Are High Street Record Stores Dying Out???

Question

Last year HMV announced their profits had halved, FOPP independent record stores closed down. And when I worked in Virgin Megastores (now Zavvi) just over a year ago, my manager told me how much less they made then they did a few years back.

So is the traditional high street record store dying out? In the last few years we've had

* Direct MP3 sites (iTunes etc)

*The rise of companies like Play.com and Amazon.com that sell most things HMV etc. sell.....but cheaper

*Fall in the prices of Albums, due to lo-cost supermarkets like Asda and Tescos starting to sell them.

*Not many people buy an album each anymore. They burn their friends copy.

So do you think they're dying? Personally I don't think so, but they have to change.....and I think they're starting to do that. But sadly I never see HMV and stuff pushing music anymore, they only seem to advertise '4 DVDs for 20 quid' or Nintendo Wii bundles.

I think these businesses will survive, but they won't REALLY be music stores anymor

Answer 1

in a local town near me, the only place to buy cd's is...........da da daaaaaaa TESCO!!!! and in the next town the independant store shut down, then Our Price (remember those days??!!) shut and have been replace by charity and £1 shops and the only place to buy cd's there is ASDA and Sainsbury's!!

I used to love flicking through cd's, but now its so easy (and cheap) on the internet, and the big superstores are knocking them out cheap too, i cant see how any genuine record shops can survive

Shame - big big shame :(

Answer 2

Alot has changed with the advent of Napster..

Answer 3

Nice question

I think maybe the type of music shops will change, having just moved to Sydney from London,  what I’ve noticed is there seem to be (it could just be the route I walk to work) more true independent shops than in London. Yes, there’s a Virgin Megastore and a more than a few JB Hi-FI (sort of Kwik-Save meets HMV) but there are also more specialist shops.

I agree the big chains are going to have a tough time competing with the download sites like itunes and stores like Amazon (I know there’s no Amazon is Aus, but there must be an equivalent I haven’t come across yet).

However, maybe this leaves an opening for smaller stores specialising in less mainstream stuff?

I’m hoping it’s gets to the point where if you want “Now that’s what I call dross 127” you go to Tesco’s or download it… but if you want to just browse and discover something ‘new’ (or ‘old’ for that matter) go chat with Bob at ‘Back Street Records’.

I really do hope this is true as I agree with previous answers that there’s absolutely nothing so worthwhile as browsing through a rack of records (showing my age there) and getting the shop to play you a track or two.

I’m not convinced copying has gotten any worse over the last 30 years (although yes, the quality of copies has got better), I remember all the fuss over these new fangled tape cassette recorders back in the 70’s and calls for a copyright tax on blank tapes. As a teenager I never used to buy singles unless I REALLY liked them, I used to tape them off of the top 20 show on radio 1 every Sunday night … finger ready on the pause button to cut out Simon Bates’s ‘countdown’ between each track….. and albums … we just taped the one’s our older brothers or sister (or mates older brothers/sisters) bought….everyone did. (well everyone under 16). Shops survived that ‘crisis’.

Me, I’m taking some optimism from the comeback of vinyl,

I know it’s got a reputation as being a bit ‘comic book guy’, but the amount of new stuff I see coming out on high quality vinyl warms the heart, it may not be as convenient, but as a recent (2 years or so) convert back to the black stuff I’m convinced it’s a whole lot better musically.

Perhaps the real question is ….

Given that downloads are easier, and vinyl is better, are shops that sell cds dying ?