About Record Store Day UK
Record Store Day is the one day of the year when over 300 independent record shops all across the UK & Ireland come together to celebrate their unique culture.
Record Store Day 2026 took place on Saturday 18th April.
The Record Store Day Story
The biggest new music event of the past decade
Special vinyl releases are made exclusively for the day and many shops and cities host artist performances and events to mark the occasion.
Record Store Day first started in 2007 when a gathering of record shop owners came together in the US to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture of record stores.
The first official event took place on April 19th, 2008, and today it is celebrated by thousands of record shops all over the globe in what's become the biggest new music event of the past decade.
Record Store Day is a day for the people who make up the world of the record shop — the staff, the customers, the artists, the labels — to come together and honour the special role they play in their local communities. In the UK & Ireland, over 300 indie record shops participate.
While there's only one Record Store Day a year, organisers work hard throughout the year to shine a light on all the amazing people in record shops and the special and exclusive releases artists and labels create to support them.
Timeline
2007 – Record Store Day began as an idea in the US between a few record shops. It took place as a party to celebrate independent shops after the collapse of Tower Records.
2008 – Record Store Day was brought over to the UK by Spencer Hickman, who was working at Rough Trade. Only a handful of UK shops took part in their first year.
2009 – Record Store Day began to grow momentum in the UK, and the number of participating record shops rose to 50.
2010 – Record Store Day was celebrated in the UK by nearly 100 record shops, with limited edition releases from artists such as Blur, Lily Allen, Hot Chip, Pet Shop Boys, Tinie Tempah and more.
2011 – Record Store Day took place in over 150 UK record shops, and Ozzy Osbourne was announced as the official RSD Ambassador.
2012 – Record Store Day had 350 limited edition releases created for the day, and Iggy Pop was announced as the RSD Ambassador.
2013 – Record Store Day released a short documentary showcasing the rebirth of the UK's independent record shops, including interviews with artists such as Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Ghostpoet and Suede.
2014 – Record Store Day partnered with XFM in the UK, with Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) and Tom Smith (The Editors) supporting the day.
2015 – Record Store Day was celebrated by over 200 record shops, and Dave Grohl was announced as the RSD Ambassador.
2016 – Record Store Day UK partnered with BBC Music, hosting its first outside broadcast at Resident Music with Fatboy Slim, and Metallica were crowned the RSD Ambassadors.
2017 – Record Store Day celebrated its 10th anniversary. In the UK, Elton John, was honoured with the first Record Store Legend award, alongside support from Kate Nash, Kae Tempest, Izzy Bizu, Slaves and Anton Newcombe. St Vincent was the US RSD Ambassador.
2018 – Record Store Day saw nearly 500 artists support the day with limited edition vinyl releases, the UK Ambassador was Rag'n'Bone Man and Run The Jewels were the US Ambassadors.
2019 – Record Store Day was celebrated by 250 UK independent record shops. The Mighty Boosh reunited to become RSD Ambassadors, and the first series of Behind The Counter launched.
2020 – Record Store Day was one of the only global events to still take place during the Corona Virus pandemic, but the celebration was split into three smaller 'RSD Drops'. The Big Moon were the UK RSD Ambassadors.
2021 – Record Store Day continued during the pandemic, with two smaller RSD Drops, and Noel Gallagher was announced as the Ambassador.
2022 – Record Store Day celebrated its 15th anniversary with RSD Live, a one-day music festival with Samm Henshaw, Hak Baker and Do Nothing. Taylor Swift became the RSD Global Ambassador.
2023 – Record Store Day took place in over 250 UK record shops with The 1975 taking the role of UK RSD Ambassadors.
2024 – Record Store Day celebrated its 18th year with Kate Bush flying the flag for record shops as the official RSD Ambassador.
2025 – Record Store Day took place in nearly 280 shops, Sam Fender was the UK RSD Ambassador and Johnny Marr was awarded the second Record Store Legend award.
2026 – Record Store Day was celebrated in over 300 record shops across the UK & Ireland. Olivia Dean was crowned the UK RSD Ambassador and Robert Plant honoured with the Record Store Legend award.
Frequently Asked Questions
Record Store Day releases are only available, in-store, through Record Store Day shops from the date of Record Store Day. You can search for shops near you on this site but are advised to contact the store directly to ascertain whether they will be carrying the release you are looking for in advance.
Stores are not permitted to reserve a product for customers so you will need to visit the store early on Record Store Day to get the release you're after!
Stores are bound by the Record Store Day code of conduct which prohibits them from reserving the product for customers or allowing customers to pre-order products. Record Store Day is about the occasion and visiting the store is part of the enjoyment so our best advice is to get up early and check with stores in advance that they have your product.
Only Record Store Day shops may purchase Record Store Day product legitimately and stores are bound by the Record Store Day code of conduct which prohibits selling online until 8pm on the Monday following RSD.
Any remaining products will be available from participating store websites at 8pm on Monday 20th April 2026.
Many countries celebrate Record Store Day so check on recordstoreday.com to find out. If it is a product only available in the UK, the product is listed online the Monday after Record Store Day at 8pm so check back with UK stores then.
The Record Store Day exclusive releases are available in limited quantities on a first-come first-served basis. We know some customers will be disappointed that their favourite product may have sold out but unfortunately, that is the result of their exclusivity.
Queuing up earlier is the only way to avoid disappointment, and we would recommend checking in with your local shop about the number of copies they have in stock prior to the day.
Not all stores carry every release. Indeed with over 500 releases for Record Store Day, it is almost impossible for a shop to carry every title. That is why we advise customers to contact the store before the day to find out what they are stocking.
Unfortunately, the nature of the exclusive releases means that some unscrupulous sellers list the product at inflated prices online. Those who list the product before the event do so in the hope they will secure it on the day but they cannot guarantee this. This is the downside of the value in having a Record Store Day release.
We investigate eBay listings and send takedown notices to sellers of RSD product in advance of the day. Sometimes these takedowns are appealed or can take a couple of days to take effect.
All official Record Store Day sellers adhere to a strict code of conduct which prohibits selling online until the Monday following RSD — if any shop is found to be in breach of this code they can be banned from participating in future Record Store Days. Any eBay person selling prior to RSD will not be a shop or be able to guarantee delivery of the product. Anybody selling after RSD but before the Monday is likely to be a secondary seller or an unofficial stockist. From Saturday 2nd May other official stockists may sell RSD product. Until Saturday 2nd May, we advise you to check whether the person selling is an official RSD store to guarantee you are being offered new official product.
Sadly we find this kind of behaviour as frustrating as you and can only apologise that such people try to use RSD to make a quick buck. We work hard with stores to try wherever possible to restrict known culprits from buying our products. Our research also tells us that more than 95% of all product makes its way into legitimate fans' hands and is not sold via eBay.
We advise all customers not to give in to the temptation to buy from these sellers as often the product they are seeking can often be found after the event — we advise contacting stores after the event to see what is still available.
We hope you still enjoy the RSD celebrations taking place at your local shop.
We are aware that some of our customers have disabilities and participating in Record Store Day can be more challenging. We take our responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 seriously in terms of not discriminating against those with disabilities. Please contact us for disability guidance and information on queueing arrangements at participating shops.
