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Neptoon Records in Vancouver. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\nSaturday is Record Store Day, the 19th annual celebration of independent music retailers that began in 2007.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still by a mile our busiest day of the year, and every year is busier than the previous one,\u201d said Ben Frith, manager of Vancouver\u2019s Neptoon Records.<\/p>\n
Frith says it\u2019s remarkable how the event has evolved over the years.<\/p>\n
Neptoon Records in Vancouver. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\n
\u201cI think one of the biggest changes is just seeing that we have such a different demographic of people coming in for the event,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike they\u2019ve really expanded [who] the special releases are catering to. It\u2019s not just the diehard nerds. It\u2019s also the fresh fans, which is great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Special releases this year include titles by Honeymoon Suite, David Bowie, and Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n
Frith says Swift fans, or Swifties, represent a new generation of record buyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only are they a large customer base, but they\u2019re a great customer base,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re always friendly and nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Ackermann speaks with Ben Frith, manager of Vancouver\u2019s Neptoon Records. <\/p>\n
Frith is personally excited for releases by Ike White, the Ngozi Family, and the 13th Floor Elevators.<\/p>\n
Nineteen years in, he says Neptoon is always looking at ways of keeping Record Store Day fresh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always trying to find ways to make it a little bit better every year, whether it\u2019s just refining the process, figuring out how to make things go faster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always have quite a lineup in the morning and [we\u2019re] really trying to make it so that can move a little bit faster.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to say the earliest we\u2019ve had [people show up] was last year, and it was 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon the day before, which was wild. But that being said, we get people to come later at night and they still get their spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Neptoon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Neptoon-Records-Neptune-Record-Beatles-Rare-8-1024x576.png\")
Neptoon Records in Vancouver. (CityNews Image)<\/p>\n
He has some tips for first-timers.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne really important thing to do is take a look at the Record Store Day website and see what the releases are. You don\u2019t want to go home with something you don\u2019t want, or maybe you\u2019ll discover something you didn\u2019t know existed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake a look at that, take a look at every store\u2019s list, and see what they have. And think, if there\u2019s 100 people in line and there\u2019s only two of this, will I get it?\u201d<\/p>\n