What is Record Store Day, and how is Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' involved?

Record Store Day, an annual, worldwide event, will be Saturday, April 20. How might the release of Taylor Swift's new album, "The Tortured Poets Department," the day before be involved?

Record Store Day — or RSD — began in 2007 when a group of independent record store owners and employees sought a way to recognize and celebrate independently-owned record stores across the world, according to the Record Store Day website. The event officially kicked off the following year on April 19, 2008.

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Is Taylor Swift participating in Record Store Day 2024?

It's possible Taylor Swift might have a hand in this year's Record Store Day, which directly follows the release of her new album, "The Tortured Poets Department."

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Each year since 2009, Record Store Day has been supported by a "Record Store Day Ambassador," a musical group or artist who represents and speaks on the event. This year's ambassadors are the group Paramore, who announced their ambassador appointment on social media.

In 2022, which marked the 15th anniversary of Record Store Day, Taylor Swift served as the Record Store Day Ambassador, according to the website.

Swift's relationship with Record Store Day is also evident from her history of RSD Exclusives and First Releases, which have included special versions of "the lakes" and "folklore: the long pond studio sessions."

The best clue of Swift's possible involvement in this year's Record Store Day is found in a video the artist posted across social media platforms earlier this week captioned "The TTPD Timetable." The video zooms in on a calendar, showing Friday, labeled "THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT RELEASE DAY."

But Swifties, notorious for seeking "Easter eggs" in Swift's content, were quick to point out that if paused at the right time, the video revealed Saturday's calendar entry. It reads simply, "record store day!"

As of April 19, it looks like fans might be right.

Record stores in U.S. cities have announced that a limited number of Record Store Day customers purchasing "The Tortured Poets Department" on vinyl will receive a special note from Swift.

While "The Tortured Poets Department" isn't an official RSD 2024 release, lucky fans who snap up Swift's latest release will receive a limited-edition printed card with a note from the singer, writes The Tennessean. The note reads:

"Happy Record Store Day!! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for welcoming The Tortured Poets Department into your vinyl collection and your life.

It's my goal to create a memento you'll want to keep forever, and I hope you'll feel that with every turn of the page of the lyric book, every secret thought poured into this work. It's an honor to be able to trust you with my feelings.

Love, Taylor"

Find a record store near you for RSD

You can find the full list of Ohio stores participating in Record Store Day on the RSD website, including five in or near Cincinnati, nine in the Columbus area, and five others near Akron and Canton.

While participating record stores in Ohio have yet to announce they're carrying the album and note, it's possible they still could.

Stores participating in Record Store Day typically sell their normal inventory alongside the special and limited RSD releases.

What to know about shopping Record Store Day

Participating record stores offer a variety of reasons to stop by each year. Festivities vary, but performances, cookouts, artist meet-and-greets and DJs are all possibilities when it comes to Record Store Day, according to its website.

Stores also offer products made specially for Record Store Day, such as unique vinyl and CD releases, as well as a variety of promotional items.

There are three categories of these special releases, according to the Record Store Day website.

• Exclusives, which are released only at independent record stores
• RSD First, which debut on Record Store Day only at independent record stores, but are later available elsewhere
• Small Run/Regional Titles, which are either released only at certain regional locations, or are press runs under 1,000.

Why is Record Store Day important?

Record Store Day is an opportunity to highlight the connection independent record stores, and vinyl more generally, can build.

"This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store — the staff, the customers, and the artists — to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role they play in their communities," the Record Store Day website said.