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Record Store Day announces FilltheGap campaign
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 14 April 2020
But for the COVID-19 pandemic, this Saturday would have been Record Store Day. With that in mind – and with indie record stores facing significant challenges as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown – organisers of Record Store Day UK have announced a new online campaign called RSDFilltheGap.
Basically, music fans are encouraged to commit online this week to buy a key release that is currently missing from their record collection from their local independent record shop, tagging their post #RSDFillTheGap.
Many indie stores are currently focusing on their online operations after COVID-19 forced them to temporarily shut their high street shops. Record Store Day UK’s website has a directory of all participating stores, including links to their respective online platforms. Which means fans can fill that gap by buying their chosen record via their chosen’s shops website.
Natasha Youngs, who runs one of those stores, Brighton’s Resident Music, explains: “Traditionally this would be the time of year when indie record stores celebrate the unique culture of their shops with their customers and community”.
“With [Record Store Day] postponed”, she goes on, “we’d still like to commemorate the event as an online community, encouraging our customers to engage with their local record shop in order to keep the spirit of the day alive while we wait for the real thing to take place. Identify the glaring omission from your collection, or take a punt on something new or different, and let us help keep you sane whilst you’re staying safe”.
Meanwhile, the band Big Moon – ambassadors of Record Store Day 2020 – add: “We’re all looking forward to getting back out into the world and sharing physical space with our fellow humans again. If music and record stores are a part of your life and you have the means to be spending disposable income right now, please keep supporting them so they can be there for you when all this madness is over and the world starts turning again”.
“Massive corporations will be fine”, they go on. “Support the shop down the road that you always drop by to chat to the staff and get their recommendations and get a decent cup of coffee. Support that shop you always go to in another city that you found cos the first time you went you were looking for the ‘cool bit’. Support all the musicians whose songs you’re streaming to get you through these long days inside, by actually spending money on their work so they can continue making music for you! Treat yourself! Buy yourself a new friend! You won’t regret it”.
There is more information about the campaign on the Record Store Day website here.
In related news, The Official Charts Company has just launched an interactive map allowing you to find your nearest UK record shop offering home delivery during lockdown. So you need not wait for your chosen record to plod its way through the postal system.
