Alliance Entertainment Powers Record Store Day 2025 as Premier Distributor of Exclusive Vinyl Releases

Rhea-AI Summary

Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ: AENT) announces its key role in Record Store Day 2025, planning to distribute approximately 650,000 units of exclusive vinyl releases to over 1,500 independent retailers nationwide - an 8.3% increase from 2024. The distribution will be managed through their 867,000 sq. ft. Shepherdsville, KY facility.

The company's AMPED Distribution will release 67 unique Record Store Day titles with over 100,000 units, featuring artists like MJ Lenderman, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and Anderson.Paak. The event, scheduled for April 12, 2025, comes amid strong industry growth, with RIAA reporting vinyl sales reaching 24.3 million units in H1 2024, up 10.7% year-over-year, valued at $739.9 million (+17%).

Insights

Retail Distribution Expert

Alliance Entertainment's operational scaling for Record Store Day 2025 demonstrates meaningful volume growth with 650,000 units ready for distribution—an 8.3% increase over 2024. Their 867,000 sq. ft. Shepherdsville facility equipped with proprietary sorting technology appears positioned to handle this specialized logistics challenge efficiently.

The distribution operation highlights AENT's competitive advantage in the physical media space through specialized infrastructure. Their AutoStore technology and vinyl sortation machines enable the rapid, accurate delivery of 330 exclusive releases to over 1,500 independent retailers nationwide. This specialized capability becomes increasingly valuable as physical media distribution consolidates to fewer major players.

What's particularly notable is AENT's vertical integration through their AMPED Distribution arm, which is independently producing 67 unique titles totaling 100,000 units for the event. This dual position as both distributor and content provider strengthens their value proposition in the vinyl ecosystem.

While this single event doesn't provide sufficient context to evaluate overall financial impact, the operational execution demonstrates AENT's entrenched position within a resilient physical media niche. With vinyl sales increasing 10.7% year-over-year according to RIAA data, AENT appears well-positioned to capitalize on continued demand for premium physical formats in an otherwise digital-dominated media landscape.

Music Industry Analyst

Alliance's expanded role in Record Store Day 2025 reveals two significant trends: the continued vinyl resurgence and the evolution of physical media into premium collectibles. With the RIAA reporting vinyl sales reaching $739.9 million in H1 2024 (up 17% YoY), this format has successfully transformed from nostalgia play to premium product category.

What's particularly striking is the demographic shift mentioned—artists like Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Gracie Abrams, and Laufey driving demand signals that vinyl has successfully crossed generational boundaries. This younger consumer adoption represents the holy grail for physical media: attracting digital natives to tangible products through exclusivity and collectibility.

Alliance's tight relationship with over 1,500 independent retailers positions them at a critical junction between manufacturers and the specialized retail environment where vinyl thrives. Unlike mass-market physical media, vinyl benefits from the curated, high-touch retail experience that independent stores provide—a symbiotic relationship that strengthens Alliance's market position.

The 8.3% unit growth for this event aligns with broader industry trends but doesn't significantly exceed them. While Alliance clearly maintains a dominant position in vinyl distribution, this announcement represents continued execution rather than market-moving acceleration. The ability to process and distribute 650,000 specialized units efficiently does demonstrate operational excellence in a niche that requires specialized handling and distribution expertise.

Company expects to ship approx. 650,000 units to independent retailers nationwide — an 8.3% increase over 2024

PLANTATION, Fla., April 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AENT), a premier distributor and fulfillment partner of entertainment and pop culture collectibles, is proud to announce its pivotal role in the success of this year's upcoming Record Store Day, solidifying its position once again as the preferred partner for the distribution of exclusive vinyl releases. This year's event will see Alliance Entertainment shipping approximately 650,000 units of exclusive Record Store Day titles, an 8.3% increase over 2024, to the more than 1500 participating independent music retailers across the United States. 

Shipments for Record Store Day 2025, taking place on April 12, 2025, have already commenced from Alliance Entertainment’s state-of-the-art 867,000 sq. ft. Shepherdsville, KY Distribution Center. Using its proprietary vinyl sortation machines and advanced AutoStore technology, Alliance Entertainment enables rapid and accurate deliveries, empowering retailers to prepare for the big day. 

“Alliance Entertainment takes much pride in our ability to quickly manage and deliver the more than 330 exclusive releases, compiling more than 650,000 units for Record Store Day 2025,” said Ken Glaser, Senior Vice President of Sales at Alliance Entertainment.   “Our independent record store business is a critical part of our overall business, and we are excited to see the growth within this class of trade continue year over year.  More retailers continue to expand their vinyl offering and more and more record stores are opening around the country.” 

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), vinyl record sales in the U.S. reached 24.3 million units in the first half of 2024, representing a 10.7% increase year-over-year. The total value of these sales rose by 17% to $739.9 million during that period. This growth highlights the ongoing resurgence of vinyl in the U.S. and reinforces the importance of premium, collectible physical formats — a category where Alliance Entertainment plays a dominant role.

“This data reaffirms what we’re seeing on the ground. Vinyl isn’t just nostalgic — it’s premium, collectible, and increasingly mainstream,” added Glaser.

