In the past few years since I started writing Record Store, it’s grown to be many things—not just music, but culture and internet and also a diary for me. It’s been incredibly rewarding to write for you, and hopefully show you some stuff you didn’t know about before.
But something I’ve always struggled with is engagement and feedback from readers. I know I’m guilty of reading a newsletter and feeling like I connected with the writer, but ultimately not choosing to comment. Usually, I have nothing to say.
Flipping that perspective, as a writer I can sometimes feel like writing is shouting into the void, even though I know people are enjoying the newsletter. I really want to create a closer community around Record Store, because I know that’s what motivates me—when someone tells me they’ve discovered a new artist through the newsletter, or it made them think about something deeply, or even that they enjoyed listening to the playlist.
Starting today, you can sign up for the Playlister Tier, a premium subscription that includes a Currently subscription and two playlists per year, made just for you. I really enjoy writing, but I also want to do more curation. Here are some examples of playlists I’ve made for friends:
I would love to make you a playlist! There are still some logistical matters I need to work out (when to make them, how to communicate with Playlisters, how long, how I’ll label them, where I’ll keep them in my ever-expanding playlist filing system) but I’m going to gauge interest before I get into any of that nonsense.
A note about pricing: I’ve set the price per year to be sliding at the moment, because I don’t know exactly how much to charge for this kind of service. Let me know if you have thoughts in the comments.