HMV

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KingHarry
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HMV

Post by KingHarry »

No great surprise, has gone into administration.

No particular loss either, as I've not set foot inside one for many years and they are less a music shop than a games and video store - not that that is any consolation to those losing jobs.

But - presumably Fopp will go with them, which would be a great shame.
olan
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Re: HMV

Post by olan »

I don't buy the view that the internet killed HMV. My experience with HMV over the last 20-odd years is that if I want a release by band 'X', invariably HMV have not got it in stock. My reaction was to stop bothering to even go there. By the time I started buying CDs online, it never even occurred to me to go to their www page, I just went to the obvious virtual retailers. It has been suggested that HMV allowed people to check out the stuff that they were going to buy on Amazon. My experience suggests that HMV was so shite that it forced people to go to Amazon or the like in the first place. The fact that you got better treatment from the web retailer than HMV just didn't help much.

It is a terrible time to be out of a job. I feel for the staff, but this has been on the cards for several years.
Hofstadter
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Re: HMV

Post by Hofstadter »

This is a little off topic, but I'll just bring it up anways - at least here in LA, in the past two or three years, independent record stores have really been thriving - several new ones have opened up in the past year (Mount Analog did over the summer, and it is easily my favorite place in LA now). I think besides the obvious reason that vinyl has become much more popular, at least to some degree this has to do with the fact that there are no more huge chain stores - Tower Records etc, all those sorts of places are gone, so the sort of boutique, more niche stores or just general but independent record stores don't have that competition any more - plus they sort of are given this "cool" factor. I was just curious if people were noticing this trend abroad at all, and for instance if the closing of HMV will have any impact.
olan
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Re: HMV

Post by olan »

Hofstadter wrote:This is a little off topic, but I'll just bring it up anways - at least here in LA, in the past two or three years, independent record stores have really been thriving - several new ones have opened up in the past year (Mount Analog did over the summer, and it is easily my favorite place in LA now). I think besides the obvious reason that vinyl has become much more popular, at least to some degree this has to do with the fact that there are no more huge chain stores - Tower Records etc, all those sorts of places are gone, so the sort of boutique, more niche stores or just general but independent record stores don't have that competition any more - plus they sort of are given this "cool" factor. I was just curious if people were noticing this trend abroad at all, and for instance if the closing of HMV will have any impact.
Absolutely no point going to HMV for vinyl as far as I can tell, and hasn't been for years. I use a single physical retailer in Liverpool, Probe Records, who are the mutts nutts for psyche/garage/krautrock etc. Back this up with regular visits to MCR and London for work and shopping and there is little more that I need. It is only the odd Trensmat or GPS release that causes me to use the internet (excluding drunken eBay 2nd hand vinyl binges).....
redcloud
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Re: HMV

Post by redcloud »

Independent record stores are alive and well in Portland, OR. At any given time there are approx. 30 or more but at least 15 of these are well established mainstays. For a city roughly the size of Manchester, England that's pretty good.
runcible
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Re: HMV

Post by runcible »

Leeds remains the largest city in the UK with the lowest number of 2nd hand record shops I know. We have one and it's rubbish - an occasional stall in the market too, but that's also poor. So buying vinyl is largely pointless.

I have been to the excellent Probe as well as several very good shops in Manchester - King Bee in Chorlton is still a great little place and one of my favourite treasure troves. So it's frustrating to live near Leeds, a large enough city, and have no opportunity to buy decent music locally. The web is about the only option.

I won't miss HMV. Expensive, full of stuff I have no interest in and actually quite hard in some stores to even find any music. The branch in Harrogate has it tucked away in a corner behind the DVDs, games and other stuff they sell. The sad thing is there was a respectable independent shop - largely mainstream but at least it was a local business - called Mix Music, but it bit the dust when Music Zone moved into town. Then HMV arrived and Music Zone shut down. Now HMV is going and I think of the poor bastards who ran Mix Music who lost their business as larger and larger music retailers moved in and fucked them over. That's the end of music retail in Harrogate it seems.

