When watching the 6 o’ clock news, I was most disappointed to find that HMV was the next business to go under administration. It brought me to the horrible realisation that this will now be the start of my nightmare; the “experience” of music is no more. All of the music in the world can be found at the click of a mouse… but where’s the fun in that?
The record store is rapidly transforming into a concept, losing its tangibility. That image created in Empire Records where its quirky employees who are more than happy to drown you in potential purchases, after you lock yourself away to sit in a booth for hours, listening to a CD which will sure to be life changing, is all just a memory now. Hours spent scouring through the alphabetically assembled music world, fingers flying, minds boggling, trying to find that record your friend was telling you about…all gone. ‘Cos let’s face it, why spend hours in a shop when you can sit in bed and buy your whole music library in a matter of minutes? I think that’s the point… the internet is taking over from everything; retailers are suffering as the general public are finding that doing their shopping online is much more convenient. But whatever happened to the ‘Try before you buy’ policy?
We are now faced with the inevitable outcome that the record store can’t quite compete with the iTunes store. We may not be able to feel the CD sleeves between our fingers and admire the artwork but the internet provides endless musical needs for anyone: Spotify and Youtube to name but a few music sites (even my blog may be seen as unhelpful to the music retailer!) It won’t be long till I’ll be finding myself scurrying through survivor stores in Brighton Laines and other niche markets, stocking up on vinyls and CDs, not just for hibernation, but for the rest of my life… How long will it be before these businesses crumble under the high technological pressure?
My little nephew, at the age of 2 can already begin to master the iPad… He, like the majority of us, is a member of the digital age. (Just so you know, I’m not included in the ‘us’) I’m a 21 year old, born in the 90’s with an 80’s film star trapped inside of me. The decade where vinyls were slightly redundant but still celebrated, CDs were the new, up and coming invention and cassettes were the norm is somewhere I want to be and crave for it the more I watch The Breakfast Club…
So where’s that DeLorean, Doctor Emmett Brown?
DAMN THE MAN. SAVE THE EMPIRE [HMV]
Empire Records… Saving a record store by having a rooftop gig; If only it was that simple. XO
