redstriper Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Apologies if it's been posted before, interesting film about the demise of independent record shops. [url="http://www.indiegogo.com/Last-Shop-Standing-Documentary-phase-2"]http://www.indiegogo.com/Last-Shop-Standing-Documentary-phase-2[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Looking forward to it. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 It would be interesting to know how people feel about this sort of thing across the age range. I used to spend hours on Saturday in my local record shop (Opus in Southgate, north London) rummaging and listening to obscure albums. I doubt my lad has ever been into a record shop but he does all his 'rummaging' for new bands on YouTube and the like. Times change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coilte Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1328387992' post='1526391'] I used to spend hours on Saturday in my local record shop (Opus in Southgate, north London) rummaging and listening to obscure album [/quote] +1. As the record shops here in Dublin never had a huge selection, I would frequently catch an early flight to London on Saturdays with the sole purpose of browsing and buying, at first vinyl, and later on CD's. I never seemed to have enough time before I had to hurry to catch my return flight. I'm sure that the present generation would think I was mad. Maybe I was, but it was heaven to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 At 30, I'm probably among the last age group to really 'do' record shops. I remember loooking for rare bootlegs at Kensington Market, or waiting a month for HMV to get in that single I ordered. Of course, you can find them in seconds on the internet, but it does take out a lot of the fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 IMO the ease at which music is available on the internet has completely devalued music and taken a lot of the passion out of it, a classic case of more is less Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Edinburgh used to have what claimed to be the biggest used record shop in Britain, in Forrest Rd; it was huge! Last I saw it was an Australian theme bar. It does still have a decent-ish 2nd hand record shop at Vinyl Villains - and there are two or three other such shops in Edinburgh. Number One son Daniel San collects vinyl up to a point & his band put out an LP last year, which got some good reviews in it's genre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacker Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 There were loads in Edinburgh and isn't Vinyl Villians still on the go down by Elm Row? Fopp are still in business but I mostly buy retro CDs and books when I'm in town. One of my faves, when I'm down there, is the vinyl stall at the market in Cambridge; last time I was there I picked up a copy of Bowie's 'Low' for buttons. And it looks like I'm heading back there at month end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='Stacker' timestamp='1328391399' post='1526451'] There were loads in Edinburgh and isn't Vinyl Villians still on the go down by Elm Row?[/quote] It is yeah, that's why I named it as a good one; they had a shitload of Beatles Polish postcard singles a while ago; they have another branch on Sth Clerk St but that's mostly CDs & (whisper it quietly) .............cassettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 I must admit there is something about record shops that you don't get with the internet. I'm too young to be rooting around through the LPs but one thing I like to do when I'm visiting london is to go to the music exchange store in Greenwich and search through their £1 CDs. Mostly pop and that but there have been some good finds there. I must have bought about 25 CDs from that place lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 For me the demise of the general record shop was inevitable with the coming of the internet. Not because of downloads (legal or not) or because sites like Amazon can beat them on price, but simply because they can't compete on the sheer variety of music that's available on line. The shops that manage to survive are the ones that specialise and have a big enough local and internet/mail-order niche that they can cater too. When I first started buying records, if it wasn't in one of my local shops then it simply didn't exist. Luckily as well as the record sections of WH Smiths and Boots we had a good independent shop that stocked pretty much everything that the weekly music press reviewed and Freeman or Peel played on the radio. Basically all the music we knew about was available. Occasionally it might be a bit difficult to get some 60s back catalogue albums, but everything else was there to buy. Even when Peel started playing more DIY releases in the late 70s and early 80s, you could still get most of what you heard. For me it wasn't until I got heavily into "Progressive House" in the 90s where a good 50% of what I wanted to buy was DJ white labels only that the short-comings of the record shop started to become a problem. Once I had to start looking elsewhere to buy the music I wanted to listen to, the conventional record shops I had been frequenting became less important. And then when the internet made information about releases that never made it to the UK market much easier to find, it opened up a much larger selection of music to me. Even having one of the best independent record shops in my home town was little use because they simply couldn't stock even a fraction of the new music I had discovered from all over the world. The local record shop had been relegated to the occasional impulse buy of something that was on special offer. Everything else had to be bought on line because that was the only place that I could find it. With this state of affairs it was unsurprising that when they finally stopped trading I didn't even notice for a couple of weeks... Now if someone recommends a song or band, I can quickly find something on line to listen to and then if I like it buy the CD or record direct from the band or their record label. I like to have physical product. Downloads don't do it for me, and anyway, anyone can get their music up on iTunes and Amazon for less than £50. I want to support bands who believe enough in their music to commit it to CD or vinyl. I would like to have been able to continue to support my local record shop but when the breadth of music available is so vast that they can't even stock a small fraction of what I want to buy, it's obvious that their time has ended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacker Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1328392418' post='1526472'] I must admit there is something about record shops that you don't get with the internet. I'm too young to be rooting around through the LPs but one thing I like to do when I'm visiting london is to go to the music exchange store in Greenwich and search through their £1 CDs. Mostly pop and that but there have been some good finds there. I must have bought about 25 CDs from that place lol. [/quote] See, that's why I still pop into Fopp: it's browsing, browsing to music on the in-house, music that I have often found I needed to hear again, so i've gone and bought it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1328388801' post='1526411'] As the record shops here in Dublin never had a huge selection, I would frequently catch an early flight to London on Saturdays with the sole purpose of browsing and buying, at first vinyl, and later on CD's. I never seemed to have enough time before I had to hurry to catch my return flight. I'm sure that the present generation would think I was mad. Maybe I was, but it was heaven to me. [/quote] Now that is some seriously impressive dedication! I'm guessing this was after the advent of cheap flights, but even so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1328392595' post='1526475'] For me the demise of the general record shop was inevitable with the coming of the internet. Not because of downloads (legal or not) or because sites like Amazon can beat them on price, but simply because they can't compete on the sheer variety of music that's available on line. [/quote] Yep, I entirely agree. More music is more accessible these days. I realise the record industry might not like it but no one likes to lose their monopoly to print money and retain tight control over who hears what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len_derby Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1328390942' post='1526446'] IMO the ease at which music is available on the internet has completely devalued music and taken a lot of the passion out of it, a classic case of more is less [/quote] I disagree. Music has been around for a long time. Maybe since before humans could speak to each other. There was a blink of an eye, in historic terms, when producing music on recording formats was a viable industry and a cohesive social activity. Music will live on, and thrive. As it always has. