Taylor Swift, who helped spark a resurgence in vinyl sales, has been named the first-ever global ambassador of Record Store Day.
“The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me,” the singer said, in a statement.
“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.”
Independent record stores have been hit hard by the pandemic, Swift noted, so “we need to support these small businesses more now than ever to make sure they can stay alive, stay eccentric, and stay individual.”
Swift showed her support in 2020 when she sent indie retailers signed vinyl editions of her albums folklore and evermore. Last year, she released vinyl editions of Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version).
“It’s been a true joy for me to watch vinyl sales grow in the past few years,” she said, “and we, the artists, have the fans to thank for this pleasant surprise.”
This year’s Record Store Day is April 23.