Among the many issues that came up at last week’s Record Store Day’s Summer Camp at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, escalating vinyl prices and the list of Record Store Day (RSD) releases were some of the most talked-about.

But first came a celebration of RSD itself. Giving credit where credit is due, Carrie Colliton, director of marketing for the Dept. of Record Stores/Record Store Day — who served as the conference’s emcee, introducing panels during the four-day-event — began a Record Store Day town hall by acknowledging that in creating RSD, “we changed the world for the better.”

But she acknowledged that the RSD list, how many titles are on it and those titles’ allocations remain key issues for store owners. “We used to have a list of about 500 titles, but feedback said that was too many titles, so nowadays we have about 350 titles,” in the U.S., she said. She added that most store owners feel that’s the right number, as it allows the list to include titles that appeal to all kinds of music fans and age demographics. 

In putting together the list, the RSD folk said they consult with key retailers — about 10 or 12 stores who remain anonymous — and ask them if submitted titles should be accepted for the day, and if so, how many should be produced. “So it’s not labels, but retailers, picking the list,” Colliton said.

On how many copies of RSD titles are produced, “allocations will never be perfect,” she said. “All kinds of things happen on allocations. We down know if an artist will break in between the setting of the number of units and when RSD happens. Other things can happen, we can say press 2,000 but we may only get 1,724 because the manager wants 75 copies and some records are damaged; or things get lost on a truck. We are doing our best to make it a seamless process as possible, but it will never be perfect.”

Besides, said Andrea Paschal, executive director of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS), while “there may be some titles that are severely underproduced, the exclusivity on titles is important. If everyone gets everything they want on that day, it will reduce the importance of it.”

Colliton added that while some merchants may not like it when a title only has an exclusive window for RSD and then allows more copies to be manufactured at a later date, they should be respectful of artists who have staff, with a huge payroll to finance.

Rising Prices and Tariff Troubles

Speaking of economics, pricing was on the minds of worried store owners, as the last two or three years have seen steadily escalating vinyl prices. On top of that, more price hikes appear to be on the horizon, thanks to the current U.S. administration’s tariff rollouts targeting countries around the world. It was noted that while vinyl records and CDs may not be impacted because they are exempt from tariffs, the ingredients that help make finished commercial vinyl records and CDs will be hit by tariffs, meaning price increases will be an ongoing issue.

Vinyl Alliance general manager Ryan Mitrovich said the reality is that with vinyl record prices rising, “Our research shows consumers are still buying — but they are buying less.” Aleah Tucker, owner of Buffalo, Minn., record store Indie Earth, added “We are seeing customers that used to buy three or four records every week, but now they are only buying one or two records — or they are coming to the store less often.”

Another move customers are making to offset vinyl pricing is switching to buying CDs, as noted by a few retailers in the audience. In fact, Mike Fratt, who surveyed indie store owners after Record Store Day and received 61 responses when he presented the results of his research, noted that with ever-increasing vinyl pricing, CDs are holding their own.

For over 10 years, CDs sales have been declining, according to RIAA data, but in 2023 the configuration appears to have finally hit the bottom, with 2024 showing a slight upswing.

During his data presentation, Luminate director of partnerships Chris Muratore noted that pricing is a factor by age. For the younger demo, $29 is an optimal price point for vinyl records, while older demos’ optimal price point is $34, he reported. When prices are above that, it begins to impact sales, he said.

Moreover, escalating prices are having an impact on album variants — releases that come out in multiple colors, or with multiple covers, or with multiple different tracks, or combinations of those strategies. For one, all the variants are making it difficult for retailers to stock the proper amount of each version of albums — not to mention tying up more of their inventory spend, it was acknowledged. One retailer in the audience noted that as vinyl goes up in price, customers are becoming more selective, while another said it’s a myth that customers will buy more than one copy of an album with a lot of variances. “Unless it’s Taylor Swift,” another merchant added.

Additionally, some customers tend not to buy albums on their street date but wait for the deluxe version later on — a trend owing to the common practice of releasing a deluxe version of an album months after its initial release date. In the meantime, they get their music fix for that release online, it was pointed out.