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musophilr Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 If I had a budget for buying records the loss of record shops would affect me very badly. Once upon a time when I had more money than I knew what to do with I would visit several every week and come out with armfuls from each one. These days I struggle to find money for basics and while I would be saddened to learn of the loss of more record shops, that would be the only effect it had on me. Went into HMV last December. Whatever they'd got, I'd either already got it, or didn't want it. Didn't see a single thing that stirred up the desire for posession. I know it's impossible to stock everything, and some of my tastes must be classed as "niche market" but I really didn't come away thinking that I must return to that shop soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1328390557' post='1526436'] At 30, I'm probably among the last age group to really 'do' record shops. I remember loooking for rare bootlegs at Kensington Market, or waiting a month for HMV to get in that single I ordered. Of course, you can find them in seconds on the internet, but it does take out a lot of the fun. [/quote] +1, I'm the same age. I miss the excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacker Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Loads of my mates - my age and younger - still buy vinyl. Ok, so we're in the download era but consider this: rememebr the advent of CD, how they would never scratch or break? Or the low bit-rates of mp3? But this thread is about frequenting a shop. And even HMV up here has a considrable, albeit DJ oriented, selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikenbass Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 (edited) My friends and I used to frequent 'Stereo Recods', top of Park Road, Hayes, Middx. It went some time ago, hung on for ages after the demise of the LP. Album sleeves were often a work of art, (Roger Dean?) which just didn't translate to the CD format. I think that took a lot of the browsing fun away and may have contributed slightly to record shops losing some appeal. Edit. A recurring theme among the posts here seems to mention how much fun it was to go into a record shop. I have to admit, buying on line doesn't tick that box. Edited February 4, 2012 by MSL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 The fun of browsing in a record shop is pretty much taken away when you have a massive list of things you'd like to buy and they don't stock any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrohelix Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1328395610' post='1526539'] The fun of browsing in a record shop is pretty much taken away when you have a massive list of things you'd like to buy and they don't stock any of them. [/quote] Massive list, like a shopping list? I don't like that idea. I enjoy the spontineity of record shops. If they don't have what I'm searching for, there are plenty of others to choose from. The last one I visited was Discobox in Weymouth - I hadn't listened to Miles Davis before (not properly, at least) but picked up 'Milestones' anyway. What an amazing listening experience. There's that and the long chat I had with the store owner about Pink Floyd. There is absolutely no excitement in going to a digital "checkout", knowing exactly what you're going to get, not for me at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1328392595' post='1526475'] For me the demise of the general record shop was inevitable with the coming of the internet. Not because of downloads (legal or not) or because sites like Amazon can beat them on price, but simply because they can't compete on the sheer variety of music that's available on line. The shops that manage to survive are the ones that specialise and have a big enough local and internet/mail-order niche that they can cater too. When I first started buying records, if it wasn't in one of my local shops then it simply didn't exist. Luckily as well as the record sections of WH Smiths and Boots we had a good independent shop that stocked pretty much everything that the weekly music press reviewed and Freeman or Peel played on the radio. Basically all the music we knew about was available. Occasionally it might be a bit difficult to get some 60s back catalogue albums, but everything else was there to buy. Even when Peel started playing more DIY releases in the late 70s and early 80s, you could still get most of what you heard. For me it wasn't until I got heavily into "Progressive House" in the 90s where a good 50% of what I wanted to buy was DJ white labels only that the short-comings of the record shop started to become a problem. Once I had to start looking elsewhere to buy the music I wanted to listen to, the conventional record shops I had been frequenting became less important. And then when the internet made information about releases that never made it to the UK market much easier to find, it opened up a much larger selection of music to me. Even having one of the best independent record shops in my home town was little use because they simply couldn't stock even a fraction of the new music I had discovered from all over the world. The local record shop had been relegated to the occasional impulse buy of something that was on special offer. Everything else had to be bought on line because that was the only place that I could find it. With this state of affairs it was unsurprising that when they finally stopped trading I didn't even notice for a couple of weeks... Now if someone recommends a song or band, I can quickly find something on line to listen to and then if I like it buy the CD or record direct from the band or their record label. I like to have physical product. Downloads don't do it for me, and anyway, anyone can get their music up on iTunes and Amazon for less than £50. I want to support bands who believe enough in their music to commit it to CD or vinyl. I would like to have been able to continue to support my local record shop but when the breadth of music available is so vast that they can't even stock a small fraction of what I want to buy, it's obvious that their time has ended. [/quote]What do you mean by "Progressive House"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Sasha? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Ah the hours spent in Phase One waiting for the bus home in Wrexham. Then there was Cobb Records (Sister shop to the one featured in the video for 'Rockferry' by Duffy). Then later Jamming with Edward in Harrow. Theres one in Glasto I pop into from time to time. They still have their place. They wont die. Just change with the times. Stock the stuff people want to buy and they will live. Just like pubs. A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstriper Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Cob in Bangor is closing soon, it's been there since 1979 with the same owner - seems a shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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