Is the CD dead?

[Vacant Horizon]

It is interesting you mention record stores in general. There are still record stores, at least in the cities, but there aren't any longer the larger full service ones, mostly just indies.

 

But you are correct that every small town used to have some sort of record store. You could go to practically any small town and find a place that had something to offer and a place to find out what was happening in that town. Record stores were the place you could find out about music in the area, buy some old LPs or CDs at good prices and maybe find some paraphanailia too..(not that I ever did.) These were the centers of musical life in towns.

 

I found all kinds of interesting things and met interesting folks in small town record stores. Those days do seem to be mostly gone.

 

LouieB

 

atlanta has a few. one recently went out of business. the one in decatur opened in 04 and is quite successful. it caters to the alt. country indie crowd and is packed on the weekend. the dude has 2 guys working with him all the time, so i assume it's going well. i don't care for the place. the guy was really great when he opened up, but soon got to be 'too cool' for regular folks. another one has a few cds, but mostly used vinyl. they stay alive b/c they are the vinyl guys in the all of georgia. they sell on ebay. there's two more i believe. don't know how they're doing.

 

one interesting thing about the cd dying is this: there are still new cds, but lots of stuff is going out of print. i wan'ted to get jay farrar's terroir blues since my copy vanished. all i could find was used copies. that will be the wave of the future. new cds will still come out, with deluxe editions being the new money maker. these will still be at big box stores and the surviving indie stores. amazon and ebay will soon be the only place to buy cds. used and new. it's very interesting. we will get flac at some point. the record companies are always coming up with ways for suckers to re-buy the Eagles, CSN, Led Zeppelin, Stones, Beatles, etc.

[LouieB]

atlanta has a few. one recently went out of business.

 

Are there any large, full service record stores left in Atlanta? If people can chime in on this I would be curious. They can be non-chain, but I mean ones that are large (not just small storefronts) that include all sorts of music including classical, blues, country, pop, rock, folk, etc., rather than those doing the ebay thing and catering to the vinyl crowd.

 

LouieB

[Doug C]

You could go to practically any small town and find a place that had something to offer and a place to find out what was happening in that town. Record stores were the place you could find out about music in the area, buy some old LPs or CDs at good prices and maybe find some paraphanailia too..(not that I ever did.) These were the centers of musical life in towns.

 

I found all kinds of interesting things and met interesting folks in small town record stores. Those days do seem to be mostly gone.

The above is what I meant by 'ah memories'. This quote bears (re)repeating: "These were the centers of musical life in towns.".

[Vacant Horizon]

Are there any large, full service record stores left in Atlanta? If people can chime in on this I would be curious. They can be non-chain, but I mean ones that are large (not just small storefronts) that include all sorts of music including classical, blues, country, pop, rock, folk, etc., rather than those doing the ebay thing and catering to the vinyl crowd.

 

LouieB

 

 

no real full service stores here. we had a giant warehouse music and a tower records that had EVERYTHING. they're gone now. the indies are small. there is also a used book store that sells used cds and some vinyl. these types of stores will probably last a long time. people will always want to buy media. used cd/book stores will be like specialized thrift shops:)

 

now, i did hear on npr or something about a CD store chain called Silvers or something. they are actually growing and opening more stores. go figure. it'll all even out at some point. as i said, the issue will be getting new copies of older cds that aren't the top sellers of the last 30 years.

[LouieB]

no real full service stores here. we had a giant warehouse music and a tower records that had EVERYTHING. they're gone now. the indies are small. there is also a used book store that sells used cds and some vinyl. these types of stores will probably last a long time. people will always want to buy media. used cd/book stores will be like specialized thrift shops:)

 

now, i did hear on npr or something about a CD store chain called Silvers or something. they are actually growing and opening more stores. go figure. it'll all even out at some point. as i said, the issue will be getting new copies of older cds that aren't the top sellers of the last 30 years.

Maybe Silvers is the wave of the future. We really won't know until the future. But you gotta figure that CDs are now 30 years old and alot of people have CD players both at home and in their cars and need stuff to play on them. And maybe a store like Silvers will collect the out of print CDs that will eventually become the collector's items of tomorrow. Mark my words...

 

Yea, and it is weird to think the Towers are gone. I will never forget going into the one here and thinking, damn, this place has everything.... and then they took over Rose records which was the huge full service store here and the rest, as they say is history, they are all gone.

 

 

LouieB

[MattZ]

The weird thing that i can't figure out, and it's sort of proved by this thread, is that everyone seems to agree that the traditional record store is gone, and that it is missed. And yet, they've all closed. Is it because the Tower Records of the world ran the good ones out of business and (basically) sucked major ass? So then they went out of business? Is there a market for a really good record store? And if I opened one, could I support my family?

