Record Store Day

Some professionals go 100 metres in ten seconds. It takes us 50 minutes. And yet, the prize is as valuable as any gold medal. Surrounding us is a community enthused by an ‘obsolete’ medium, ready to freeze in the Saturday morning air to get their hands on some rare records.

Record Store Day began in Baltimore in 2007 as a marketing ploy to attract music lovers to shop at their local stores. It was fuel to the fire, and re-ignited the widespread love for the format. Landspeed Records in Civic is Canberra’s ode to the original record store, with the line stretching from one end of Garema Place to the other.

“I think [vinyl] has become so popular again because a percentage of the music consuming public is not prepared to totally let go of music in a physical format,” says Blake Budak, owner of Landspeed.

The doors open at 10am, but some die-hard collectors arrived as early as 7am to claim their spot on the cobbles. Record Store Day is famous for the release of limited edition records and other merchandise. With this sense of rarity for each release, there is a competitive spirit in the air that’s laced with the good will of each collector who awaited alongside each other three hours.

Joe from Palmerston, one of the first in the store, walks the line carrying bags of records yelling, “I’ve got the Foo Fighters Laundry Room record here. Who wants it?” A bearded man behind us puts his hand up. Joe sells it to him for the retail price which shows the sense of comradeship as this record alone was going for $100+ within hours of Record Store Day commencing.

“I come into Record Store Day most years and got nearly everything I wanted.” Joe says. “Everyone was helping each other out. If someone at the racks found something you wanted they’d just pass it back. It was a bit of a community spirit.”

The bearded man, John from Chrisholm, has been buying records his entire life.

“I keep seeing things that I bought thirty years ago. I don’t think I need them now.” John winks. ”I remember when CD’s came in, which I actually quite liked, because vinyl was very fragile. But there is something about vinyl that’s nice.”

The front of the line creeps nearer. On the table outside, crates upon crates of used records are being scrutinised by a jungle of fingers. Then, the girl on the door nods in our direction. We’re in.

The place is packed. The first thing we see is another line, starting at the noisy cash register and snaking its way around the entire store. Phrases like “bags it” and “dibs” are being thrown around. A disco record plays in the background. A satisfied hipster takes a selfie with David Bowie’s ‘Changes’.

It is the busiest day in Landspeed’s 20-year history. By dusk, Blake will have sold hundreds of records new and old, well used and untouched, having a rise from last year’s sale by 15%. The statistic is unsurprising.  Some people in the line clutch upwards of 20 records like babies. One man spends $414 on his stack.

One thing is clear from Record Store day: Vinyl records are well and truly back.

“Vinyl is by far the most appealing physical format that music has ever been released on,” according to Landspeed owner, Blake.

“But ironically the single most popular item on the day was not actually a record, but a Metallica cassette.”

Who says physical music is obsolete?

Written by Zac Schroedl and Donovan McComb-Gray