Record Store Day 2025 has been announced, as if you needed an excuse to buy more records

record store
(Image credit: Visionhaus / Contributor)

  • The date for your diaries: April 12, 2025
  • Over 270 indie shops in the UK and thousands more worldwide
  • Exclusive releases from established and emerging acts alike

Record Store Day is Christmas for music fans, with a whole host of exciting new releases as artists raid the vaults for interesting ways to celebrate the joys of independent record retailers. And now Record Store Day has a date and a slogan: you can "celebrate the culture" on April 12, 2025.

This year's RSD, the eighteenth such event, will be supported by long-term sponsor Bowers & Wilkins as well as Miraval wine and the DEYA brewing company, and it'll be happening in over 270 record shops in the UK as well as thousands more worldwide. And as before, it's likely to see a whole host of re-releases, rarities and special editions that'll be worth queuing out the door (yes, at your local bricks and mortar store!) for.

Why Record Store Day is magic for music fans

One of the things we love about RSD, other than the goodies on offer, is that it gives us an excuse to spend tons of money with a clear conscience: it's all about celebrating and supporting indie retailers as well as artists. In the era of Spotify streams and struggling high streets that feels more important than ever.

Last year's RSD line-up featured everything from 100 Gecs to 10,000 Maniacs, Black Sabbath to Boogie Down Productions, U2 to Ultramagnetic MC's and many, many more as record companies re-released classics on heavyweight vinyl and artists went rooting around the vaults for classic cuts and covers. And only some of those releases ended up on eBay for silly sums immediately afterwards…

We'll be covering RSD 2025, of course, but don't forget that indie stores aren't just for vinyl Christmas: many artists release exclusive records to indie shops every month, and this month's crop includes Maribou State, Manic Street Preachers, Anna B Savage, Mogwai and Lambrini Girls, among others. You can stay up to date with those exclusives on the RSD website. Until then, happy crate rummaging!

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Carrie Marshall
Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.

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