Vinyl collectors gather for Record Store Day in Saskatoon

Music enthusiasts and record collectors were lining up around the block for Record Store Day on Saturday.

The annual day to support local shop owners and show an appreciation for vinyl makes it a special day for all involved.

“It’s just like a cool community thing,” Adam Harrison, owner of The Vinyl Exchange said between a wave of customers on Saturday. “All the record collectors from Saskatoon come and get their special release stuff and it makes them happy.”

“There’s a certain atmosphere to it.”

The day is marked internationally with special releases, re-releases and rare items popping up.

Harrison said people were lined up in front of the store when he got to work at 8:15 a.m., specifically looking for vinyl only available on Record Store Day.

Five copies of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to The Crow were nabbed within minutes. Office Space was the other hot item soundtrack, as well as Pink Floyd’s “Saucerful of Secrets” album in Mono, in addition to the piles of special edition singles lying around.

Adam Bartsch was flipping through records and said he rarely misses a chance to enjoy Record Store Day, and it’s not just for the deals.

“It’s the community that comes out as well. You’re standing in line and somehow there’s a comradery that standing by yourself in a record store just doesn’t bring,” he said.

Being at a locally-owned shop to talk about and share music with other enthusiasts also lends itself to a certain experience.

“Record Store Day is a celebration of that community, in that we’re coming to a local shop that will write things out on a receipt instead of a big corporate entity,” Bartsch said. “It’s that sense of community that is really embraced on a day like today.”

With online streaming services being the most convenient and popular way to listen to music, the common assumption it that record stores will soon fade out of relevancy.

Harrison says the opposite is true.

“I think streaming platforms have helped physical sales because any album you want is readily available. So if you’re listening to a certain album on Spotify, then you might want to own the thing physically if you fall in love with it,” he said.

Kyle Gunderson was happy to get out of Vinyl Exchange with some of his favourite albums on Saturday and doesn’t see his most trusted music medium leaving any time soon.

“If I’m listening to a record, it is the activity I’m doing, whereas if I’m streaming, it’s something in the background.” he said.”You’re listening to it from front-to-back the way the artist has laid it out. You’re actually partaking in the whole experience they’re trying to get for you.”