Michael Kurtz, Co-Founder of Record Store Day, stated, “With the explosion in the number of Record Store Day records being manufactured and shipped, it is extremely comforting to see Alliance's investment and commitment to distributing physical products. Even though we've had seventeen solid years of growth, we are pretty confident this year's Record Store Day will be our best.”

Record Store Day has once again proven to be a significant event for music lovers and independent record stores alike. This year, the spotlight shines brightly on female artists as some of the most sought-after titles for Record Store Day 2025.  Artists including Taylor Swift, Charli XCX, Gracie Abrams, and Laufey have captivated the Record Store Day demand. This is a welcome development for independent record stores as it has shown the industry’s commitment and success in attracting a younger generation of consumers, who have grown to embrace the vinyl format.  The efforts of record stores and record labels alike have successfully attracted a younger and more diverse generation of music enthusiasts, not only on Record Store Day, but throughout the year.

Alliance Entertainment’s own AMPED Distribution will also play a major role in the 2025 event, releasing 67 unique Record Store Day titles with over 100,000 units made for the day.  Key artist releases include MJ Lenderman (Anti), Rainbow Kitten Surprise aka RKS (RKS Recordings) and Anderson.Paak (Empire).  AMPED distributed labels will also release classic artists including Tom Waits (Anti) and Tesla (Tesla Electric Co).

Record Store Day continues to captivate new generations of music lovers and collectors, and independent record stores will host a variety of exciting events to mark the special occasion.  Many stores will feature live performances, raffles, exclusive sales, and other fun activities within their stores and throughout their communities.  These events not only celebrate music but also highlight the vibrant and resilient spirit of independent record stores.

“Alliance Entertainment’s commitment to delivering Record Store Day exclusive products and supporting the independent retail community remains unwavering,” said Glaser.  “We are thrilled to continue to play a crucial role in the distribution of this content to record stores, helping to create memorable experiences for music lovers everywhere.”

About Alliance Entertainment
Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ: AENT) is a premier distributor and fulfillment partner for the entertainment and pop culture collectibles industry. With more than 325,000 unique in-stock SKUs — including over 57,300 exclusive titles across compact discs, vinyl LPs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games — Alliance offers the largest selection of physical media in the market. Our vast catalog also includes licensed merchandise, toys, retro gaming products, and collectibles, serving over 35,000 retail locations and powering e-commerce fulfillment for leading retailers. Leveraging decades of operational expertise, exclusive licensing partnerships, and a capital-light, scalable infrastructure, Alliance is a trusted partner to the world’s top entertainment brands and retailers. Our omnichannel platform connects collectors and fans to the products, franchises, and experiences they love — across formats and generations. For more information, visit www.aent.com.

Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this Press Release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding estimates and forecasts of other financial and performance metrics and projections of market opportunity. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether identified in this Press Release, and on the current expectations of Alliance’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Alliance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to the anticipated growth rates and market opportunities; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the ability of Alliance to execute its business model, including market acceptance of its systems and related services; Alliance’s reliance on a concentration of suppliers for its products and services; increases in Alliance’s costs, disruption of supply, or shortage of products and materials; Alliance’s dependence on a concentration of customers, and failure to add new customers or expand sales to Alliance’s existing customers; increased Alliance inventory and risk of obsolescence; Alliance’s significant amount of indebtedness; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness; our ability to continue as a going concern absent access to sources of liquidity; risks and failure by Alliance to meet the covenant requirements of its revolving credit facility, including a fixed charge coverage ratio; risks that a breach of the revolving credit facility, including Alliance’s recent breach of the covenant requirements, could result in the lender declaring a default and that the full outstanding amount under the revolving credit facility could be immediately due in full, which would have severe adverse consequences for the Company; known or future litigation and regulatory enforcement risks, including the diversion of time and attention and the additional costs and demands on Alliance’s resources; Alliance’s business being adversely affected by increased inflation, higher interest rates and other adverse economic, business, and/or competitive factors; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; risk that the COVID-19 pandemic, and local, state, and federal responses to addressing the pandemic may have an adverse effect on our business operations, as well as our financial condition and results of operations; substantial regulations, which are evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by Alliance to comply with these regulations; product liability claims, which could harm Alliance’s financial condition and liquidity if Alliance is not able to successfully defend or insure against such claims; availability of additional capital to support business growth; and the inability of Alliance to develop and maintain effective internal controls.

For investor inquiries, please contact:
Dave Gentry, CEO
RedChip Companies, Inc.
1-407-644-4256
AENT@redchip.com

FAQ

How many exclusive vinyl units will Alliance Entertainment (AENT) distribute for Record Store Day 2025?

Alliance Entertainment will distribute approximately 650,000 units of exclusive vinyl releases for Record Store Day 2025, representing an 8.3% increase from 2024.

What is the current growth rate of vinyl sales according to RIAA's latest data for AENT's market?

According to RIAA, vinyl sales grew 10.7% year-over-year to 24.3 million units in H1 2024, with sales value increasing 17% to $739.9 million.

How many Record Store Day exclusive titles will AENT's AMPED Distribution release in 2025?

AMPED Distribution will release 67 unique Record Store Day titles with over 100,000 units for the 2025 event.

When is Record Store Day 2025 and how many retailers will AENT supply?

Record Store Day 2025 is scheduled for April 12, 2025, with AENT supplying over 1,500 participating independent music retailers across the United States.