Record Store Day on April 12, 2025 for vinyl record lovers
Record Store Day (RSD) announced the exclusive music releases for the 2025 edition in February. The RSD releases will be available on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at participating record stores in the Benelux. You will need to get up early to queue for the record store, as the vinyl records are limited, so once they're gone, they're gone. Advice: visit multiple record stores in your city. And enjoy the guest performances at a number of stores. Do you have the 'records' stamps from Bhutan, Spain, Belgium, and Switzerland?
Record Store Day (RSD)
Record Store Day is an internationally organized day on which record stores and record labels worldwide organize extra activities to promote the industry. Every year, about 700 independent record stores in the United States participate, as well as several hundred record stores in the rest of the world.
Record Store Day (RSD) op 12 april 2025
On Saturday, April 12, music lovers can indulge themselves during the sixteenth edition of Record Store Day. The list of exclusive releases is more varied than ever, featuring approximately 400 exclusive LPs and CDs across diverse genres. One that stands out is 'Guess' by icons Charlie XCX and Billie Eilish. RSD UK ambassador Sam Fender is releasing the EP 'Me And The Dog', featuring two brand-new tracks. Michael Kiwanuka is releasing the EP 'Floating Parade', and Lil Uzi Vert is releasing his second studio album, 'Eternal Atake', which has never before been released on vinyl.
From David Bowie The never-before-released Ready, set,go! go! appears. And Moon Safari Live & Demos from AIR is released. Under the name Passengers, U2 and Brian Eno made the album 'Original Soundtracks 1' in 1995, which is back in the record bins on Record Store Day, including two bonus tracks.
This edition features over 40 releases from the Netherlands and Belgium, a record. From Baldwin (pseudonym for Boudewijn de Groot) comes 'The Land at Rainbow's End', released in England in 1967, better known here as 'Het Land van Maas en Waal'. Additionally, the list includes more sought-after 7-inch singles, such as 'Ademnood' by Linda, Roos en Jessica and 'Twee Motten' by Dorus. There is also a triptych titled 'Leve Het Levenslied' by Tante Leen, Johnny Jordaan, and Willy Alberti, and the 4CD box set 'Behind The Dykes' full of unique Nederbeat singles from the period 1964-1972, and a Best of Samson & Gert is being released.
Record Store Day Netherlands' own label, RSD Records, is releasing seven special releases. Ambassador DI-RECT is releasing the 'Record Store Day Special 12” Sphinx Clubtour Live', featuring five live songs recorded at various Dutch venues. Additionally, the 'Park Symfonie' by the Efteling For the first time on vinyl, Sven 'Hammond' Figee releases a double LP of the soundtrack for 'De Wilde Noordzee', composed by him.
DI-RECT is the Dutch ambassador for Record Store Day this year and Pommelien Thijs is fulfilling that wonderful role for Belgium! Especially for this occasion, an exclusive split-single (7?) is being released, which will be available for free on April 12 for the first 6.000 RSD customers in the Benelux. So be quick!
Record Store Day is the international celebration of record stores. A unique day that takes place in record stores all over the world. Exclusive releases appear that are only available in participating stores. Many retail spaces also transform into stages for one day for intimate performances and signing sessions. On Saturday, April 12, Record Store Day will be celebrated in the Netherlands for the sixteenth time.
Bhutan (1973)
In 1973, Bhutan released a series of singing stamps. The stamps were tiny vinyl records that you could actually play. The music consisted mainly of traditional folk songs. The stamps, issued in 1973 in a set of seven, are miniature records. Just one side of the record and you play it like a single-sided 33 rpm record, simply on a standard turntable. The mini-record could be used just like a stamp. You peeled off the backing paper and stuck them onto an envelope or postcard. The record featured the national anthem and Bhutanese folk songs, and even included a short history lesson about the country. The lyrics were in English and in Dzongkha, the official language of the kingdom.
Initially, these singing stamps were considered vulgar and tasteless. Not a single collector was interested in them, and philatelists certainly weren't. But when the stamps were first listed in the collectors' bible, Scott's Standard Postage Stamp Catalog, this slowly began to change. Initially, a set in mint condition was valued at a few tens of dollars. But besides stamp collectors, there are, of course, also vinyl collectors. And these singing stamps were very popular among record collectors. Particularly in the US, people are crazy about these special vinyl records, and they are traded extensively. They are true collector's items. These records are regularly for sale on eBay, and they are also offered on Discogs. Some go for hundreds of dollars, and their value is likely only increasing.
The singing stamps are, incidentally, an invention of the American adventurer Burt Todd, who was born in 1924 into a wealthy steel-producing family from Pittsburgh. During his studies in Oxford, he met Ashi Kesang Choden-Dorfi, the future queen of Bhutan. In 1951, she invited Todd to Bhutan for her wedding to King Jigme Dorji-Wangchuck. In the late 50s, the King of Bhutan asked Todd to help Bhutan secure a loan of 10 million dollars. The World Bank refused to provide a loan. And another method was found: the issuance of stamps. If you sell a lot of stamps, you will eventually reach that 10 million dollars. Fundraising avant la lettre! Initially, rather standard stamps were issued. But to sell well, things had to get a bit wilder, and numerous unusual designs passed in review. The singing stamps were the crowning achievement of Todd's work. You can read an extensive story about these stamps in this link with audio clips:
https://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-curious-tale-of-bhutans-playable-record-postage-stamps/
Listen to the singing record: https://youtu.be/4YcNWKsEl_M
Listen to the singing record: https://youtu.be/dVVhzO2Rst8
Spain (2020)
In commemoration of the 250th birthday (December 16, 1770) of Ludwig van Beethoven In Bonn, the Spanish Post has issued a round sheet, printed on sturdy paper and in the shape of a vinyl record. When you place it on a record player, you hear the Fifth Symphony in C minor, Op. 67, performed by the Madrid Festival Orchestra, conducted by Albert Skuratov.
Belgium (2022)
The life story of the Brussels jazz musician and composer Toots Thielemans captures the imagination. Born in the Brussels working-class district of Marolles, he is also forever linked to this city. We summarize Toots' life in this stamp issue.
A combination of two photos, a young Toots with a guitar and an older Toots with a harmonica, showing the richness of this artist, also as a person.
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The sheet is shaped like a vinyl single and comes in a record sleeve made up entirely of photos showcasing the rich life of Toots Thielemans.
Switzerland (2014)
The Swiss Post has issued a special record stamp measuring 168 × 137 millimeters. This stamp features a special coating on which a piece of music is printed on the “record” section of the cardboard souvenir sheet. There is a hole in the center of the round stamp. When the round, stamp-ready stamp is removed from the souvenir sheet and placed on a record player, it plays a brass band version of the Swiss national anthem at 33 rpm.
The time at which your response becomes visible may vary by language and take up to 24 hours.