Record Store Day 2015 Spotlight: Music Millennium
Record Store Day was the catalyst for the upswing in vinyl sales. It helped bring part of the youth generation back into the store and experiencing physical goods again, as well as having them experience listening to full albums instead of songs.
Guest Post from The Music Business Association
The popularity of Record Store Day can be attributed to the strengthening of the independent record store business and actually seeing new stores open up again. Today's spotlight features Music Millennium in Portland, Oregon.
Music Millennium
Portland, OR
www.musicmillennium.com
What does your store have planned for Record Store Day this year?
We will serve coffee and muffins at 7am and open 2 hours early at 8am. We will give gift bags out to all customers. We have 2 live performances scheduled with Dawes at 6pm and Dead Moon at 8pm.
What’s your favorite Record Store Day memory?
It’s always great to be able to have someone come in 1/2 way though the day and you can still give them a copy of what they were looking for. Seeing the smiles on everyone’s faces on RSD is the greatest!
What’s your favorite live performance that took place in your store?
We pioneered in store live performances in the 80’s by putting in a permanent stage and sound system. We do about 150 in-stores a year but had a run of 6 years were we were doing 300. I can not narrow it to just one but the highlights have included Joe Strummer, Randy Newman, Soundgarden, Keith Emerson, Richard Thomson, John Hiatt, Portugal. The Man and Steve Earle.
What was the first record you ever bought?
First 2 albums I ever bought with my own money were Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention’s “We’re Only In It For The Money” and “Cruising With Ruben & The Jets”.
Why is physical retail so important?
There is an interaction of music enthusiasts in a record store…both the customer and the people that work there. Conversations lead to finding out about music you would most likely would have never ran into shopping online, whether it was physical or digital. Just walking through the record store, especially the vinyl side, is like walking through an art exhibit, with all the great album covers sprinkled through the bins and walls. People reach out and look at these and end up finding more about them. Sometimes the cover art alone is enough to motivate someone to try a piece of music by an artists. We lost that when we went to CD due to downsizing of the cover area.
Which of this year’s Record Store Day exclusives are you most looking forward to?
The Kinks are my favorite band so there are 3 Kinks pieces this RSD I’ll need to have, but the Temples and St. Paul & the Broken Bones pieces are musts too.
For more about Music Millennium’s plans for Record Store Day 2015, click here.
