We had a quick chat with one of our wonderful judges - Natasha from Resident Records - who had some inspirational and encouraging  words to enter the competition, as well as some strong things to say regarding physical product.

 

"I'm really excited to be a judge on this year's RSDUnsigned panel - although I have to say I do hate the word & prospect of "judging" music. One listener's harmony is another listener's hell & vice versa. I have no idea what to expect & no idea what kind of record I'm likely to be drawn to. My musical ears are very much open to absolutely anything.

 

Nothing beats listening to music on a physical format. CD or vinyl. I'm not fussy. I just like to look through my shelves, see what takes my fancy & listen to an album in its entirety. Sure, I spend a lot of time in front of a computer these days & use streaming services for ease & convenience but it feels like you're only getting half the story. Like you only read the beginning & end chapters & skimmed over the rest of the book. When you then hear the same album on a physical format you realise what the artist / producer / mixer / label wanted you to hear & you feel like you cheated the artist. So I never judge an album before I've heard it as it was really meant to be heard. I also can't feel connected to a digital file. I need to own, touch & be in contact with the music I love. It's the same for our customers & all the time we are feeling like this, there will be a demand for physical product.

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I would like the industry not to give up on CDs. I realise Record Store Day itself is almost exclusively about vinyl as that was the story it set out with but there's still a strong demand for CD out there & all too often this isn't being addressed or fulfilled so customers are being forced to give up on them. My concern is that they then give up on buying physical altogether as not many of those customers are now moving over to buying vinyl instead.

The Sound Performance partnership allows the winner to have their record pressed to vinyl which is an incredible prize. Artists get excited about their release being available on streaming platforms & downloads but there's nothing like holding a copy of your precious work in your hand. The fruits of your labour on wax. We'll quite often get artists experiencing the physical version of their release for the first time in the shop & the reaction is always magical. Imagine how that will feel for an unsigned artist."