Standing in the Way of Control:The Vinyl Revival, the Record Industry, and Record Store Day

In many ways, music consumption in the twenty-first century has been characterised by streaming, which has led to questions about fair renumeration, ownership of music, and cultural intermediaries and playlist culture amongst other things. However, even though streaming is the dominant form of consumption (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, Engaging with Music, s.l.: s.n., 2022), listeners have also carved out their own practices by, for instance, reviving what was thought to be a dead format as the twentieth century closed: the vinyl record. The vinyl revival signals a paradigm shift where the audience has more control over their own consumptions rather than being used as pawns constantly being told to re-buy their music collections on different formats. This shift is empowering to consumers, but potentially threatening to the record industry. As such, this chapter discusses the tension that arises as a result of increased listener autonomy via the vinyl revival and the record industry, an industry that was so powerful during the twentieth century that for many it was synonymous with the music industry. The chapter will also consider events such as Record Store Day (RSD), which was initially launched to support independent record shops, but appears to have developed into something different since its launch in 2007. Rather than emphasising local, independent shops, RSD is now often about limited edition releases that may or may not end up in hands of scalpers. If this is the case, is RSD just an attempt to regain control over consumers who attempt to assert themselves via vinyl?