[cryptique]

I'd say it was Best Buy that ran all the good stores out of business -- there were Best Buys everywhere, but Towers tended to exist only in major metropolitan areas.

 

Since their peak, Best Buy (and Borders) have drastically cut back on the number of CDs they stock, so they suck major ass now too.

 

Maybe that provides an opening for a seriously good CD store. Or maybe everyone's too hooked on downloading now to make such a store viable.

[MattZ]

Maybe that provides an opening for a seriously good CD store. Or maybe everyone's too hooked on downloading now to make such a store viable.

 

Yeah. And it goes without saying that this crowd may not be an accurate representation of reality.

[LouieB]

We couldn't support ourselves I don't think (hell I can barely support myself now!!) with a record store. I agree that Tower and Best Buy ran the more local big stores out of business (I know they did in Chicago}. Rose records had an entire floor of classical records, a floor of rock, folk sections, jazz, vocal, blues other assorted stuff and tons of cut outs. It was amazing and it was locally owned. Heck even Rolling Stone (and later Rock Records) had large sections of these things. And Rose had staff who knew the stock, etc. For all the blandness of places like Coconuts, etc. they really tried to meet everyone's needs. Now they are gone gone gone.

 

What it would take is an incredible amout of capital, something no one wants to risk at the moment. And don't get me wrong, I love Lauries. Strangely even Lauries is now selling used classical LPs. I can't imagine they sell that many, but it is fun to see them there.

 

Meanwhile, the Jazz Record Mart is still a national treasure. (even if the staff is kinda nasty sometimes...)

 

LouieB

[tinnitus photography]

atlanta has a few.

 

Criminal Records is a great store. i checked it out a bit when they did the 3 band in-store before Scion Rock Fest...totally dug it.

 

The weird thing that i can't figure out, and it's sort of proved by this thread, is that everyone seems to agree that the traditional record store is gone, and that it is missed. And yet, they've all closed. Is it because the Tower Records of the world ran the good ones out of business and (basically) sucked major ass? So then they went out of business? Is there a market for a really good record store? And if I opened one, could I support my family?

 

for me, it's because mail order is so much easier...i live ~30 miles from the stores now, and browsing the racks is something i only get to a few times a year.

[u2roolz]

http://www.bullmoose.com/

 

I guess I'm lucky to have an independent record store within 20 minutes of where I live. It's not super big space wise, but big enough I guess.

 

I remember back in the 90s in Nashua, NH there used to be Rockit Records. They even sold bootlegs and those were very expensive obviously. They closed and Newbury Comics took over.

 

The best record store that I've been in in the last year was while on vacation in Montreal. http://www.archambault.ca/qmi/catalog/category.jsp?navAction=jump&lang=en&id=ACH&

They had the store set up with Classical music in the back in its own "private" section.

 

Now my question is: Do any of the remaining stores have iPod buying docks? Basically, a place (record store) where you can walk in with your iPod and listen to music and then buy it and load it onto your own iPod. It seems against the nature of a record store, but if they present themselves as both could they survive? Any thoughts on this? I'm guessing it doesn't exist.

[LouieB]

Now my question is: Do any of the remaining stores have iPod buying docks? Basically, a place (record store) where you can walk in with your iPod and listen to music and then buy it and load it onto your own iPod. It seems against the nature of a record store, but if they present themselves as both could they survive? Any thoughts on this? I'm guessing it doesn't exist.

I had this thought today too, but you verbalized it first. This is a brilliant idea actually. I know you can do all this pretty easily at home so why go out to do it, but it is still a brilliant idea. If you could go to a store, hear some of the hit singles of the day and download them immediately for not too much money, wow.....

 

Okay maybe it is stupid and brilliant all at the same time.

 

LouieB

[Guest Speed Racer]

Ah, that would be a laughable disaster.

 

The whole point of downloading is the instant gratification: you're reading a review online, you read the posts on VC about how the reviews are totally spot-on, you make three clicks and it's yours. Click, click, click.

 

OR: You're reading a review online, you read the posts on VC about how the reviews are totally spot-on, you grab your iPod, hop in the car, drive, park, walk in, wait for the person already at the kiosk, download it - but the kiosk freezes - the guy restarts it, you download it, but they charged you twice, you take fifteen minutes working that out but find out your card won't be reimbursed until next week, you drive home, you listen.

 

?

[Vacant Horizon]

I had this thought today too, but you verbalized it first. This is a brilliant idea actually. I know you can do all this pretty easily at home so why go out to do it, but it is still a brilliant idea. If you could go to a store, hear some of the hit singles of the day and download them immediately for not too much money, wow.....

 

Okay maybe it is stupid and brilliant all at the same time.

