Introducing: Vinyl Tuesday, A Physical Music Initiative
In the wake of global Friday release dates, another initiative, Vinyl Tuesday, is starting up as a way to offer physical retailers new titles to sell and promote during the week. Launched by the Record Store Day organization, the weekly Tuesday physical street date will encourage artists, labels and distributors to put out several different types of releases.
Guest Post by Dave Pak of The Orchard on The Daily Rind
- New release vinyl that could not be released at the same time as their CD / digital counterparts
- Reissue and catalog vinyl
- New release vinyl in advance of the CD/digital counterparts
- Promotional releases
- Indie-store exclusives
And while it’s being called Vinyl Tuesday, not everything has to be released on vinyl! Other formats, including CDs and even cassettes, are being welcomed with the intent that Vinyl Tuesday should be recognized as a physical street date. Furthermore, unless it’s an indie-store exclusive, Vinyl Tuesday releases will be open to all physical retailers and promoted by Record Store Day just the same.
Speaking of indie-store exclusives, while there are going to be some throughout the year, Record Store Day is not turning into a weekly event. Record Store Day was, is, and always will be held on the third Saturday in April. This is really important, so please read this out loud a few times so it sinks in. Cool?
OK! Let’s get to a couple of additional points: First, the Record Store Day folks do have a submission form that they are asking participants to fill out, so they can help spread the word about Vinyl Tuesday releases. And second, if you want Vinyl Tuesday releases to be included with first week SoundScan numbers, you’ll need to ensure your releases are properly registered with SoundScan, Street Pulse and BuzzAngle.
With the substantial rise in vinyl sales over the past several years, the music industry has seen overwhelming success come from initiatives such as Record Store Day in April and Black Friday. Now, with the upcoming launch of Vinyl Tuesday, the physical retail community will have another opportunity to create even more awareness and further their sales on titles released during the week.
