Considering she’s sold more vinyl than just about anyone in the past year or so, it’s fitting that Taylor Swift has been named the first-ever global ambassador for Record Store Day 2022, which encourages music fans to support their local independent music retailers.
Record Store Day 2022 will take place on Saturday, April 23, and marks the 15th annual installment of the event, which features limited-edition vinyl releases that you can only buy in your local independent record store.
“I’m very proud to be this year’s ambassador for Record Store Day. The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me,” Taylor says in a statement.
“Record stores are so important because they help to perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion. They create settings for live events. They employ people who adore music thoroughly and purely,” she continues. “Those people and shops have had a rough few years and we need to support these small businesses more now than ever to make sure they can stay alive, stay eccentric, and stay individual.”
She adds, “It’s been a true joy for me to watch vinyl sales grow in the past few years and we, the artists, have the fans to thank for this pleasant surprise. Happy Record Store Day, everyone! Stay safe out there.”
According to MRC Data, three of Taylor’s albums made the list of the Top 10 best-selling vinyl albums of 2021. In 2020, Taylor provided autographed copies of her albums to independent stores to encourage fans to visit, and also donated money to help keep Nashville record store Grimey’s afloat.
The list of this year’s exclusive Record Store Day releases will be announced soon.
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