HMV Making an Impressive Comeback

[Mykesbass]

I was pleasantly surprised to read this today - people obviously going back into record shops, and interesting to see they are going back to the core business, not competing on gadgets etc: http://www.theguardian.com/business/shortcuts/2014/sep/01/hmv-stores-overtake-amazon-uk-biggest-music-dvd-retailer

Be great to see independents making a similar comeback but I guess that's going to be pushing it a bit too far!

[NJE]

Whoever is making the decisions in head office at HMV seems to be doing a good job. My local one has moved to a nicer, smaller store and most importantly the prices on anything I have looked for have been superb, not only competitive but in some cases better than Amazon.

I like buying CD's, I love having a physical format and its nice to know there is still somewhere on the high-street to buy CD's that aren't just the top 40.

[Danj]

It's funny - I went into town the other week with the express intent of buying a CD /DVD. No where had any!

I think there is still a market for a smaller, competitively priced, knowledgeable retailer out there... I have never been very good at buying over the internet as I have to wait too long

[flyfisher]

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1409688434' post='2542320']
I like buying CD's, I love having a physical format and its nice to know there is still somewhere on the high-street to buy CD's that aren't just the top 40.
[/quote]

I only buy CDs/DVDs, for the reason of having a physical format, uncompressed and (generally) with no DRM restrictions.

But I won't be bothering with the high street because I don't want to go to all the trouble of driving into town, finding somewhere to park, then paying to park, then walking to the high street shop, then spending time looking for something they don't actually have in stock, then walking back to my car, then driving back home having wasted most of a morning or afternoon.

Instead, I'll sit down in my comfortable study with a nice cup of tea, open a web browser on my PC, find exactly what I want, buy it and then carry on with whatever I was doing 10 minutes ago. A few days later the item arrives at my door. For that level of convenience I don't even care if I pay a few pounds more than a high street shop (which I save on petrol & parking anyway).

I wish HMV no ill, but I can't be sad about their eventual demise because I'm part of their problem. Like millions of other people.

[the boy]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1409698072' post='2542487']


I only buy CDs/DVDs, for the reason of having a physical format, uncompressed and (generally) with no DRM restrictions.

But I won't be bothering with the high street because I don't want to go to all the trouble of driving into town, finding somewhere to park, then paying to park, then walking to the high street shop, then spending time looking for something they don't actually have in stock, then walking back to my car, then driving back home having wasted most of a morning or afternoon.

Instead, I'll sit down in my comfortable study with a nice cup of tea, open a web browser on my PC, find exactly what I want, buy it and then carry on with whatever I was doing 10 minutes ago. A few days later the item arrives at my door. For that level of convenience I don't even care if I pay a few pounds more than a high street shop (which I save on petrol & parking anyway).

I wish HMV no ill, but I can't be sad about their eventual demise because I'm part of their problem. Like millions of other people.
[/quote]
This..... However there is something romantic about buying from a store as a teenager. I'm sad that that experience may become extinct for a lot of today's youth. I hope hmv make a strong comeback and give music some high street tangibility or relevance.

[bubinga5]

i used to love walking into HMV and listening to music on there in house headphones, and discovering new music. but like FlyFisher, i can do that from my computer now. anything is at my fingertips. i still look back to it and enjoyed it though. sitting on my sofa and getting things easy, is not quite the same as flicking through a shelf full of cd's. its just not the same.

Edited September 2, 2014 by bubinga5

[the boy]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1409698574' post='2542492']
i used to love walking into HMV and listening to music on there in house headphones, and discovering new music. but like FlyFisher, i can do that from my computer now. anything is at my fingertips. i still look back to it and enjoyed it though. sitting on my sofa and getting things easy, is not quite the same as flicking through a shelf full of cd's. its just not the same.
[/quote]
Me too... There was always a couple of birds hanging about. Bit of a laugh and a flirt. It was awesome. Obviously being a bit older now I won't be popping down to hmv on a Saturday afternoon to flirt with schoolgirls but you get the sentiment.

[flyfisher]

I also loved saturday mornings in my local record shop and deciding what to buy that week. Most of my vinyl singles are from 1970 when I had a paper round and would buy one single each week after I got paid on saturday and I would spend the whole week waiting for the new charts to come out and listen to the radio to decide what that single would be. 7/6d they were . . . . or 37.5p in today's currency. But I soon moved up to buying LPs instead of singles and can still remember the absolute thrill of listening to Tubular Bells through headphones in the record shop and thinking it was like nothing else I'd ever heard, which pulled me away from chart singles and into the world of prog rock. Wonderful times!

