Alliance Entertainment Plays Key Role in Historic Record Store Day
PLANTATION, Fla., April 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:AENT), a premier distributor and omnichannel fulfillment partner to the entertainment and pop culture collectibles industry, supplying more than 340,000 unique SKUs across music, video, video games, licensed merchandise, and exclusive collectibles to over 35,000 retail and e-commerce storefronts, played a central role in the success of this year's Record Store Day, shipping more than 700,000 units to over 1,500 independent music retailers across the United States—an increase of nearly 8% compared to Record Store Day 2025—during what was the largest Record Store Day release slate to date.
For the first time in Record Store Day's history, more than one million units were pressed for the event, reflecting continued growth in consumer demand for vinyl and significantly increased complexity across the physical music supply chain. Alliance's ability to support retailers at this scale highlights the company's operational depth and readiness for high-volume, time-sensitive releases.
Record Store Day (RSD) is an annual global celebration of independent record stores, artists, and the culture surrounding music retail. Founded in 2008, the event brings together retailers, labels, distributors, and artists to offer exclusive releases and in-store experiences that drive traffic, sales, and community engagement.
Against the backdrop of a record-setting production year, Alliance Entertainment's distribution facility delivered strong performance in the weeks leading up to Record Store Day, ensuring stores received product well in advance of the event. This execution enabled retailers to prepare confidently for the busiest weekend of the year and focus on delivering a strong in-store experience for customers.
This year's Record Store Day generated strong sales across the country. Top-selling artists included Taylor Swift, Laufey, Olivia Dean, Jeff Buckley, and Pink Floyd, reflecting a mix of contemporary artists, emerging favorites, and iconic catalog titles that drove demand across multiple consumer segments.
Alliance's owned distribution arm, AMPED, marked a milestone performance during Record Store Day 2026. AMPED supported more than 120 exclusive Record Store Day titles, representing nearly 30% of the total RSD offering, the largest number of exclusives the company has ever distributed for the event. Notable top sellers from AMPED-distributed releases included Jerry Garcia and the John Coltrane Quartet, underscoring strong demand for curated jazz and classic catalog exclusives.
"This was an exceptional Record Store Day for stores, artists, and fans," said Michael Kurtz, Co-Founder of Record Store Day. "With more vinyl and CDs than ever before, execution mattered. Alliance Entertainment played a key role in helping stores get the inventory they needed, when they needed it, to make the day successful."
"Record Store Day is the most important weekend of the year for independent retail," said Ken Glaser, Senior Vice President of Sales at Alliance Entertainment. "Shipping over 700,000 units during a year when the industry surpassed one million pressed units for the event reflects our scale and operational focus. The independent retail community is fundamental to our business, and our continued growth with this channel speaks to our commitment to invest more resources, infrastructure, and support—both for Record Store Day and throughout the year."
"After decades in music retail, we've never seen a Record Store Day like this. The sales were unprecedented, and that level of success only happens when you have complete confidence in your distribution partner. Alliance delivered the product, on time and in perfect condition, and that made all the difference," said Karl Groeger, Owner of Looney Tunes, West Babylon, NY.
Scott Farrell, Co-Owner, Down In The Valley, Minneapolis, MN, added, "Record Store Day continues to raise the bar, and this year was our most successful ever, driven by incredible customer turnout and energy across our stores. Alliance Entertainment played an important supporting role in making the day run smoothly, and a nice surprise was the Handmade by Robots releases—both Ozzy Osbourne and Hello Kitty sold out completely, with customers still asking for more."
Alliance Entertainment continues to grow alongside independent retailers by expanding its logistics capabilities, inventory depth, exclusive programs, and dedicated account support. The company remains focused on strengthening the ecosystem that enables independent music retail to thrive.
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. The company's growing collectibles portfolio includes Handmade by Robots™, a stylized vinyl figure line featuring licensed characters from leading entertainment franchises. 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.
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