Michael Kurtz
The coronavirus pandemic had a profound effect on retail in all sectors of business this year, as stores closed, moved online and struggled to bring in customers as the economy tanked and unemployment rose. But independent stores arguably had it toughest, and indie record stores already facing stiff head winds took the brunt of the music industry’s retail impact.
It also made for a tough puzzle to solve for Record Store Day, the annual event typically held each April where indie record stores and vinyl fanatics across the world come together to celebrate those bastions for crate digging with pop-up performances, meet and greets, block parties and special limited-edition releases. All of this often spurs sales to the point that RSD is commonly one of the biggest vinyl sales weeks of the year each year.