Independent Record Stores Live On with MusicStack by David Stack - November 3, 2008 Not a few observers and experts in the music trade industry have predicted the demise of your neighborhood-friendly independent record stores. Theirs is a bleak prediction: once a venue for teenagers to escape their stifling, parental-guided homes and to come together with others in a shared passion for music, the independent record store is now bound to wither, what with the rise of digital downloads as well as stiff competition from corporate, mass-market, big-box music retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy. It didn't use to be this way. Independent record stores were a sort of cultural locus, a kind of sonic temple where buyers and sellers socialized their music and connected and formed a community of listeners. In each store, there was a pool of expert advice and sophistication and good taste that went into selecting and marketing and selling the music catalogs being held. With a specialized inventory, personal service, deep collections of hard-to-find CDs and vinyl records, and staff members who were knowledgeable about the stuff that they were selling, independent record stores were once the most valuable resources for all audiophiles. They provided a diverse range of music consumers the unique shopping experience of flipping through the racks, of appreciating album art and liner notes, of listening to the clerk's recommendations, and of actually buying recorded music as a kind of physical commodity or product. Nowadays, however, the very idea for which independent record stores stand is being threatened. Songs that were bought once can be burned twenty times. Artists, labels, and retailers are shifting to the digital delivery of music (think MySpace and iTunes and MP3s). The file-sharing community (started by Napster before the turn of the century) is growing, and so is the number of listeners who prefer their iPod Nanos over turntables. As more and more people are embracing the digital age, it's almost unavoidable that the sales of independent record stores will slump - and drastically. That is, unless the stores adjust their business model, think smart about the ever-changing environment, and stay open to the possibilities that today's industry trends have presented. And what better way to forge through the digital age than by going online? MusicStack, a Web-based music marketplace, is a virtual comparison shopping portal for over 3,500 independent record stores around the world, all of which are using new technologies and playing to their strengths to create sales-leading buzz on the Internet. With millions of CDs, record albums, picture discs, vinyl LPs, CD singles, out-of-print music, and limited edition releases in its stock, MusicStack is a haven not only for those who are caught amidst the current swirl of vinyl nostalgia; it is home to those who want to continue the tradition of independent record stores. The site's musical inventory is conveniently searchable, be it by artist, title, genre, or label - with detailed information about the condition of every record. It is the new sonic temple, old-fashioned in its love of music, as well as in the acquisition and experience of it. Just in the manner of those independent record stores we used to frequent, which may, thanks to MusicStack, just live on and prosper.     David Stack Developer of MusicStack. Serial internet entrepreneur. Loves music, especially shoegaze, synthpop and chillout.  Subscribe to Latest Articles

2 Responses

Disc Xpress March 17, 2009 1:33 PM Hey David. Great article. I'm hoping to open a record store soon. It will be a counterpart to my website. Digital delivery of music scares me. I have read articles that say record stores won't be around in 10 years. Some say that CD sales are just lowering to a more realistic sales trend. And some even say that record store owners must use a different business model to sell CDs. Some research show that CDs still make up at least 70% of music sales. What do you think about the possibilities of opening a store with the current market conditions?

David Stack August 8, 2009 1:33 PM I too want to open a record store. Is it crazy to think that a new record store can succeed in the digital era?

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