Man I miss record stores

[D~Nice]

I was chilling at the mall today and they had a Music 4 Less store in there. I was actually surprised it was still open because I thought they went belly up. Man they had vinyl (not a big collection), the whole 9. Walking in a music store now is almost like walking into a time warp. Even going to Best Buy or Target is not the same for me. Out here in Vegas I think there are only 3 or 4 music stores left. It was cool to just chill and listen to some tunes and browse music again in a ACTUAL music store. Now that I said that they will close this one too. LOL!

[Tay]

I definitely agree with you, they are dying out. It's cool to be able to go to a record store, where you can listen to albums before you buy them, get the updates on when albums are being released (although the internet does that now), see a section for local musicians and also see them in the stores and see what they are all about. Best Buy and Circuit City are just so damn convenient because they have more than just cd's, but the selection and atmosphere of a record shop are so much better.

[Sikotic™]

I went from going to a record store 2-3 times a week to going maybe twice a year.

[jeromechickenbone]

Oh absolutely agreed.  And big box retailers like best buy have 90% bullshit on their shelves.  CD's used to be the first thing you saw when you walked into their store 10 years ago, now the newer buildings usually put the cd's in the middle of the store and off to the side.

I remember when I got my first job in high school, I was buying an insane amount of CD's.  Now I find a handful of new releases worth buying.

[white Boy]

i want to own one so bad, im going to see were the future of music takes us, and ill try to see if i can make in coincide with that, cause a cd store would leave me broke, and vinyl, as dope as it is, is hardly the hot item on the market

[jeromechickenbone]

i want to own one so bad, im going to see were the future of music takes us, and ill try to see if i can make in coincide with that, cause a cd store would leave me broke, and vinyl, as dope as it is, is hardly the hot item on the market

Right now it would be tough, but once things shake out, it could be viable if done properly.  You'd have to start very small, and appeal to hardcore music heads.  You'd have to be very knowledgable on various genres and only have people working with you that were.  Maybe really focus on indie / small labels or something.  You'd have to really have a culture feel to the place.

Everybody thinks digital is where it's at.  And I agree to a certain extent.  But there is still intangibles like having the book and art, and the excitement of popping it in your cd player for the first time.  I also think that the quality is going to always be superior on a hard format vs. downloads.

The music industry would like to blame all of it's problems on illegal downloading, and no doubt it has hurt.  But if they took responsibility for the complete bullshit product they have been peddling in an effort to exploit the masses, I don't think the problem would be nearly as severe.

But I don't think it's real viable right now.  The majors haven't completely crashed and burned yet and that needs to happen.

[white Boy]

^ i think if i can fall ass deep in old jazz, blues, and folk records, like 30s and 40s shit, then it could work, cause people in the know would come in and find rare shit

[GangstaBoogy]

I went from going to a record store 2-3 times a week to going maybe twice a year.

Real talk.

I remember back in High School we used to go up to Fammart damn near every day after school to see what new shiet they had in. But now that I use the internet more and music has gotten unbelievably wack I go every few months (and when I do its just to buy white t's or those 100-pack socks for $1.99).

[KURUPTION-81]

I hardly ever go and buy a cd now, mainly because they hardly ever have what i want.

I still buy and dont download retail albums but i order them from the net.

Im one of those people who still enjoys unwrapping the package and reading the booklet.

[Kill]

i want to own one so bad, im going to see were the future of music takes us, and ill try to see if i can make in coincide with that, cause a cd store would leave me broke, and vinyl, as dope as it is, is hardly the hot item on the market

Right now it would be tough, but once things shake out, it could be viable if done properly.  You'd have to start very small, and appeal to hardcore music heads.  You'd have to be very knowledgable on various genres and only have people working with you that were.  Maybe really focus on indie / small labels or something.  You'd have to really have a culture feel to the place.

Everybody thinks digital is where it's at.  And I agree to a certain extent.  But there is still intangibles like having the book and art, and the excitement of popping it in your cd player for the first time.  I also think that the quality is going to always be superior on a hard format vs. downloads.

The music industry would like to blame all of it's problems on illegal downloading, and no doubt it has hurt.  But if they took responsibility for the complete bullshit product they have been peddling in an effort to exploit the masses, I don't think the problem would be nearly as severe.

But I don't think it's real viable right now.  The majors haven't completely crashed and burned yet and that needs to happen.

Good comment, props. These are really interesting times when it comes to the distribution and commercial use of music. The industry is clinging on to an old model that's being threatened not only by listeners unwilling to pay for everything, but even by artists. Radiohead created a huge buzz letting people choose how much they'd like to pay for their album, Prince's album came for free with a Sunday newspaper in the UK, Paul McCartney's decided to distribute through Starbucks. The good ole' record store is probably the one element within that old model that many of use love and I agree completely that it creates a nostalgic feeling to walk into a good old-fashioned "High Fidelity" type music shop. I still do it when I get the chance to, but my favorite record store gives me a weird feeling too these days: It's like walking into some 20th-century sanctuary where no one seems to know just what is going on in real life, if you know what I mean.

Really it's just that record shop customers (not talking about shopping-mall-supermarket-franchise type stores, of course, but small independent ones) are turning into a niche culture of their own I think. Average Joe aged 15-25 just won't walk into a record shop anymore, older Average Joe buys his Mick Jagger Best Of at the mall and hence, I think, indie music store owners should focus on appealing not to the masses, but to their limited but potentially loyal clientele, more than ever. There's no point in trying to compete by selling the Mick Jagger Best Of you get for $9.98 at the mall, but if you got a vinyl copy of "Superfly" or the first Jesus and Mary Chain album in stock, whatever categories and genres you're specializing in, then you might just have a chance of getting by. I do think you'll be able to make a living running a small indie record store in the future, but don't expect to get anywhere near rich, of course.

But predictions are hard to make in 2008. There's this premonition that something's about to happen that will change the industry quite a lot. Whatever you think of the music itself at the moment, structurally we might be close to seeing the greatest changes in that system since the 60's happen. I think it's pretty much unpredictable where it's really going.

[Raphael]

the record stores round here has like no hiphop and i hate buying albums from the net but its the only place that has what i want and its allot cheaper.

[Styles1]

Back in the day, I used to go to Tower Records and sift through all of the 12" Vinyl singles just to catch all of the A side and possible rare B-side tracks along with their instrumentals.

The only thing that comes close these days is going to Amoeba's in Hollywood on occassion and finding all of the old shit that I used to have or listen to.

[OG Hack Wilson]

Back in the day, I used to go to Tower Records and sift through all of the 12" Vinyl singles just to catch all of the A side and possible rare B-side tracks along with their instrumentals.

now labels dont make rare b-sides, they just make gay mixtapes over 50 cent beats

[wcsoldier]

yep I used to buy so many records , it was cool to go to the stores , discuss with the sellers , be hyped by the future releases and all that .. now you have access to 99.99 percent of music on internet , and there is nothing to be hyped about .. songs, albums  are available way before their release and there are so many shit , that is kinda boring ..  internet has made music lost his magic side ..

[OG Hack Wilson]

yep I used to buy so many records , it was cool to go to the stores , discuss with the sellers , be hyped by the future releases and all that .. now you have access to 99.99 percent of music on internet , and there is nothing to be hyped about .. songs, albums  are available way before their release and there are so many shit , that is kinda boring ..  internet has made music lost his magic side ..

i didnt have the internet at my house from september through january and it was torture finding new music but i wasnt sitting on my ass all day and was socializing alot more

i say we BAN THE INTERNET