Record Store Day plans set

Record Store Day will center on limited-run vinyl again on Saturday, April 18, with releases sold through participating independent stores rather than through the event’s own website. (recordstoreday.com) The official Record Store Day list says the special titles arrive at stores on April 18, and organizers say shops choose their own orders, so no store is guaranteed to stock every release. (recordstoreday.com) In New York, Rockefeller Center will host iNDIEPLAZA on April 18 from noon to 9 p.m., and Time Out New York reported the free event is expected to draw tens of thousands of people in its fifth year. (timeout.com) Time Out New York said the day’s lineup includes Superchunk, Avalon Emerson, Incendiary, Hotline TNT, Momma, Winter, Friko, Nuovo Testamento and Weird Nightmare, with sales starting at 9 a.m. at Rough Trade’s rink-level shop and 10 a.m. upstairs. (timeout.com) The format is built around independent retail. Record Store Day says the event began in 2007 as a project of record-store owners and employees, and the first official celebration took place on April 19, 2008. (recordstoreday.com) That retail focus shapes how the releases are sold. Record Store Day says there are no pre-orders for the special titles, and stores may choose to post leftover stock online starting Sunday, April 19. (recordstoreday.com) The official site divides this year’s titles into three buckets: “Exclusive” records sold only at independent stores, “Record Store Day First” releases that may reach other retailers later, and “Small Run/Regional” pressings with runs under 1,000 or limited local distribution. (recordstoreday.com) Time Out New York highlighted sought-after releases tied to Taylor Swift, Paramore, Charli XCX and Weezer, and the Record Store Day home page is already promoting Swift’s “Elizabeth Taylor” 7-inch single as part of the 2026 lineup. (timeout.com) (recordstoreday.com) Record Store Day has used big-name artists to amplify the event before. Its ambassador archive lists Taylor Swift as the 2022 global ambassador and Paramore as the 2024 ambassador, linking this year’s high-profile drops to an event that has long mixed indie-store promotion with major pop acts. (recordstoreday.com) For shoppers, the practical message is simple: check whether a nearby shop has a Record Store Day pledge badge, ask that store what it ordered, and expect lines well before opening on April 18. (recordstoreday.com) (timeout.com)