(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) 2017-4-23"/> April 23, 2017 Ten years ago, most vinyl records sold for a few dollars - dusty old albums with dog-eared covers that had been thrown out as useless relics of an earlier age.
metallica played the first record store day at a branch of rasputin music in the san francisco area. while the metal legends' presence ensured a crowd, all 10,000 vinyl reissues at the store sold out that day. 'that made me realise we were onto something. we tapped into something that nobody could have imagined,' record store day co-founder michael kurtz said. kurtz quickly expanded record store day to continental europe and britain, where the first british edition was championed by billy bragg, the folk rocker known for his left-wing activism. the 10th annual event takes place saturday at thousands of stores around the world - due to the deliberately loose structure, kurtz does not have an exact figure - with some 350 special vinyl pressings in the us market released on the day. since the first record store day, vinyl has soared to levels not seen since the 1980s. it has been a rare source of growth in the long-beleaguered music industry alongside - although at a much smaller scale than - streaming. vinyl revenue will top us$1bn this year while sales of cds and digital downloads tumble, the analytical firm deloitte estimates. in britain, where vinyl's rebirth has been particularly pronounced, records generated more revenue than advertising-backed tiers of streaming platforms last year. vinyl enthusiasts such as elton john, who has done promotions for record store day, insist the medium offers a superior listening experience. but there are also broader cultural forces at play. 'it was a perfect storm,' said kurtz, 59, sipping coffee near his home in harlem as he wore a t-shirt of punk icon iggy pop - among the musicians with special record store day releases. 'for the older music fan, people in my age group, it was a romantic thing that you can go back and buy all your favourite records again and buy special versions of those albums,' he said. 'on the younger side of things, it enabled a whole new generation to own it. i think it was a response to digital in a way,' added kurtz.