In honor of Record Store Day 2021, All That Music and Video opened their doors at 9 a.m. June 12, two hours earlier than their usual hours of operation. Last year, Record Store Day was broken up into three days to account for social distancing. As COVID-19 cases have gone down and people become more comfortable with going out and participating in events, Record Store Day 2021 has been broken up into two days: June 12 and July 17.
Record Store Day is a worldwide event that honors and celebrates independently owned record stores. Every year, record stores all across the world celebrate by selling special records and albums, which are often exclusive and limited edition, made specifically for Record Store Day.
All That Music and Video has been celebrating the annual event since 2008, but this year, the store experienced its biggest turnout yet.
Some record stores have their own traditions, but the staff at All That Music and Video keep it simple: they offer exclusive records and albums. They are happy to meet record– collecting customers who are just as excited as they are.
“I thought it was interesting,” said George Reynosa, owner of All That Music and Video, said when he first heard about the celebration.
“What we have on this day is only offered to independentce (record stores), so you won’t find them online or at the big box stores.
The store had aisles of records that were specifically for Record Store Day. You could find limited –edition records and box sets of albums by artists such as the Deftones, Prince, Ella Fitzgerald, Elton John, among many other classic musicians.
Last year, All That Music and Video did not expect to experience as much traffic for Record Store Day.
“The pandemic took everything apart this last year, so they postponed it,” Reynosa said. “I don’t know if we are going back to one Record Store Day in the future as we come out of this COVID-era, but it’s been very successful.”
Joey Martinez was one of the many customers waiting in line outside of the store to get a look at some limited –edition records. Just like Reynosa, he was happy to see the customer turnout for the special day.
Martinez and his family did not feel safe going outside of their home this time last year.
“To finally see that stuff is getting released out again and we can come out and buy something is awesome,” Martinez said.
Reynosa said that Record Store Day being split up into two days is due to distribution purposes.
“The supply chain for the distribution and manufacturing of vinyl is so quirky,” Reynosa said. “There are just so many people that want to participate in limited edition stuff for Record Store Day. COVID and capacity limits have affected our industry, so they’re spreading it out into two days.”
All That Music and Video was closed for three months after the first COVID-19 case was reported in El Paso. Since it reopened in June 2020, Reynosa has noticed more customers.
“We’re grateful,” Reynosa said about being able to continue his business.
“What we’re doing here is fun, you don’t have to buy anything, but it’s just kind of fun to look around at all the old records. It’s great, especially for us, because we’ve never stopped selling records.”
Reynosa aims to move his store into a bigger space within the next year to expand their selection of records.
“It’s a changing business and it allowed us to explore more of the market, so hopefully we’ll be able to offer more,” Reynosa said.
Nicole Lopez can be reached at [email protected]; @nicoleilopez on Twitter.
