Record Store Day has grown to become an established and beloved institution in the music industry, and now the annual celebration of all things vinyl and in-person music-buying is breaking new ground. This year, they are having their first Global Ambassador, and now they’ve revealed that the first person to assume that role is Taylor Swift.
RSD AMBASSADOR (Taylor’s Version)
Thanks to @taylorswift for putting on the sash and serving as the first ever GLOBAL RECORD STORE DAY AMBASSADOR, helping us celebrate the culture of the independent record store around the world. #RSDAmbassador #RSD15 #RSD2022 #April23 pic.twitter.com/D4Jr1eCrMV
— Record Store Day (@recordstoreday) January 20, 2022
Swift says in a statement:
“I’m very proud to be this year’s Global 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 Store Day is set to return for its 15th anniversary event on April 23.
Taylor Swift had a great relationship with vinyl in 2021. In May, Evermore broke the record for biggest US sales week for a vinyl album since that data was first tracked in 1991. The album went on to become the year’s No. 2 best-selling vinyl album in the US, just a fraction of a percent behind Adele’s 30.