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The organisers of Record Store Day have announced further logistical details of their adapted 2020 edition, with the first of their three “drops” set to take place later this month.
In light of the coronavirus pandemic — which has already seen the annual event being moved twice from its original April 18 date — Record Store Day will be staggered over three days (or “drops”) this year: August 29, September 26 and October 24.
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Read more: Music stores react to Record Store Day 2020 being postponed: “It will impact us massively”
Ahead of the first “drop” on August 29, RSD organisers have today (August 10) shared more details on the socially distanced plans they will have in place for this year’s event.
Music fans will be encouraged to use the Record Store Day store locator from Friday (August 14) to find out how their local shop plans to open on August 29. Measures that are set to be in place include bookable time slots (which will be available one week in advance on a first-come, first-served basis) and the operation of socially distanced queues.
For this year only, RSD will relax online sales so that products can be made available on participating shop websites or over the phone from 6PM on the evening of each “drop”.
More than 230 independent record shops in the UK faced huge uncertainty with the postponement of this year’s RSD due to the coronavirus lockdown. Many stores are now hoping that the first instalment of the ‘RSD Drops’ will provide a much-needed sales boost in order to get them back on the road to recovery.
Speaking to RSD, Natasha Youngs, owner of Resident Music in Brighton, said: “We may not be partying this year but we’re still determined to make sure we celebrate the artists and labels that have made special releases available for our event. Getting them into the hands of the fans safely and sensibly is our top priority this year.
“We will be operating a socially distanced queue and will be serving from 8AM. With the releases being made available online at 6PM the same evening, customers who would rather not visit the shop in person can choose to order them online in the evening instead. They can then collect their records from the shop at a later date or have them posted to their door.
“We’ll focus on being able to organise another exciting event next year when things can hopefully return a little more to normal.”
Back in June, Love Record Stores Day delivered a big boost to music retailers in the UK after it generated over £1 million in revenue.
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