Pinkfong Baby Shark, PJ Masks, TMNT Head to the Record Store

When it comes to specialty retail, independent record stores carry on tradition and hold down a unique niche.

For this year’s Record Store Day — the annual holiday that encourages support for indie shops — a special selection of limited-edition vinyl pressings will feature music from some surprising, kid-centric brands that are usually seen in toy aisles. Pinkfong Baby Shark, the PJ Masks, Mickey Mouse, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are all getting tunes thrown down on wax.

Pinkfong USA will release Baby Shark as a 7-inch single, limited to just 1,000 copies. The viral hit that’s scored more than two billion video views and celebrity engagement from the likes of Ellen DeGeneres, James Corden, Khloe Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner, will include the hit single on side A, with an electronic remix on the B-side.

Entertainment One will issue PJ Masks: Time to Be a Hero Live! as a 12-inch LP. The original cast recording from the live tour will be limited to just 2,100 pieces.

For Disney fans, Walt Disney Records has a new pressing of the 1979 classic, Mickey Mouse Disco. Limited to 3,500 copies, the album features disco-fied versions of classics such as It’s a Small World.

The other reissue in the mix is a 1990 rarity from iam8bit. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — Pizza Power! was first released on tape in 1990 as part of the Coming Out of Their Shells Tour, and then the song resurfaced in the classic Turtles in Time arcade machine. For Record Store Day, the 7-inch single is decked out in Turtles Tour attire with two removable patches, and features “Pizza Power” on side A, with “Tubin” on the B-side.

Finally, for the smallest members of the families, CMH Label Group serves-up Rockabye Baby: Lullaby Versions of Weezer. The full-length LP is limited to just 900 copies, and features hits including “Beverly Hills,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” “Island in the Sun,” and “Buddy Holly.”

While most kids these days think that music just comes from the air (looking at Spotify, Pandora, and the cloud on this one), introducing music to kids on vinyl is a great way to build interest and show that music is something real — something you can feel.

Record Store Day 2019 will take place on April 13.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book, a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC) Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.