But I did all those things because they were the [u]only[/u] way to access music in those days. I didn't go to record shops for nostalgia - that's a product of getting 40 years older! - I went to find and listen to music. Kids today won't miss those experiences because they have their own ones to build up and become nostalgic about when they are older . Besides, they have more music at their fingertips than any generation in the history of mankind, so why would they want to make such a backward step and limit themselves to a few trays of discs in a record shop?

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be

[bubinga5]

i think nostalgia is alive and well.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1409700066' post='2542509']

Kids today won't miss those experiences because they have their own ones to build up and become nostalgic about when they are older . Besides, they have more music at their fingertips than any generation in the history of mankind, so why would they want to make such a backward step and limit themselves to a few trays of discs in a record shop?

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be
[/quote]

But it seems from the story that the kids do want that experience - I'm sure they haven't got to 19% of market share through us old farts! Also they cite in store performances by the likes of Tom Sheeran as part of the success - Tom who?!

I agree - my hankering for an independent on every high street is nostalgia but I worked in one from the age of 13 so I do view that whole world through rose tinted glasses

[CamdenRob]

I can't see the need for CDs / DVDs in this day and age... They just take up space on a shelf. With spotify etc you have instant access to pretty much anything ever released.

CDs are an obsolete format, things have moved on and I think its for the better... I never had any interest in album artwork / lyrics or any of that prephiery stuff, it's always been about the sound of the music for me.

Edited September 3, 2014 by CamdenRob

[dannybuoy]

Since I have lots of storage space I like to get my stuff in lossless FLAC format wherever possible. Only problem is Bandcamp seems to be the only place I can find that offer this format, and it's mostly only smaller bands that sell their stuff through there.

So typically I use Spotify to check an album out and if I think it deserves my cash and I can't download lossless, I will buy the CD, rip it, then let it gather dust before it eventually ends up in a charity shop years later! I also try and buy the CD at a gig direct from the band wherever possible to cut out the middle man and make sure they get the most profit from it.

I welcome HMV back to the high street, there's still a lot of people out there not into the whole downloading music thing that still want the physical product and it's ridiculous that the only place you can buy a CD in a shop these days seems to be a supermarket!

Edited September 3, 2014 by dannybuoy

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1409728397' post='2542589']
I can't see the need for CDs / DVDs in this day and age... They just take up space on a shelf. With spotify etc you have instant access to pretty much anything ever released.

CDs are an obsolete format, things have moved on and I think its for the better... I never had any interest in album artwork / lyrics or any of that prephiery stuff, it's always been about the sound of the music for me.
[/quote]

I don't think the physical format is anywhere near obsolete yet - personally I find there is a different discipline between listening to music from something like Spotify, which often comes with other distractions such as social media, or just the fact that you are logged into a computer, with actually going to the hi-fi, switching it on, selecting a CD/LP, putting it on, sitting down and listening to it.

Don't get me wrong, I think that the amount of online music available is amazing, it just isn't the same as stopping and dedicating the time to an album.

[Doddy]

I'd much rather buy a physical product than download.When I download something I never feel like I actually own a
copy of the album.I had a hard drive break recently, and I lost literally 1000s of albums and movies and tv shows-that's
never happened with my cds.
I buy a lot of albums online (thanks Amazon Marketplace), but I still like going in to a store and looking for things.I
like the feeling of looking through a rack and finding an album that maybe I'd forgotten about and wouldn't search for.
Let's be honest, you can buy pretty much anything without leaving your desk but I still enjoy actually going outside and
doing stuff.

[Earbrass]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1409728397' post='2542589']
I can't see the need for CDs / DVDs in this day and age... They just take up space on a shelf. With spotify etc you have instant access to pretty much anything ever released.

CDs are an obsolete format, things have moved on and I think its for the better... I never had any interest in album artwork / lyrics or any of that prephiery stuff, it's always been about the sound of the music for me.
[/quote]

That's ok if you don't mind listening to data-compressed versions of music. For a lot of music, and for casual listening, the difference is negligible, but for serious "darkened-room and headphones" type listening to serious music I wouldn't want to be restricted to mp3s.