A History of Indie Retail Resilience

As part of the gathering’s Wednesday morning general session, Concord’s Donna Ross and Adam Abramson, a consultant for music streaming and commercial sales and marketing, recounted the history of the trials and tribulations of indie retail. They kicked off the segment with Chumbawamba’s “Tub Thumping” — a song that boasts the famous lyrics, “I get knocked down but I get up again” — which would be employed throughout, after each retail challenge was described.

Ross began the history lesson by reminding the audience that early on, with the emergence of home taping from radio, the big worry was no one would buy music again. But cassette tapes soon became a new album format, albeit one with the unfortunate quality of being small and thus easy to steal, requiring them to be locked up. 

In the 1990s, the labels began to see used CDs as the problem and threatened to withhold co-op advertising — typically a $1–$2 wholesale discount per copy in exchange for prominent in-store placement, like end-caps, instead of burying the title in a bin, as well as helping to pay for the album’s advertising in local media. Some labels even considered suing stores that sold secondhand discs, Abramson recalled.

Ross added that when Garth Brooks came out and said he would no longer allow his music to be sold to stores that carried used CDs, Music Millennium led indie retail’s pushback with a “Garth-a-cue” of Brooks’ records in front of the Capital Records building in Los Angeles. “Indie stores won that battle,” Ross said.

The next problem became big-box retailers like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Circuit City selling CDs as loss leaders, Abramson recounted. “At first, indie stores combatted that by going to those stores and buying” their stock from them instead of ordering from labels, he said. That got the labels’ attention and “eventually the labels got on board by initiating minimum advertising price policies.”

Indie stores’ problems didn’t end there. “Next came digital piracy and CD burning; and soon the iPod and iTunes with their 99 cents songs threatened indie stores allowing fans to carry a million songs in their pocket,” Abramson said, with Ross adding, and “soon came along streaming with all the music you can eat for the price of a [CD] album.”

But indie stores survived that, along with new challenges like the inauguration of the Friday street date, which eliminated a big mid-week [Tuesday] revenue day for store owners, Abramson said. However, the latest problem, Ross pointed out, is the direct-to-consumer trend among labels and artists, which cannibalizes sales from stores — especially when an album like Taylor’s Swift’s The Tortured Poet’s Department is offered directly to fans at the same wholesale prices offered to stores, as one audience member pointed out.

Not only has indie retail survived its many challenges — which includes real estate rent pricing, as the duo noted — they’ve actually thrived, and even expanded their footprint.

One of the things that helped indie retail was the formation of coalitions, Ross said. In fact, the Coalition of Music Stores (CIMS) is celebrating its 30th anniversary, as promotions strategically placed around the hotel noted (other coalitions were in attendance at the conference too). Finally, Abramson noted that the creation of RSD “changed the culture and gave stores the biggest [sales] day of the year.” It also gives indie stores a voice within the industry, Ross added.

Records as Ritual: Rundgren’s Philosophy on Music

A highlight of the Wednesday summer camp schedule came with a conversation with legendary artist/record producer Todd Rundgren, conducted by music and entertainment author Paul Myers, who wrote biographies on the BareNaked Ladies, Long John Baldry, and John Candy, as well as a book looking back over Rundgren’s career, entitled A Wizard a True Star: Todd Rungren In The Studio. For the last five years or so, Myers has also been the host of the weekly Record Store Day podcast, which the RSD website describes as an “informative, record store-centric interview show featuring conversations with great guests talking about records, record stores and experiences in the physical retail space.” Notably, the RSD podcast features “theme music and selected interstitial music” composed by Myers.

The conversation with Rundgren — who has produced, among other things, Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell album, Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re An American Band,” and albums for XTC and the New York Dolls — began with the producer’s observation that he views “records as a word separate from the media they are on. You don’t have music until you put it on the turntable [and play it.] Otherwise, all you have is plastic and cardboard.”

Later, the conversation moved beyond the studio, with Myers asking whether Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell was meant as a parody of Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run. He quickly followed that with the question: “How did you make a pop star out of Meat Loaf?”

Rundgren responded that to his mind, since some of Meat Loaf’s songs composed by Jim Steinman were seven minutes long, “it was” a parody of Springsteen. To that, he added, “I’m convinced it was the key to the record’s success.”

