One store owners take on cd price drops

Robert Nolan is co-owner of Rubber Soul Records in Ypsilanti, MI

 

It's already too late where I live (Vancouver) there is only one decent record store left...

 

I think Robert Nolan's anger is justified. Independent shops are being squeezed on all sides--and if that weren't bad enough, they're made to look like bad guys as their prices are higher than Best Buy, et. al. It's a huge loss for those of us who like browsing thru bins, not to mention the loss to the small indies groups who don't stand a chance of getting any shelf space at a Best Buy. It's the Net or nothing for them.

 

Capitalism...

The net can cover much ground, especially if a band has samples. Nothing beats Radio Play. That's difficult if not imposible to break if you have any talent

 

Hey, I feel for the dude, but in this day and age, I need to save every dollar I can. Am I gonna pay $1500 for a fridge at a "mom and pop store", or am I gonna get the same fridge from Sears for $1200? Sorry.

 

daved64, I'm with you. I go to the local CD shops for used CDs, but for new discs, I get good deals through the mail-order clubs or I go to Best Buy or Circuit City. The local shops, along with Borders, Barnes and Noble, and the mall stores, are too expensive on new discs.

 

I don't think anyone can reasonably object to customers shopping for the best price. My only complaint is that customers then make the illogical assumption that the higher-priced independent stores or dedicated music retailers are gouging them (or their kids), simply because those shops are unwilling (or more accurately, unable) to take a loss on new CDs.

I agree with the original post, but I don't see a way out of the squeeze. I think major independent record stores will only be able to survive in large cities and college towns, much like large, independent book stores.

 

The original post is well said. I went to Target Saturday looking for the remastered Close To The Edge. Target didn't even have a Yes section.

 

You said it! Plus free delivery and no tax to boot

 

With the amount of music (and DVD videos) I buy it is more practical for me to save as much as I can on every disc I purchase. I purchase so much that saving $2.00, $3.00 or even $1.00 a disc, means that there is much more music I can afford to buy in the long run.

I hate to hurt the little guys, and I do frequent Independent stores, but it is a difficult situation.

 

If you don't change that damn avatar............
VERY DISTRACTING!!!!!

 

Many "independent" stores in NYC have expanded their used CD sections over the past couple of years and sell the used stuff over the net. They seem to find these to be a good revenue streams - offsetting losses elsewhere.

 

The world doesn't need the mom and pop for new items. It's VERY sad, but the used market, if it didn't exist, the minor leagues would be out of business.

And he's right; the rest of the labels will have to do the same thing because suddenly priority=price.

 

Where is the 'five and dime' store that used to be downtown in every small town?

What about the 'hobby shop' where you buy models, Estes rockets, and slot cars?

All boarded up, and the customers are on the outskirts of town at WalMart.

How is it different now?

Did the record shop owners complain when everybody else got run out of business? Or are they only thinking of themselves?

Ultimately, it's all just business and capitalism. Yeah, I buy most of my discs where I can get them cheap.

 

Of course. The music/record biz has changed the same way that Supermarkets out a lot of local food stores out of business. But thats the natural order of things.

Here in NYC, there are a lot of little indy Cd stores, but when I look at the prices they want, it makes me laugh. I cant give them 24$ for an import Hermans Hermits Cd when J&R has the same title for 16.99$ i just cant do it......thats 7$ more on one Cd!!!

Change is a GOOD thing folks...remember that.

 

While I consider the price important, sometimes I just want to buy a CD and take it home and play it. I don't want to wait for it to arrive in the mail, so I'd be willing at times, to spend a little more. I'd buy 'em, if I could FIND 'em!

About a week ago I went music shopping. Out of about 15 discs I was looking for, I found ONE in stock... Gillian Welch - Hell Among the Yearlings (from 1998)! No Erica Smith, no Gary Jules, no Audrey Auld, no Kris Delmhorst (although Border's computer said they had 4 copies, no one there could locate them), no Feathermerchants or The Mickeys.

I'm ordering all my new CD's online. Screw the local b&m stores.
Tom

 

I still buy most of my music at an independent shop, however - most of my purchases are either out of print, collectible or used. My retailer seems to offer better prices on these things than I usually see on e-bay, and if I ABSOLUTELY need a current shelf CD, he will give to me at the same (or a comparable) price being offered buy the big guys. He won't give give that price to everyone however; he couldn't afford to.

Maybe it is just me, but when I walk down the aisles at BB, Wal Mart, K-Mart, Target - I never find anything of interest.

 

One shop here in Delaware only sells used CDs and DVDs. I've gotten to know the owner, and he told me that he recognized from the get-go that he could not compete with the Best Buy right down the road on new discs. Smart man.

 

So, let's recap:

- You can't download songs for free because it's evil and sinful.

- You can't get CDs cheap at Best Buy or Amazon because you're supporting corporate pigs and screwing the independent little guy.

- You can't get CDs at mom and pop stores because they charge several dollars more than the corporate pigs for the exact same product, and mama didn't raise no fools.

Like so many other things in life, you can't win if you just want to do something that makes you happy.

So from now on, I'm just gonna start stealing all my CDs out of unlocked cars.

Ryan

 

FWIW, I've never heard of this record store in Ypsi (the owner who wrote the above article), and Desirable Discs, to me, was never all that desirable. (One visit, and one visit only...waste of my time.)

I feel bad for these small shops, since they are the only place where music lovers sell music. The mass retailers just come across as big and dumb, to put it bluntly.

I buy online almost exclusively now, at least for new and used CDs. The Detroit area (as many metro areas are) is spread out over a few very congested counties, and I include Washtenaw in the sprawl as well. I don't have the time or energy to drive to small mom and pops scattered all over the area. Especially the price of gas being what it is, and higher gas prices. Free shipping from Amazon sort of clinches the deal for me. Not as much fun as browsing, but I'll leave that for the few good vinyl shops that are left.

 

Notorious and long-departed music store Sam's Jams, in the early 80's, was able to sell a handful of popular new LPs for $4.95 each, when the list price was $8.98. It was a "thank you" from the owner...he lost money on them, or broke even, but he also had one of the largest and best used vinyl shops in the area. Sad that Sam's Jams went under--the employees were all music fanatics that actually knew me by name and what I listened to.

 

Which record store do you mean?

What happened to Scratch Records? Zulu Records? Noise Records?

Are they all gone?



Paul

 

sctrach, zulu and noise are all still there but they seem to cater to the kind of stuff I'm not interested in...
For me, the only choice is which A&B Sound to visit and their selection has been cut waaaaaay back.

 

Well, the labels will eventually face the same squeeze they're putting on the independent stores. With independents, one-stops, and even dedicated retailers like Tower Records on the ropes, music sales in this country will be reduced to a few Internet retailers, and Target, Best Buy, and WalMart.

When you have that few customers, the customers start telling you how to run your business. And eventually WalMart, Target, and Best Buy are going to tell the labels, "We're going to continue promoting new releases for $8.99 and $9.99 -- only now instead of breaking even, we're going to make 20%. Adjust your costs accordingly."

I think we'll eventually see the big retailers carrying new releases and the top-selling catalog titles (Target's music selection is pretty close to nothing but new releases and mid-line comps for everything else). Deep catalog and small label releases will be available via the Internet.