Record Store Day selected Taylor Swift as its first Global Ambassador. Record Store Day takes place on April 23 in 2022 with the RSD release list coming soon which will include a contribution from Swift.
Record Store Day is celebrating 15 years of raising awareness for independent record stores in 2022. RSD took to social media to announce Taylor Swift as the inaugural Global Ambassador. “RSD AMBASSADOR (Taylor’s Version),” the organization began in a nod to the singer-songwriter’s recent reworkings of her classic albums.
“Thanks to Taylor Swift for putting on the sash and serving as the first ever GLOBAL RECORD STORE DAY AMBASSADOR,” RSD wrote, “helping us celebrate the culture of the independent record store around the world.”
In the early days of the pandemic, Taylor aided record stores by placing signed copies of her CDs in various locations to bring in much-needed business. She also donated to one of her own favorite haunts, Grimey’s New and Pre-loved Music in Nashville.
Swift weighed in on the RSD honor and her love for record stores in a press release:
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.
[Hat Tip – Billboard]