As to how Meat Loaf became a pop star, Rundgren said that was a long road, noting it took the Meat camp six months to find a label to release the record because “no one wanted to put it out” — at least not until Cleveland International and the late Steve Popovich came along. “Steve wouldn’t give up on the record,” Rundgren said, adding that another big help was that Meat Loaf “toured relentlessly” to promote the record.

Chance the Rapper has announced a new North American tour in support of his upcoming album, Star Line.

Chance revealed the 15-city trek on Monday (Aug. 11) via Instagram, noting that these dates were intended exclusively for his biggest supporters. The tour will kick off in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 26 before stopping in major cities including Atlanta, New York and his hometown of Chicago before wrapping up in Los Angeles on Oct. 20.

“How about a quick tour for my closest fans?” Chance wrote alongside the dates.

The tour announcement coincides with Chance gearing up to release his new album, Star Line, on Aug. 15. In July, he dropped the project’s lead single, “Tree,” which featured Lil Wayne and Smino.

Per a press release, Star Line will follow “Chance’s global journey, artistically, spiritually and physically over the past six years. Created with longtime producer DexLvL and shaped by travels to Ghana, Jamaica, and art fairs around the world, Star Line blends hip-hop, soul and experimental sounds with lyrical meditations on identity, resilience and legacy.”

The statement continued: “While Chance has circled the globe in search of new perspectives, the project remains grounded in the worldview that has always defined his art: a deep, unshakable connection to Chicago and to Black culture across the diaspora.”

Chance the Rapper’s sophomore album comes six years after his debut The Big Day, which sported massive features from Death Cab for Cutie, John Legend, Megan Thee Stallion, Gucci Mane, Nicki Minaj and more.

Check out the full list of dates for Chance’s new tour below:

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There’s a lot going on in the Taylor Swift fandom right now. Though the pop star has been keeping out of the spotlight in recent months, the internet is swimming with theories that she’s about to make her comeback — and she just might make the big announcement on boyfriend Travis Kelce‘s podcast.

It all started Monday morning (Aug. 11), when New Heights — the podcast hosted by the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and his brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce — posted an image on X teasing its special guest for this week’s episode. In the photo, the two NFL stars smile on either side of a blacked-out silhouette, which Swifties think happens to look a lot like a certain 14-time Grammy winner.

“92%ers, we’re coming back early for a special episode with a VERY special guest,” reads the photo’s caption, which notes that the episode will drop on Aug. 13, coinciding with Swift’s favorite number.

The New Heights teaser image also features a glittery orange background, aligning with long-held fan theories that Swift’s next album will have an orange theme. Plus, Jason appears to be wearing an Eras Tour T-shirt.

But if those apparent Easter eggs weren’t enough to get Swifties riled up, the message Taylor Nation posted just 12 minutes later definitely was. Sharing four images of the musician on stage at past Eras shows, wearing the color — you guessed it — orange in each one, the official fan account wrote, “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…’”

Fueling the fire, Taylor Nation quickly followed that post up with two additional batches of four orange-themed Eras outfits in the replies, amounting to 12 pictures total. (Following 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department, Swift’s next album would be the 12th in her discography.)

With all of that in mind, Swifties are absolutely losing their minds at the possibility that the singer has new music coming soon. “glittery orange background, taylor nation posted 12 minutes after new heights, the silhouette is shaped like taylor, Jason in eras merch, a ‘VERY’ special guest…… what if she announces ts12 on Wednesday the 13th ON NEW HEIGHTS…..,” one person wrote on X.

“TS12 IS ACTUALLY COMING THIS IS NOT A DRILL WHATS THE PROCEDURE!!” another excited fan posted.

“travis looking to his left with his Taylor Smile, jason wearing merch, i can see the bangs from a mile away……but most importantly, the background…, added a third Swiftie. “ts12 confirmed to be orange alert the troops.”

Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.

Fans have been waiting to see what the musician will do next ever since the Eras Tour wrapped in December, tying a glittery bow on Swift’s first two decades making music. Pulling in more than $2 billion in worldwide grosses, the trek went down in history as the highest earning tour of all time.

And though Swift has never had trouble outdoing herself, her past few projects have left expectations quite high. Her 2022 album, Midnights, won album of the year at the Grammys — making the hitmaker the first artist to ever win the prize four times — while Tortured Poets spent 17 weeks atop the Billboard 200, the third-longest No. 1 run of any album in chart history.

