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TheCellarTapes · 02-05-2009, 07:35 AM

For me it’s all about retail

I'm not talking about the massive multi million dollar making big retailers; I’m talking about the Independents, every town has them, the folk who had a dream; the dream to create their own personal music Mecca. Where they could provide good quality music to the masses in an environment, which is unique to them. I’m sure many on here have had the same dream….I know I have.

I spend most my days after work in such retailers, to the missus dismay I sift through hundreds upon hundreds of records, most of which I've never heard of whilst trying to find stuff which I will find exciting. You get a right buzz when you find a record and take it home, play it and find that its one of the best things you've ever heard. Not only that but the chap behind the counter is not some faceless character in a uniform, he knows his stuff, he has had the musical passion in the first place to buy these records for niche demographics like me who will spread the love. He might even talk to you too to share his wisdom.

As if a big retailer would sell for example an underground MC5 album from 1966, or the works of some obscure Blues musician born in 1901. Would Northern Soul even get a look in? Would original 1960's Ska be on anything other then a compilation CD in a big retailer?

It also works from another angle too, there are labels out there that spend a lot of time, energy and resource to produce quality specialist albums, and again, our sneers for the record industry are too wide spread. What about the small operations, the folk in their bedrooms who take a scratched see through vinyl from a band that only the band had ever heard of, and who take the time to repair the work, and repackage it for a whole new generation to discover as if it was new. Not only that, but they still manage to track these bands down to give them a cheque! Record Fairs are these label's patches, and you won’t find a big retailer at one of those.

This might be controversial, but for me, I always found file sharing and downloads to be slightly lazy and as I'll explain in a few paragraphs time, a big threat to the culture of music discovery. When I say lazy, I don't mean it too harshly, what I mean is that I spend my money on records, I go out and discover records, I spend time to review records, I'm basically overly enthusiastic about my new records, so much in fact that I want to share what I have learnt with the world, but I'm slightly saddened that in some cases, the chain for discovery stops there for air circulation, after that the record gets passed around through wires and I’m not sure that’s the best way to learn and pass on wisdom about the material, it is in essence easy and eventually will have negative consequences on what you hold dear, not to mention very unromantic

I appreciate that yes there is a price involved in physically buying these records, but if you read magazines, study Amazon, and know what stuff is worth, then there's not a chance on earth you could ever be ripped off. If you don't like shopping in the dark, hey there's YouTube for sample listening. But the choice for me is very simple, would I like to have an Independent Record Shop or another profitable chain shop which every town and city in the Western World has? Also what would my record collection/knowledge be like if even one small independent reissuer label never existed?

For me, I would rather fund a local business who shares my passion for music and keep his/her dream alive and more importantly....My Passion for Music, then to deprive that owner the opportunity of my custom.

The threat from the big retailers in the Western World is far too apparent to ignore. A good record shop would make an even better multi national coffee shop and a bland major label will always find ways to survive, a tragic truth which as music fans we all have a responsibility to prevent.

02-05-2009, 07:35 AM	#45 (permalink)
TheCellarTapes Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 490	For me it’s all about retail I'm not talking about the massive multi million dollar making big retailers; I’m talking about the Independents, every town has them, the folk who had a dream; the dream to create their own personal music Mecca. Where they could provide good quality music to the masses in an environment, which is unique to them. I’m sure many on here have had the same dream….I know I have. I spend most my days after work in such retailers, to the missus dismay I sift through hundreds upon hundreds of records, most of which I've never heard of whilst trying to find stuff which I will find exciting. You get a right buzz when you find a record and take it home, play it and find that its one of the best things you've ever heard. Not only that but the chap behind the counter is not some faceless character in a uniform, he knows his stuff, he has had the musical passion in the first place to buy these records for niche demographics like me who will spread the love. He might even talk to you too to share his wisdom. As if a big retailer would sell for example an underground MC5 album from 1966, or the works of some obscure Blues musician born in 1901. Would Northern Soul even get a look in? Would original 1960's Ska be on anything other then a compilation CD in a big retailer? It also works from another angle too, there are labels out there that spend a lot of time, energy and resource to produce quality specialist albums, and again, our sneers for the record industry are too wide spread. What about the small operations, the folk in their bedrooms who take a scratched see through vinyl from a band that only the band had ever heard of, and who take the time to repair the work, and repackage it for a whole new generation to discover as if it was new. Not only that, but they still manage to track these bands down to give them a cheque! Record Fairs are these label's patches, and you won’t find a big retailer at one of those. This might be controversial, but for me, I always found file sharing and downloads to be slightly lazy and as I'll explain in a few paragraphs time, a big threat to the culture of music discovery. When I say lazy, I don't mean it too harshly, what I mean is that I spend my money on records, I go out and discover records, I spend time to review records, I'm basically overly enthusiastic about my new records, so much in fact that I want to share what I have learnt with the world, but I'm slightly saddened that in some cases, the chain for discovery stops there for air circulation, after that the record gets passed around through wires and I’m not sure that’s the best way to learn and pass on wisdom about the material, it is in essence easy and eventually will have negative consequences on what you hold dear, not to mention very unromantic I appreciate that yes there is a price involved in physically buying these records, but if you read magazines, study Amazon, and know what stuff is worth, then there's not a chance on earth you could ever be ripped off. If you don't like shopping in the dark, hey there's YouTube for sample listening. But the choice for me is very simple, would I like to have an Independent Record Shop or another profitable chain shop which every town and city in the Western World has? Also what would my record collection/knowledge be like if even one small independent reissuer label never existed? For me, I would rather fund a local business who shares my passion for music and keep his/her dream alive and more importantly....My Passion for Music, then to deprive that owner the opportunity of my custom. The threat from the big retailers in the Western World is far too apparent to ignore. A good record shop would make an even better multi national coffee shop and a bland major label will always find ways to survive, a tragic truth which as music fans we all have a responsibility to prevent.