As indie music retailers across North America and abroad marked Record Store Day on Saturday, CBC Radio 3 listeners selected their No. 1 independent record store in Canada.

Meow Records of Prince George, B.C., emerged victorious in CBC Radio 3's competition, organizers announced Friday afternoon.

In addition to a trophy and a satellite radio stereo system, Meow Records wins a broadcast organized and hosted live by CBC Radio 3 from Prince George.

Owner Bryndis Ogmundson opened Meow Records in a basement location in downtown Prince George 16 months ago.

Since then, the store has survived a flood, formed an all-girl roller derby team and come to count Calgary indie musician Chad VanGaalen among its die-hard fans.

"It shocks us that Meow Records, the most remote record store location in our entire nominated list of 47 stores, managed to rally such incredible fan support over the past month to edge them in a very close competition to the No. 1 spot," said CBC Radio 3 host Grant Lawrence, who created the competition.

In the run-up to Record Store Day, Lawrence profiled small-scale music retailers across the country.

Last month, an appeal to listeners resulted in 47 nominations, which were eventually boiled down to a Top 5 through public voting.

Although many might have expected established stores like Vancouver's Zulu or Toronto's Rotate This to dominate, the fact that venues in smaller cities emerged as finalists came as a surprise, even for Lawrence.

"This has turned into a total underdog contest that has completely surprised everyone," he said this week.

Other nominees included:

  • Backstreet Records in Saint John, N.B.
  • Back Alley Music in Charlottetown.
  • Taz Records in Halifax.
  • Sound Connection in Edmonton.

Hundreds register Record Store Day events

Indie music retailers across Canada, the U.S. and even stores in Italy registered events they've planned on the official Record Store Day website.

In recent years, music downloading, declining album sales and other issues have resulted in an increasing number of music stores and chains cutting back or closing completely.

An association of U.S. independent music retailers hatched the idea of celebrating the culture and community of the traditional music store with its own day.

Musicians and music-lovers — including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Berry — have sent in messages of support to the campaign.

"The indie record stores are the backbone of the recorded music culture. It's where we go to network, browse around and find new songs to love," Joan Jett wrote.

British author Nick Hornby, who penned best-sellers like High Fidelity and About A Boy, admitted, "It's easier to download music, and probably cheaper. But what's playing on your favourite download store when you walk into it?… Record stores can't save your life. But they can give you a better one."

Artists — ranging from Canadian favourite Joel Plaskett to heavy metal group Metallica — will participate through events such as in-store appearances, concerts and giveaways.

With files from the Canadian Press