Record stores go boom - finally
July 9th, 2008 John Posted in The Last Visible Blog |
This little thing on Popmatters about record stores in NYC being shut out because of high rents was surprising to me — surprising because I figured high rents in Manhattan would have started killing them off more than a decade ago.
The article says that it’s not just digital downloads killing them, but of course, that’s a big piece of the pie if, in fact, the movement to downloading as the primary receptacle of receiving music actually collides with the product of any given record store. Fewer sales, harder to pay rent. Landlords in NYC, certainly not fools and definitely not nice, surely see the value in their property and know that they can get more than some record store is willing to pay — jacking up the rents is one way of ushering them out the door to get other tenants. NYC, to my recollection, has some pretty strict rent laws in regard to apartments, but I have no knowledge of commercial rentals and how much a landlord is allowed to raise rent on a whim in order to muscle out a business.
Anyhow, my real thought is that record stores have serviced a very specific market more and more each year, especially the mom and pop ones. Whereas 15 years ago, the major ones like, say, Tower could still sell CDs to the mainstream audience — I imagine it’s the mainstream sales amongst a certain age group that is suffering in the stores — record stores became more the province of music collectors and specific enthusiasts seeking out rarities, imports, collectibles, vinyl offerings, etc. I am thinking that audience has dropped off some in the digital age — hell, it’s a lot easier to tool around online and find unusual shit than poke around a record store anymore and the Internet has widened the scope of the possibilities. There’s still the hunt and still the same sense of surprise as when you find that weird little record in the 50 cent bin, but less bother. I’ve amassed more musical weirdness online than I ever did going to record stores — and considering the size of my record collection, that’s saying something . . . and it also takes up less room and is much less of a bitch when I move.
That’s the thing — the mom and pops are up against guys like me digitizing all their weird, out of print vinyl and making it available online for free. (Alright, it’s been awhile since I’ve actually done that and I have a pile of odd new wave records that I’ve yet to offer online). And there’s another factor — in the “space age bachelor pad” explosion in the ‘90s — or the “incredibly strange music” boom or whatever you want to call it — fabulous CD reissues weren’t the only thing that resulted. Records that sat around for years in bins marked with reasonable to low prices were suddenly worth something and even the most boring cha cha record was going to run you at least 10 bucks because it had a wacky cover. Now that stuff is harder to come by on a regular basis because of the boom (and only so many people sold the records back after becoming bored with them), so scarcity brings in high prices and high prices brings down sales.
At this point, I see record stores as a novelty — if you like the experience, you’ll go browse in them. It’s a lot like movie theaters, actually — it’s a hell of a lot easier to just watch a DVD at home, and cheaper, too. I don’t really go to record stores anymore, but I spent a good 20 years scouring them for Pete Rugolo records and the like, so I figure I’ve done my time. That said, I’m always happy when we blow into a town somewhere and it has a used record store. Warms my heart even if I don’t want to go poke around inside.
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