Vinyl is not dead.

Are you a fan of artists like the Front Bottoms, the 1975, and the Bob Dylan? If so, you should participate in 8th annual Record Store Day, on Saturday, April 18th, which record stores everywhere will be celebrating. All these artists will have exclusive content released on vinyl for the occasion.

Since 2008, local record stores have been participating in Record Store Day, an event that occurs on the third Saturday of every April. On Record Store Day, many bands allow local record stores to sell exclusive content that fans would not be able to get in any other physical format on any other day. Since its inception, this “holiday” has grown immensely popular. This year, companies such as Sony, Red Bull, and Crosley are sponsoring the event.

As reported in Time Magazine,  2014 showed an increase in vinyl sales of 52% from the last year, amounting in over 9 million records sold in the United States alone. This revival of vinyl is generally credited to the disire for high quality sound and the tangible aspect that records provide.

Junior Lancer Jack Dempster states that vinyl is appealing to him because “it sounds different.”

Junior Ryan Stark explained that he feels that owning a physical copy of music that you love is more rewarding.

It is important to allow independent record stores to thrive, but Record Store Day is not the solution. As explained by The Guardian, many stores will invest thousands in exclusive records for the event, only for money to be lost when not all of the records are sold and cannot be returned.Record stores are important to all communities and help local music culture thrive, but lack a lot of support and funds that they deserve due to physical copies of music being replaced by technology. Not only does this kill independent record stores, but it also kills the artists releasing music, as they do not make as much money as they could.

“I believe that the power of the record store to inspire is still alive and well, and that their importance to our next generation of musicians is crucial,” wrote Dave Grohl, this year’s Record Store Day ambassador, emphasizing the importance of keeping the culture of independent record stores alive.

For Lancers, the Record Exchange in Frederick is a great place to go for the Record Store Day exclusives, or to pick up records on any day of the year. The Record Exchange contains vinyl, cds, cassette tapes, games, and much more. The staff is helpful and knowledgeable, and the store keeps new releases and arrivals stocked.

“We’ve done this a couple of years now, and we have a long line waiting down the block for the store to open,” said Jennifer Baker, a manager of the Record Exchange. “It’s kind of like our Christmas.”