 

LouieB

 

i wouldn't mind this. it would keep me from being obsessed with my itunes library. if a piece of art was part of the price, well, that would be bad ass. you get the download at varying bitrates and an album size book with lyrics and artwork. how about that? i would love that!

[Vacant Horizon]

Criminal Records is a great store. i checked it out a bit when they did the 3 band in-store before Scion Rock Fest...totally dug it.

 

 

 

for me, it's because mail order is so much easier...i live ~30 miles from the stores now, and browsing the racks is something i only get to a few times a year.

 

i forgot about criminal. they cater to the real hipster indie crowd, but are very nice to regular folks like me. it's kind of small. i will be heading out there in a few weeks to see patterson hood. just down the street is wax n fax which is mostly vinyl. then you got fantasyland records in midtown. don't know if they're still around though.

[Vacant Horizon]

I'd say it was Best Buy that ran all the good stores out of business -- there were Best Buys everywhere, but Towers tended to exist only in major metropolitan areas.

 

Since their peak, Best Buy (and Borders) have drastically cut back on the number of CDs they stock, so they suck major ass now too.

 

Maybe that provides an opening for a seriously good CD store. Or maybe everyone's too hooked on downloading now to make such a store viable.

 

the opening is for a media store that sells used everything...books, cds, dvds, albums, comics, stuff. in addition to the used stuff, they also sell new releases in all the forms they are coming in these days. the kicker is having a staff that are not a bunch of assholes.

[Vacant Horizon]

Maybe Silvers is the wave of the future. We really won't know until the future. But you gotta figure that CDs are now 30 years old and alot of people have CD players both at home and in their cars and need stuff to play on them. And maybe a store like Silvers will collect the out of print CDs that will eventually become the collector's items of tomorrow. Mark my words...

 

Yea, and it is weird to think the Towers are gone. I will never forget going into the one here and thinking, damn, this place has everything.... and then they took over Rose records which was the huge full service store here and the rest, as they say is history, they are all gone.

 

 

LouieB

 

 

the shitty thing about all of this is that the cd never went down in price. i mean, the actually disc is pennies to produce. there's no reason a cd should cost more than $5. if that was the case, i would buy EVERYTHING i had any interest in at all. the same with downloads. the industry needs to set a system that exploits addiction to music rather than trying to have the BIG record.

[The High Heat]

the shitty thing about all of this is that the cd never went down in price.

I've never understood this contradiction in traditional supply and demand economics. Cd sales are cut in half in less than a decade, but the price stays the same?

[tinnitus photography]

I've never understood this contradiction in traditional supply and demand economics. Cd sales are cut in half in less than a decade, but the price stays the same?

 

well how about the fact that, unlike books, the MSRP for any cd is typically the same (not counting 'nice price' stuff).

[LouieB]

the shitty thing about all of this is that the cd never went down in price. i mean, the actually disc is pennies to produce. there's no reason a cd should cost more than $5. if that was the case, i would buy EVERYTHING i had any interest in at all. the same with downloads. the industry needs to set a system that exploits addiction to music rather than trying to have the BIG record.

 

 

I've never understood this contradiction in traditional supply and demand economics. Cd sales are cut in half in less than a decade, but the price stays the same?

Greed....that's all. Actually of late the CD has come down as we have seen in the Best Buy thread. But I agree, CDs should cost far less (but of course new LPs should not be $25 either, but at the moment they can get that...)

 

LouieB

[Moss]

 

Got my CD holder all set up. Guess I don't have as many CD's as I thought. Plenty of room to grow.

[LouieB]

Someone stop him before he hurts himself.....or pisses off roomates or spouse.....

 

LouieB

[Vacant Horizon]

 

Got my CD holder all set up. Guess I don't have as many CD's as I thought. Plenty of room to grow.

 

you don't like the beatles do you?

[Moss]

Someone stop him before he hurts himself.....or pisses off roomates or spouse.....

 

LouieB

 

 

 

 

you don't like the beatles do you?

 

 

And hear I thought I was being so tasteful and elegant. Beatles are a decent little band.

 

I have actually bought about 25 CD's since this picture was taken. All that open space is calling to me.

[HungryHippo]

I still buy CDs but tend to refrain from buying new releases unless it's something I know I'll love. for example, I just bought 3 older albums by Josh Rouse on Amazon last night and when shipping was calculated into the total, I had spent $13. I could have went to my local CD store, spent an additional $5 and only have purchased one of these CDs.

 

I hate to see these CD stores going under but the corporate music gurus are doing it to themselves. as the consumer, we'll always have file sharing sites, CD burners, etc. for them to keep the prices of CDs so high is just so illogical that I don't even know what else to say. this is simple supply and demand economics. you don't keep your prices high when there's no demand for your product, lol.