I will stop now as I'm on the verge of a rant. I work in a small independent store - not music - and I see the threat of the big boys every day.
olan
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Re: HMV

Post by olan »

Pretty typical story really Mark. The same thing has happened in most towns across the UK. As for buying records in Leeds at least there is this:

http://www.recordfairs-up-north.co.uk/index.htm

I was sent this link the other day:

http://www.recordcollectormag.com/dirs

There are a couple of fairly local 2nd hand outlets to me that I haven't managed to find yet. I really enjoy rummaging through a new record shop. Aside from it being almost therapeutic, there is always the chance you'll find something exciting. Unlike buying online from some eBay shark or tax-dodging behemoth, there is no shipping to pay (which can be more than the price of the LP if the vendor is "sharp") and you can nip into the Pub to celebrate your finds after you have finished!
spzretent
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Re: HMV

Post by spzretent »

Pretty sad when charity shops get listed. This is the world we live in now.

This topic is very close to my heart as I owned an independent shop for 12 years. I honestly still believe I was put on this earth to sell music to people. Now its via the internet which defeats the purpose. Or at least the way I looked at it.

We were one of those shops that really worked at it. Bringing in new records and bands people didn't even know about until we played them in the shop. I employed some amazing people who had their finger on the pulse of everything from UK indie circa 80's/90's, US indie/psych/grunge, the whole hardcore: straight edge, dischord etc market.

Sadly the whole techno market killed us. Big in Detroit and people started trekking to the urban shops to stay ahead. That is where a lot of our customers turned to "keep up" and I had no interest in stocking it, playing it, nothing. A few of the techno DJs were some of the biggest asshole customers around too. It was easy lose tons of money because the releases were in one week and already passe the next.

Oh well. Got that off my chest.
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olan
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Re: HMV

Post by olan »

spzretent wrote:Pretty sad when charity shops get listed. This is the world we live in now.

This topic is very close to my heart as I owned an independent shop for 12 years. I honestly still believe I was put on this earth to sell music to people. Now its via the internet which defeats the purpose. Or at least the way I looked at it.

We were one of those shops that really worked at it. Bringing in new records and bands people didn't even know about until we played them in the shop. I employed some amazing people who had their finger on the pulse of everything from UK indie circa 80's/90's, US indie/psych/grunge, the whole hardcore: straight edge, dischord etc market.

Sadly the whole techno market killed us. Big in Detroit and people started trekking to the urban shops to stay ahead. That is where a lot of our customers turned to "keep up" and I had no interest in stocking it, playing it, nothing. A few of the techno DJs were some of the biggest asshole customers around too. It was easy lose tons of money because the releases were in one week and already passe the next.

Oh well. Got that off my chest.
I think that is the other side of my point. I use Probe in Liverpool whenever possible. It might save a pound here or there to buy online, but if everyone did that all we would be left with would be Amazon and the like. I like the human interaction, the 'You might enjoy this" advice, the weird goings on with ointment (don't ask, it was bizarre) and the fact I can walk there, and stop for a pint on the way home. They serve a market and pretty much seem to ignore the dance scene. The fact that there is a strong psyche/garage/krautrock-y scene here helps of course. But you can't have one without the other really.

It is not just record shops too, I despair for indie bookshops trying to compete with Borders, tax-free kindles etc. Similarly independent sellers of musical instruments are almost history as are decent wine retailers, driven off the high street by Tesco Express and Bargain Booze selling turps.. Hi-fi shops are almost completely a thing of the past, In Liverpool there is Richer Sounds and bugger all else apart from Currys or Argos. That is OK if you need a TV, iPod or fridge. OK, so there is a recession on (again) and people have to tighten their belts, but once these places go, they are rarely replaced.

It is a crying shame when the charity shops are listable, jusy shows how much of the musical culture has been lost, your local record store being the thin edge of the wedge.......