Edited September 3, 2014 by Earbrass

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1409737582' post='2542742']
I buy a lot of albums online (thanks Amazon Marketplace), but I still like going in to a store and looking for things.I
like the feeling of looking through a rack and finding an album that maybe I'd forgotten about and wouldn't search for.
Let's be honest, you can buy pretty much anything without leaving your desk but I still enjoy actually going outside and
doing stuff.
[/quote]

Absolutely 'go outside and do stuff' . . . Just not traipsing around the shops - there' s more to life than shopping

I entirely agree about the browsing thing, but I find that's pretty easy to do online as well, especially with Amazon's 'people who bought this also bought this' prompts, which often lead me to places I'd not normally find. Just a different sort of browsing I guess.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1409727359' post='2542581']
But it seems from the story that the kids do want that experience - I'm sure they haven't got to 19% of market share through us old farts! Also they cite in store performances by the likes of Tom Sheeran as part of the success - Tom who?!

I agree - my hankering for an independent on every high street is nostalgia but I worked in one from the age of 13 so I do view that whole world through rose tinted glasses
[/quote]

But in-store performances are not really part of traditional record shop nostalgia are they? At least, none of the record shops I ever visited as a lad. So that's new thing (well, Virgin was doing it years ago wasn't it?) in an attempt to revitalise flagging sales.

But when does a record shop hosting gigs become a gig where you can buy CDs?

Still, who really cares? If HMV becomes successful again by whatever means then it can only be good for music and I certainly have nothing against them - or any other high street shops. I don't believe they will survive in the long run, but I'll be quite happy if they do . . . . just as long as I can still do my shopping online.

[jacko]

Was on holiday in devon last week and found myself in the Plymouth HMV. Was pleasantly surprised by their vinyl section and also impressed that they were having a 2 for a tenner drive on prog rock.

[KevB]

Do they still own Fopp? Can get some good deals in there.

[jacko]

There's still a Fopp on rose street in Embra. hadn't realised they were related to HMV tho.

[The Admiral]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1409704111' post='2542534']
i think nostalgia is alive and well.
[/quote]

But it's not what it used to be.



Some interesting stats in this article from the Telegraph, not least that physical sales are up, against a downward trend for digital downloads. If you can listen on Spotify, on demand, why buy a download : whereas an actual physical album on vinyl or CD - a different proposition :http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/10945228/HMV-the-high-street-and-physical-music-may-not-be-done-for-after-all.html

The guy running it sounds like he knows his stuff, and the numbers look good.

[timmo]

I prefer a CD to just a download. I hated CD`s when they first came out, and took me years to buy a player. I loved Vinyl as a kid. Going to HMV was part of the experience. I missed pulling the inside sleeve out with the photos and lyrics. When CD`s came out, i missed that, the booklets were boring in comparison. I am, happy we still have an HMV in town

[Bilbo]

I just like listening to music and don't really care what the format is. I mostly listen to downloads becasue I have an e-music account and get 50 downloads a month for £18. THat pace of new music seems to meet my needs and I rarely buy anything elxe on top of that. If I do get a CD, I copy it inot itunes anyway so I can listen on my ipod.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1409738877' post='2542756']
But in-store performances are not really part of traditional record shop nostalgia are they? At least, none of the record shops I ever visited as a lad. So that's new thing (well, Virgin was doing it years ago wasn't it?) in an attempt to revitalise flagging sales.

[/quote]

Ah, more nostalgia - I remember bunking off school to see Nine Below Zero at the original Virgin Megastore - 1981 - just checked the original vinyl copy of the album they were launching! Sorry, I'm off now to get a bit more up to date

[Marvin]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1409737582' post='2542742']
I'd much rather buy a physical product than download.When I download something I never feel like I actually own a
copy of the album.I had a hard drive break recently, and I lost literally 1000s of albums and movies and tv shows-that's
never happened with my cds.
I buy a lot of albums online (thanks Amazon Marketplace), but I still like going in to a store and looking for things.I
like the feeling of looking through a rack and finding an album that maybe I'd forgotten about and wouldn't search for.
Let's be honest, you can buy pretty much anything without leaving your desk but I still enjoy actually going outside and
doing stuff.
[/quote]

Yep.

Buying a download feels like you've got a ropey copy of it, like when you used to give your mate a tape to record whatever new album they'd bought. It's not for me. Give me a Cd etc.

I also don't like MP3, it sounds dead to me, it's got no sparkle.

Unfortunately my nearest HMV is 40 miles away.