Taylor Swift has been revealed as the global ambassador for Record Store Day 2022.
Record Store Day 2022 takes place around the world on Saturday, April 23. The event is returning to a single date this year rather than multiple vinyl drops.
Taylor Swift has often had releases in the Record Store Day and RSD Black Friday lists. A vinyl lover, she will now be the global champion for the 15th annual celebration of record stores.
In her ambassador statement, Taylor Swift said: “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. 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. 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.
“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.”
Record stores are so important because they help to perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion
Taylor Swift
According to Music Week research, Taylor Swift was the second biggest artist in terms of vinyl sales in the UK last year. Only The Beatles moved more LPs in 2021.
Taylor Swift had three entries in the US Top 10 vinyl albums of 2021, according to MRC Data.
In 2020, when the pandemic forced indie retailers to close their doors, Taylor Swift directed fans to record stores around the US where they could find autographed records. She also made a gesture of support to Grimey’s New and Pre-loved Music in Nashville.
“We're thrilled to learn that Taylor Swift is our 2022 Record Store Day Ambassador,” said Anna Lundy and Doyle Davis at Grimey’s. “Taylor Swift has shown her love and support for independent record stores by not only supporting our shop specifically during the dark, early days of the pandemic, when she directly donated to help us support our staff, but also by steering her eager, excited, and dedicated fans to independent record stores, places that many of them visited for the first time while in search of her signed CDs.
“As Swift has grown as an artist, we've watched her fans grow with her and have been delighted to see her taking control of her recordings and working with musicians like Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, artists whose music has resonated in shops like ours for years. We can't think of a better choice for RSD Ambassador for 2022!”
“The role of RSD Ambassador is, of course, something we take seriously in the sense that it helps us do our job of shining a light on these special places,” said RSD co-founder Carrie Colliton. “We’re pretty picky about the people we invite to ‘wear the sash’, and we always want to make sure those ambassadors genuinely love record stores and are creative about ways to celebrate them.
“But mostly it’s a title we want people to have fun with, and we know that our RSD 2022 ambassador loves having fun, loves music, and loves record stores. For our 15th Record Store Day, and for our first global ambassador, we’re teaming up with a woman who does all that and just happens to be one of the biggest artists on the planet.”
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