OK, I need to sit down. A man of my advanced years can't get too excited and not pay a price!
spzretent
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Re: HMV

Post by spzretent »

olan wrote: It is a crying shame when the charity shops are listable, jusy shows how much of the musical culture has been lost, your local record store being the thin edge of the wedge.......

OK, I need to sit down. A man of my advanced years can't get too excited and not pay a price!
I know there a few of us around the same age that lament the closing of records shops everywhere. It was my drug of choice especially when I used to go to London to buy and sell records. It was such am amazing buzz.

Time and technology march on. Not much you can do about it.
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nickh
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Re: HMV

Post by nickh »

I had a moan on here a few years back when the remastered Ladies & Gents came out that not only did my local HMV have the pill case, they didn’t even have the jewel case. The guy behind the counter had never heard of Spiritualized and told me he could get the record but I would have to wait a week for it.

When the original came out in 97 the same shop had all three (CD) versions and when I walked in on the day of release the guys that I knew in there gave me the thumbs up and pointed me in the right direction. We had a chat about the merits of owning the pill pack over the jewel case but thought the 6 disc version was a bit pricey! I also remember around the same time asking my mum to get me the new Jon Spencer Blues Explosion record for Christmas, being a good mum, she want to the large HMV in Kingston to get the album but of course didn’t have the first idea where to look for it. She told me a very nice young man didn’t just point her in the direction of Rock/J, he actually took her to the Jon Spencer section and made sure she got the right album.

I hadn’t bought anything in HMV for a couple of years because there just wasn’t anything worth buying anymore. If I had wanted a distressed Ramones t-shirt and a bag of Haribos then I would have been good but a record by Spiritualized? Forget it.

I spoke to someone who is “quite big” at Waterstones a while back and have to say that it’s a fairly pleasant place to go and the people that work in there for the most part seem to have some interest in books which I reckon is a fairly good skill to have in a bookshop. I suggested her not to let Waterstones turn into another HMV.

I only go to Rough Trade, Sister Ray and (if I can put up with the rude fuck that works there sometimes) Reckless. If I do buy online I try and get the record from as close to the band as I can. I hope this doesn’t sound too sanctimonious.

I feel for the people that work in HMV, it’s not really their fault the place had gone down hill.
spzretent
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Re: HMV

Post by spzretent »

Here is a story from yesterday.
There is a local shop that sells everthing from collectible toys to bongs and incense, to comic books and everything in between. Kind of like a pop culture pawn shop. The owner is a bit of a scumbag who has been arrested before for videoing his girlfriend's kids in their bathroom(10 years ago but once a scumbag always a scumbag). I have know him for 20+ years. I rarely frequent his shop because it blows. Its a good place for the last visit on record store day because they sell mostly classic rock. I found both Luna records last year there because no one knows who they are ie: not Incubus or Jimi Hendrix.
Yesterday I asked if he was interested in any rap/hip hop vinyl. He said yes kind of enthusiastically.
I brought it in. After making me wait about 30 minutes he checked condition, then either ebay, GEMM or Amazon and shouted this across the shop "I am being really generous and I am offering you $12 in trade. And that is only for used product."
I looked the pile he wanted and there must have been like 40 records. Mostly promo 12"s.
I just picked them up, put them with the ones he didn't want, paid $2 for a Citay S/T CD(they must have bought this by accident) and left. As I was leaving he asked if I sure you didnt want the trade?
I just looked at him wil the most disgusting look I could muster and said yeah quite!
How this place is still in business is beyond me. Karma will bite them in the ass I hope.
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TheWarmth
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Re: HMV

Post by TheWarmth »

I have to consider myself lucky to live in a city with quite a few record stores still in business. A lot of people gripe about Reckless, but for the most part, I've found their employees to be pleasant enough, with the occasional rude hipster thrown in. There are three locations in the city and one within walking distance from my office. Others that I dig:

Permanent
Laurie's Planet of Sound
Dusty Groove

There are others (Logan Hardware), but these are the ones that I am the most familiar with.