This week, Jordan Davis pairs with Marcus King for a guitar-driven ode to Davis’s homestate, while BigXthaPlug and Ella Langley team up for an acerbic song that meditates on revengeful karma. Chase McDaniel offers up a deep-cutting portrayal of generational trauma on “My Side of the Family,” and folk singer Mon Rovia gives a stark assessment of current political narratives and greed on “Heavy Foot.”

Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of some of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.

Jordan Davis with Marcus King, “Louisiana Stick”

Jordan Davis and Americana stalwart Marcus King pair up on this swampy, churning collab, which Davis wrote with Paul DiGiovanni, Chase McGill and Ashley Gorley. The song centers on a potential lover intent on enticing someone who found big cities in California and New York underwhelming to try out the sights of moonlit cypress trees in Louisiana, with its swamplands and sounds of Zydeco. King’s fierce harmonies and ferocious, bluesy guitar riffs up the ante here, while the track also showcases Davis’ vocal range and highlights a rock-oriented side to Davis’s warm, conversational vocal tone, one not always as readily apparent on his slate of more tender country hits.

BigXthaPlug feat. Ella Langley, “Hell at Night“

BigXthaPlug teams up with “You Look Like You Love Me” hitmaker Ella Langley for a gritty country-rap mesh about hoping that karma takes revenge on a troublesome ex-lover. Langley’s smoky twang balances BigX’s powerful rapped verses, highlighted by lines like “I hope you hear me every time you play a song / I hope you meet the right person but y’all never get along.” Together, their vocal interplay encapsulates both the sad heartbreak and the betrayal-fueled anger of a jilted lover.

Chase McDaniel, “My Side of the Family”

Chase McDaniel issues one of his most introspective songs to date, addressing generational trauma and his hopes that his family’s legacy doesn’t include addictions and short tempers passed down to another generation. “Do I got those same demons running in my blood?” he ponders, his voice crackling with vulnerability, his song laced with fiddle, guitar and banjo. “Is loving me dangerous?” he later questions, shaping a clear-eyed description of his hopes of having a son, but also his fear that his son might take after his family’s history of self-destructive inclinations. In releasing one of his most unshielded songs, he’s welcoming in a wave of listeners to face their own fears surrounding fatherhood and legacy.

Mon Rovia, “Heavy Foot”

Mon Rovia, who recently made his Grand Ole Opry debut, confronts greedy governments, gun violence and hunger on “Heavy Foot,” blending folk lyrics and stylings to form an anthem of strength and resistance. At first, the song’s steely lyrics contrast with a sprightly melody and upbeat acoustic guitar rhythm, but by the end, his lyrics mesh into proud defiance, as he declares, “They never gonna keep us all down.”

Ashley Monroe, Tennessee Lightning

Ashley Monroe’s new album, Tennessee Lightning, traverses a range of sounds, from free-wheeling country-rock to pensive, acoustic numbers and even a Southern gospel song, as she welcomes a collective of friends and musical cohorts including Marty Stuart, Waylon Payne and Brendan Benson. She explores sultry R&B-tinged pop on “Bitter Swisher Sweet” with Brittney Spencer, infuses gospel-tinged harmonies on “I’m Gonna Run” with T Bone Burnett, and offers an enticing take on Leonard Cohen’s “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” Throughout, her signature dusky vocal leads listeners through a complex tapestry of sounds, rummaging through styles and genres, without ever abandoning her musical core. Co-produced by Monroe and engineer/producer Gena Johnson, this project further evinces Monroe’s vulnerable songwriting and free-spirited innovation.

Ryan Larkins, “If Heaven Had a Mailbox”

Singer-songwriter Ryan Larkins has already proven he knows how to craft a sturdy country song, as a writer on songs like the Cody Johnson-recorded “The Painter,” the Bill Anderson/Dolly Parton duet “Someday It’ll All Make Sense” and his own “King of Country Music.” He returns with a tender ode to loved ones who have passed on. Steeped in traditional country sounds, this song feels timeless, as he ponders what it would be like if there were a direct line of communication with loved ones in heaven. “I’d be writing nonstop, sending up an airmail every day/ Up there to a gold street,” he sings. As ’80s and ’90s country sounds continue making a comeback, Larkins’s conversational singing style and solid song craft put him in a prime position for breakthrough success.