 1991.
This year, Back to Black Friday will be recognized on Nov. 25 by approximately 900 independently owned record stores and shops in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Holland and the United Kingdom, with special releases of vinyl in all sizes, from all genres of popular music.
Special releases will be sold solely at independently owned record stores, and store owners will choose which titles they plan to stock. Some of the music being offered:
• The Beatles – a 7” vinyl box set of 45 rpm single
• Miles Davis – 10” LP of Miles Davis Quartet
• Bob Dylan – 7” vinyl box set of singles
• Grateful Dead – Vinyl album of Live Europe ’72, Volume 2
• Iron & Wine – Vinyl album of Morning Becomes Eclectic
• Kings of Leon – vinyl box set of its early music, some previously unreleased
• John Lennon – Imagine 40th anniversary box set
• Tom Petty - previously unreleased live album
• Rolling Stones – previously unreleased song on 7” 45
• Soundgarden – 10” live LP
• Pete Townshend – 10” LP of the Quadrophenia demos, Vol. 1
• Wilco – 10” LP of previously unreleased recordings
Music lovers of all ages are discovering or re-affirming their preference for analog recording on vinyl, describing it as “richer,” “warmer,” “more natural,” “more durable,” and simply “cooler.” More technical critics of digitized music complain mid-range sounds are compressed and distorted, while higher frequencies are missing.
Vinyl-philes revel in the ceremony of taking a vinyl record out of its sleeve, gazing at the album cover art, and playing the record through one side, then flipping it over. One long-time vinyl enthusiast remarked, “With vinyl, music listening is an experience, not just knocking off a couple of songs on your iPod while commuting to work.” Vinyl listening can be a social event, as London’s Justin Chasty has found, creating a weekly vinyl night for record lovers, inviting them to bring their own records to share with the crowd.
While sales of CD’s have dropped precipitously over the last few years, Nielsen Soundscan ranked vinyl as the fastest-growing musical format of 2010, with 2.8 million new long-playing vinyl albums sold in the United States, up 14 percent from 2009. The Recording Industry Association of America noted 4 million vinyl LP’s and EP’s (extended play vinyl recordings with usually 2 to 6 songs) were shipped in 2010, almost 26 percent more than in 2009. And some industry analysts argue that Soundscan only captures 1/6 of sales of new vinyl albums, and 2010 sales are between 15 and 20 million.
Whatever the figures, major retailers are once again stocking up on vinyl records and turntables, with Marantz introducing its new high performance turntable last month. And used CD stores are converting more of their shelves and racks to accommodate used vinyl records, which are attracting more customers.
For more information on Back to Black Friday, participating record stores, and a complete list of special vinyl releases, go to www.recordstoreday.com.
The Vinyl Institute represents the leading manufacturers involved in the production of PVC vinyl in the United States, and promotes the value of PVC and vinyl products to society.
For more information, contact:
Jeffrey B. Palmer
Director of Marketing & Communications
The Vinyl Institute
571-970-3327
jpalmer@vinylinfo.org
Also go to: www.vinylindesign.com, and www.vinylinfo.org.