Taylor Swift has been announced as the first-ever global ambassador of Record Store Day.

Launched back in 2008, RSD will return for its 15th anniversary event on Saturday, April 23 after hosting two vinyl ‘drop’ dates in 2021.

Today (January 20), organisers revealed that Swift – who’s released exclusive RSD records in the past – will serve as their Global Record Store Day Ambassador. She’ll also release a “special” RSD 2022 vinyl as part of the celebrations.

“I’m very proud to be this year’s Ambassador for Record Store Day. The places where we go to browse and explore and discover music new and old have always been sacred to me,” the singer explained in a statement.

“Record stores are so important because they help to perpetuate and foster music-loving as a passion. They create settings for live events. They employ people who adore music thoroughly and purely.”

Swift went on to acknowledge the “rough few years” that independent record shops have faced as a result of the COVID pandemic, adding: “We need to support these small businesses more now than ever to make sure they can stay alive, stay eccentric, and stay individual.

“It’s been a true joy for me to watch vinyl sales grow in the past few years and we, the artists, have the fans to thank for this pleasant surprise. Happy Record Store Day, everyone! Stay safe out there.”

Carrie Colliton, co-founder of RSD, said: “The role of RSD Ambassador is, of course, something we take seriously in the sense that it helps us do our job of shining a light on these special places.

“We’re pretty picky about the people we invite to ‘wear the sash’, and we always want to make sure those Ambassadors genuinely love record stores and are creative about ways to celebrate them. But mostly it’s a title we want people to have fun with, and we know that our RSD 2022 Ambassador loves having fun, loves music, and loves record stores.”

Colliton added: “For our 15th Record Store Day, and for our first Global Ambassador, we’re teaming up with a woman who does all that and just happens to be one of the biggest artists on the planet.”

• READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ review: a celebration of the star’s breakout album

Swift helped record stores around the world weather the storm of coronavirus-enforced closures and restrictions by sending them signed copies of her surprise-released 2020 albums, ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’.

The star also directly donated to Grimey’s New & Preloved Music, a record shop in her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. “We’re thrilled to learn that Taylor Swift is our 2022 Record Store Day Ambassador!” said the store’s Anna Lundy and Doyle Davis.

“Swift has shown her love and support for independent record stores by not only supporting our shop specifically during the dark, early days of the pandemic, when she directly donated to help us support our staff, but also by steering her eager, excited, and dedicated fans to independent record stores, places that many of them visited for the first time while in search of her signed CDs.”

They continued: “As Swift has grown as an artist, we’ve watched her fans grow with her and have been delighted to see her taking control of her recordings and working with musicians like Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, artists whose music has resonated in shops like ours for years.

“We can’t think of a better choice for RSD Ambassador for 2022!”

The full list of official releases for Record Store Day 2022 – including a special release from global ambassador Swift – is “coming soon”. You can find more information here.

Last May, Taylor Swift broke the record for the biggest one-week vinyl album sales in the US with ‘Evermore’. Her re-recorded version of 2008’s ‘Fearless’ later shot back to the top of the US Billboard 200 chart thanks to huge physical sales of the album.