Dave's Records has gone on my shitlist. I had a gift certificate so I took my 3 and a half year old daughter on an adventure. We took the bus all the way from Rogers Park to Lincoln Park, which took a good half hour or more (a long time for a 3 year old). I knew I wanted either the new Clinic album or the new Broadcast. The fact that I had my daughter with me meant that browsing was pretty much out of the question, so I asked the clerk if they had the Broadcast record. Here's the reply I got: "I only work here once a week. Did you look under the "B" section?" Fucking asshole couldn't even be bothered to look it up in the computer that was staring him right in the face.
spzretent
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Re: HMV

Post by spzretent »

There are a few good shops here. A couple exist for the sole pupose of finding rare soul gems. Both are really fair in what they pay out too. One doesn't care so much about rock which is good for me. I have found unreal records in there. Michael Head & The Strands for one. I had the CD but had never seen the vinyl. An original sealed copy of Jorma Kaukonen- Quah too.
The other one the guy knows his rock well. His strong point is he stocks a lot of dub/reggae reissues really resonably priced($13 to $18). And he is a really nice guy. I bring in stuff to trade all the time and I dont really care what he gives me. It offsets my cash layout and I sincerely hope he makes shitloads off what i bring in for trade.
The hipster shop, which the employees are really nice, way overcharge for good used records. A NM copy of Exile with postcards was $50 there. That is a $25 record at best. So I just stay out of there. There are a few others too which are good.
The above post from the shop I was in yesterday left a particularly bad taste in my mouth. I really shouldn't be surprised. This same douchebag once refused to sell me records because he was paranoid I was re-selling them. Which even if I was what is the difference? I am paying the price marked. I did find a Mark Lanegan- Whiskey From The Holy Ghost in there. It was priced at $50. And It had been sitting there for over 1 year which I pointed out. I think I wound up paying $30. Advantage me I guess.
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redcloud
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Re: HMV

Post by redcloud »

Yes, I too feel pretty grateful and fortunate that I live in a city that still supports local, independent record shops. Many are good, a few are great and a couple are outstanding. It always makes for fun days and if I had more money or was a bigger spender I could buy several records every time I walk in the door. I have to be more selective these days but even if I don't walk out the store with something I always enjoy just looking through their stock.

One thing I will say...the atmosphere in record stores can vary. A few stores I do like but the atmosphere isn't necessarily welcoming nor inviting. Some of this has to do with the uber-hip people that record stores seem to attract. These more hipster shops seem to sell mainly new vinyl too. My favorite record shop feels like a second home and I am with "my people" whenever I walk in the door. It sells all used records and the clientele varies from young to old and there is absolutely nothing pretentious about the place or the people who frequent it. Just obsessives and collectors looking through the many used bins for everything and anything. Just the way a record store should be!
spzretent
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Re: HMV

Post by spzretent »

Believe me, I try and support local record shops but this particular shop is a fucking joke. I am sure they pay very little for 99% of what they sell. Its after they "research" what records are worth the accidentally stumble upon records of value. And they rot there until, in the case of the Lanegan, that was just sitting there and I asked for a deal. At first they said its fairly priced. I said maybe, but its been sitting there for well over 1 year. I am offering $30. Yes or no. Initially they said no and I walked.
I also dont like looking at PS3 consoles, and Simpsons toys, and crack pipes when record shopping.
Oh what us addicts will do for a vinyl fix.
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Detroit, Music, Sports and Other Stuff(including Spiritualized, Spacemen 3)
The Dr
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Re: HMV

Post by The Dr »

maybe this would be a better place for this

http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/68454
“You're not Dostoevsky,' said the citizeness

'Well, who knows, who knows,' he replied.

'Dostoevsky's dead,' said the citizeness, but somehow not very confidently.

'I protest!' Behemoth exclaimed hotly. 'Dostoevsky is immortal!”
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