Independent shops, labels and artists pull together for Record Store day 2010

Participants in the annual Record Store Day, taking place on April 17th are aiming to celebrate independent music shops and culture in style, with a range of exclusive releases and events confirmed.

With most independent record shops in a well-documented financially dire predicament, the event seeks to highlight the key role that independent record shops still have in exposing new music and serving global communities of music fans.

The organisers have announced free in-stores, signing sessions and exclusive releases from artists such as Pavement, Hot Chip and Goldfrapp, who are releasing their album ‘Head First’ on cassette format, limited to 500 copies. Meanwhile, Independent label 4AD have announced a deluxe DVD release of a live performance from their artists The Mountain Goats.

For a complete list of releases and events in the UK visit the record store website.

Expressing his enduring passion for independent record shops, Blur and Gorillaz singer Damon Albarn said:

“I think independent record shops will outlive the music industry as we know it because long term their value to people is far greater, because even in our era of file-sharing and blogs, you cant replace the actual look on someone’s face when they are playing something they really rate and think you should listen to it too. It’s special.”

Last year, the Entertainment Retailers Association reported that more than a quarter of independent shops went out of business in a period of 12 months, with only 305 in total remaining in the UK. Despite this, key Independents such as London’s Rough Trade East  continue to flourish and reported a 10% increase in profit in 2009.

For the latest updates, follow Record Store Day on twitter here.