Gap in vinyl record market is Plugd

HMV are to reopen their flagship Dublin store, on Grafton Street, with 40% off all vinyl albums, on the same day that independently owned record outlets celebrate Record Store Day. The most high-profile independent record shop in Ireland, Tower Records, dismisses HMV’s ‘record store celebration’ as a marketing ploy.

Record Store Day was introduced in the United States in 2008 to celebrate independent record stores. Running on the third Saturday of April, the idea spread worldwide. Founded in Cork in 2002, Cork’s independent record store, Plugd Records, in common with most record shops, has endured a tumultuous decade, due to changes in consumer practice and recession. It was saved from closure by a passionate customer base. Independence doesn’t entail standing alone.

Albert Twomey, one half of Plugd Records, alongside store founder, Jim Horgan, sees little reason to exclude HMV from the festivities. “Our business has coexisted alongside HMV over the years,” he says (HMV long had a store on Patrick Street). “HMV staff have been valued customers and were also great to recommend Plugd to folks who were looking for more specialist titles. Smaller, or independent traders, depend on the support of local folks, but we appreciate the need for consumer choice. It’s preferable to have a busy commercial city centre.”

More than 20 stores countrywide, from Drogheda to Galway to Dungarvan, Co Waterford and to Cork’s Golden Discs, who now occupy the HMV site, will be celebrating Irish Record Store Day this Saturday. Every other Monday, Plugd is closed, to allow Twomey and Horgan deal with customer orders. Even so, regulars come in to say a few words, reinforcing the importance of community support. Horgan and Twomey emphasise the benefits of their location, upstairs in the Triskel arts centre, with its cinema and live-music auditorium in the Christchurch venue, and Gulpd café downstairs. They are looking forward to the excitement of Record Store Day. “As long as people remember that we’re actually open all year round,” says Twomey. “That’s pretty critical to our being, as well. No one in the world can survive on just one day trading.”

Says Horgan: “It’s our third year in the Triskel, so it’s also our third anniversary here. We happened to open up here again on Record Store Day, so it’s always a nice day for people to come in, hang around, have chats, eat cake, drink coffee, listen to music, and people might buy a couple of bits, too. It’s good for everybody.”

Bands and DJs will play all over the building throughout the day. Special Record Store Day limited-edition releases include a double-vinyl version of Indie Cindy, the Pixies’ first new album in 23 years, and a vinyl recording of Teeth Of The Sea’s re-imagining of the soundtrack of Ben Wheatley’s film, A Field in England.

* Irish Record Store Day runs on Saturday, www.recordstoreday.com;

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