Local record stores surviving, thriving ahead of annual celebration

It’s like Christmas day for music lovers. Saturday marks the 8th annual Record Store Day, a day to celebrate the continued survival and even success of record stores in Seattle and around the world.

In an age of digital downloads, it’s a surprise to some record stores still exist, but business is actually growing thanks to a resurgence in vinyl.

Soundscan reports vinyl sales soared 33 percent to 6.1 million albums last year.

Mike Batt, owner of Seattle’s Silver Platters Records, says the independent record stores continue to do well because people want the community and connection they provide.

“It’s a celebration of what we have to offer the community and instead of being just being a faceless thing on your computer screen, you can come in and talk to our people who love music,” Batt says.

The music industry has gotten behind Record Store Day in a big way, offering special limited releases from bootlegs to b-sides by everyone from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Nirvana. That makes it a Black Friday of sorts for the independent stores.

“We usually have, at all of our stores, anywhere between 30-100 people lined up at the door before opening waiting feverishly because some of these pieces are limited. Some of them – we’ll only have a few copies,” he says.

Along with the special releases, local stores like Silver Platters and West Seattle’s Easy Street Records will also feature live performances and other events to commemorate the day.