Record Store Day Announces Two "Drops" Dates For 2021

Record Store Day has announced two “Drops” dates for this year’s celebration of all things vinyl. The pandemic-minded edition of Record Store Day 2021 will be split up and occur on June 12th and July 17th.

Back in December, the organizers of the international vinyl holiday announced a single 2021 date, slated for June 12th. That initial announcement was delivered with optimism as vaccine distribution began in the United States. Three months later, however, it has become clear to organizers that this year’s celebration would be much safer if spread out over two days.

A statement from RSD organizers reads,

We’ve spent the last few months watching the news, listening to health officials, talking with record stores, labels, and RSD organizers the world over, and because we still don’t have a magic 8-ball to tell us what things are going to look like in a few months, we’ve decided the smartest thing to do is bring back the concept of RSD Drops for 2021.

The RSD Drops will take place on June 12 and July 17 at participating stores worldwide.

These are street dates for special titles coming to participating indie record stores. As with the successful RSD Drops dates in 2020, the focus this year is on supporting indie record stores with sales, and saving the big parties, shows, in-stores, crowds and celebrations for (fingers crossed) Record Store Day 2022.

As they did last year for the three RSD Drops, stores will be handling sales and store procedures in the way they determine to be right for themselves and their community and that may mean something different than you’re used to. We recommend you check in with your local record stores –join their email lists, follow them on social media– so you’re as in the loop as possible.

Last year saw Record Store Day introduce the Drops concept by holding the sales event over three days in August, September, and October. Stay tuned to Record Store Day’s website for a list of 2021 Drops releases.