The Jazz.com Blog
April 21, 2008 · 3 comments
Where Were You on Record Store Day?
Some people might think that the day of record stores passed a long time ago. They would be wrong. Saturday was (believe it or not) the official Record Store Day. Was this merely the belated celebration of an endangered and soon extinct species of retailer, destined to join the neighborhood blacksmith and milkman in the pantheon of failed professions? Or can the record store be saved? Is it worth saving?
Jazz.coms Mark Saleski offers his thoughts below. Readers are invited to share their own views by adding their comments or emailing them to editor@jazz.com. T.G.
My index finger pulled one more album toward me and there it was a bright yellow backdrop illuminated Miles Davis' hunched-over body, trumpet in its business position. The adrenaline shot through me very much like the first time I listened to Jean Pierre on the radio. In a little used record shop on a side street in Brookline, Massachusetts, I'd finally unearthed a copy of We Want Miles. Life was good.
Life is still good but a lot different. As independent record stores banded together this past weekend to celebrate Record Store Day, it seems like a good time to reflect on the future of music sales and promotion, and what it all means for the casual fan, music lover, and the musicians as well.
The current thinking is that physical record stores will be fully replaced by online sales. To a certain extent, this model is gaining momentum. Just recently, iTunes passed WalMart as top music retailer. Tower Records has disappeared. The selection of music at your average Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and Borders has dwindled considerably. Inventory policy seems to be turning this into a self-fulfilling prophecy I've pretty much given up finding anything at those locations as they never have what I'm looking for.
And yet, here we have independent stores gathering together to point out that there are a couple of things missing from the online retail world: knowledge and culture.
Sure, there's plenty of information out there on the Internet, and smart software can recommend music you might like, but that's no substitute for a store clerk who has spent years mining the Coltrane vaults.
Culture? Can Web 2.0 replace the feeling of sifting through the bins with a group of like-minded people. I suppose it can, but a future where people never leave their houses seems like no future at all. There are over 2,400 operating independent music stores in this country. On Saturday afternoon, I popped into my local shop to discuss with a friend of mine the merits of Dave Douglas, his upcoming live record, and oh by the way, how was that Peter Brotzmann & Han Bennink show you went to? There was a CD that I was looking for, and the store didn't have it in stock. Eric made a recommendation of some group I'd never heard of. It was fabulous stuff. Yes, all of this can be done on the Web, but should it?
The future of music sales is changing so rapidly that it seems foolish to make any concrete statements as to the final outcome. Yesterday I listened to an interview with Adam Duritz, singer of the band Counting Crows. He was plainly astounded and frustrated that the major labels can't see the opportunities afforded by the Internet. Smaller labels seem to get it, and do take advantage of viral marketing, MySpace, and the like. There are some pretty inventive business decisions being made out there, including bands releasing exclusive content for games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero. My inner-Luddite cringes at this but hey, I see what they're trying to do.
Obviously, you're reading this article on the Internet, once part of the future and now fully established as a part of our everyday activity. Jazz.com is doing something at the cross-section of the future and the musical past. Whether people realize it or not (depending on how old they are), the online sales phenomenon has switched us back into a singles-oriented music culture. That's exactly how music was sold before the album came into being. So here we are writing about individual tracks, because that is were we seem to be headed, back to the future.
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I think you are part of, if not a dying breed, certainly part of a shrinking niche. I understand being both a music fan and a hockey fan. Unfortunately people gather less and less when they can just sit in the comfort of their own home and participate in forums. It's increasingly evident that it's not a good thing with how more and more people don't know how to act in public.
Dying breed or not, there is nothing quite like discovering a treasure in a dusty bin. I just happened to be in Washington, DC on Record Store Day and I paid homage by visiting one of my favorite record stores, Melody Record Shop (on Connecticut Avenue). The shop has been owned by a Turkish family for over thirty years. It began as a mom and pop record store that catered to classical music lovers but over the years it has evolved into a treasure trove for jazz and World music lovers. I paid homage by dropping one hundred bucks! I am all for technology but there are certain things that transcend staring at a computer screen and clicking your mouse ... visiting and supporting your local record store is one of them. Coincidentally, the New York Times (Arts Section)featured an excellent article on the the plight of record stores in New York just last week.
I love going to record stores and like Tomas can easily spend $100 or more! However, the pricing on such sites as Amazon (I prefer CDs so I can read liner notes) is almost unbeatable, especially if you're an avid fan and like to collect music. I also like CDBaby.com for indie music and their suggestions are good too. In Chicago we had Tower & Virgin -- both now gone :( and the staff on the jazz/world music floors were really good. Now all we have left is the Jazz Record Mart and we're not sure how long they will last. El Bichio makes an interesting comment about online shopping being a culprit to some degree in the decline in public behaviour. Most interesting! I would also attribute the decline to some degree on the lack of music/arts education in schools now. Oh well . . .