Record Store Day is a big part of promoting the rebirth of vinyl, but it's never claimed to be the savior of the recording industry. After all, part of the appeal is that just about everything released on the day is limited edition, drawing in us salivating audiophiles. Nonetheless, the organizers tracked the sales of the various titles that were available on April 19, and accordingly have released a list of the best-selling exclusive albums and singles.
The exclusive albums:
1. Live by Tame Impala
2. Live At Hampton Coliseum by The Grateful Dead
3. An Ideal For Living (1978) by Joy Division
4. 7 Skies H3 by The Flaming Lips
5. Meltdown With The Ramones by The Ramones
6. Loaded by The Velvet Underground
7. Live 2012 by Death Cab for Cutie
8. The 1969 Singles by Creedence Clearwater Revival
9. Live With Joe Strummer by The Pogues
10. Because the Internet by Childish Gambino
Tame Impala's entry into the Record Store Day fray was an eight track recording from a 2013 Chicago show. The best selling singles weren't previously unavailable recordings at all. Nirvana topped the list with a rerelease of its "Pennyroyal Tea" single, which featured "I Hate Myself and Want To Die" as a B-side. The second best-selling single option was the 7" featuring The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" with Dinosaur Jr.'s 1989 cover of the track on the B-side.
Some artists managed to crack into the Billboard 200 thanks to sales from their Record Store Day releases. Green Day's Demolicious placed no. 112 after last week, largely thanks to the products availability on three formats: CD, vinyl record and cassette. Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death got a boost for its already steady week-to-week sales by moving 5,000 copies of its rerelease on vinyl.
Record Store Day brought a 58 percent increase in sales over the weekend, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
