record shops and the future of vinyl.

L

laylz

Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2008
Location
Bristol
just spent the last two days on my knees in the back of a record shop sorting through shitloads of dnb n chatting to the owner about running record shops (since it's something i've always wanted to do). his is a second hand shop and he reckons that's your best bet because you don't have to stay on top of new releases, i.e. if you do badly one month, you don't have to fork out for new stock just stick with the stuff you've got. he also sells loads online.
then on my way home last night i bumped into the guy who runs my favourite shop here and he's actually closed it for good because he couldn't afford to run it and keep buying in new stock. so now he's just selling stuff online.

so my question is if a lot of shops are doing so badly(we've had loads close down here since 2006), and struggling to stay on top of new releases because they can't afford to buy them in, then what happens to vinyl?

does this mean eventually (as in maybe 15yrs or so) artists will stop releasing their tracks on vinyl because there'll be less shops to buy it? then what happens to the djs that still spin vinyl?

still, whatever happens,there'll ALWAYS be second hand record shops. and even though the net is great for finding and buying vinyl it's still a shame what's happening to the 'real world' shops.
 
vinyl till ya die.shopping first or second hand is the perfect cure....especially if you happen to be a beat junky.
 
VINYL forever for me


I'll open a shop if I have to when others close down...don't worry :P
 
Vinyl won't disappear just because the shops are. Theres always the online stores that will sell them. I think its more of a convenience thing for the customer, to shop on the internet rather than trekking it down to a record shop. Its a sad thing really. I personally used to love going down to my local record shop. I was there so much that I eventually ended up getting a job out of it. I used to love giving my recommendations on tunes to the customers be it for vinyl or CD packs. A computer isn't going to do that for you. Its a shame that so many are closing down. If I had the money I would start up Pure DJ again, but that's only going to happen if I had a big lottery win.
 
I work in a record shop, those lads sound like they over spent on their 'fresh release' orders each week. We know our customers tastes really well so we cater to them, we know what they like so we buy in what we know will sell. It all goes, as well as the stock that we have on the racks does. If say, we have a few releases left from last week for example, we'll show them to people until someone comes in who wants them takes them, and if not, we put them in stock for people to rummage through, more often than not though on delivery day everything goes out the door as quick as it arrives.
It ticks over like most businesses do, it's the service that we supply that counts though. There's not another record shop for about 25 miles. There used to be I think about 6-7 in our area when we opened 6 years ago, there's two now, counting us aswell.
It is a dying breed and it's a MASSIVE shame. This is part of our culture, and we're basically letting it die, by thinkin fuck it, I'll just order on the net, that is simply killing someone's business, a record shop, this is our passion. I dont understand why some people prefer to order off the net when they can network, meet new people, buy records, find classics they won't find in the net etc, all sorts of opportunities arise from just havin a chat in a record shop.
And all the while Councils are increasing the rates, bill's are going up, rent goes up, and if you dont have that loyal customer base, then really, your fucked.
It's a shame, I'm grateful to all our customers, who do have the option of clickin a few buttons on the net to order a tune, instead they come down and have a laugh, a chat and a cuppa, with the added bonus of our records being cheaper than the net, no p&p, lol.... So yeah, Big Up The Dirty Needle Independant Famo...loll:wave:
 
SkankDJ said:
I dont understand why some people prefer to order off the net when they can network, meet new people, buy records, find classics they won't find in the net etc, all sorts of opportunities arise from just havin a chat in a record shop.
Click to expand...

so true. i much prefer buying records in shops for those very reasons. it's wicked that your shop's still goin, even though so many near you have closed down.
i'd planned to open a shop within the next couple of years but don't think i could risk it now after chatting to people everyone involved with shops that i've spoken to has told me not to do it! like you say it's a dying breed and you're right, it is a big part of our culture. it's all about the excitement of finding that lost gem, or goin down on mondays to get that new release, chatting to people etc.

really hope record shops don't disappear completely. :confused:

p.s. cheers you lot, i'll keep my fingers crossed that you win the lottery ;)
 
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I haven't bought vinyl online since before xmas.

Im down at blackmarket now twice a week picking up new promos and shit. So much better.

And yeah, it's a bit more expensive. But its the experience and service you're paying for, and you don't get that anywhere else...
 
I live out in the sticks so the internet is my only option really, especially after I lost my license. If I could go to a record shop, then I would. I love that feeling of finding somethin special.
 
Saint said:
I haven't bought vinyl online since before xmas.

Im down at blackmarket now twice a week picking up new promos and shit. So much better.

And yeah, it's a bit more expensive. But its the experience and service you're paying for, and you don't get that anywhere else...
Click to expand...

Plus its good networking isnt it? And theres the off chance you'll see some A-list DJ's there.
 
$marty said:
Plus its good networking isnt it? And theres the off chance you'll see some A-list DJ's there.
Click to expand...

Yeah man, meet loads of people. Blackmarket espeically, off the top of my head: Youngsta, Flight, Miss Pink, Ray Keith. All working there most days... Its just the place to buy records :)
 
I used to spend my Saturday afternoons at Record basement reading, then over to Slough Records, and Hard Edge Maidenhead...it was a religion..but now they are all closed..and it got to be all wanky you ain't been in for a week so no promos for you form Slough record Centre...man they didn't even have a DnB section when I started buying there..it was people like me who forced them out of their house music snobbery !!!
 
Far to many shops closing down which is a shame.Lots are struggling as more and more dj's will download stuff for free or play alot of their own stuff.
I can't stand online shopping so i support my local shop (Tempest records in Birmingham).
 
I live in the sticks so it's a lot easier for me to buy online just because the nearest vinyl shop (that actually stocks dnb) is probably Liverpool and it's a long trek to get there. I would like to have a vinyl shop local to me but that aint ever going to happen. I think the best way for a vinyl shop to keep going strong is to have a shop and a website so people have the choice to go in and browse or just grab things they want online. Vinyl won't die out imho, there's too many vinyl heads out there, not just in dnb vinyl but hip-hop, breaks, dubstep, house etc etc. And yeah there will always be people using CDs/MP3s but there will always be people who love vinyl, and I'm one of them!
 
i travel about 30 mins just to go a record shop,

i mainly buy of redeye, but for some reason ive got a feeling that i need to support the local record shops even if they are a little bit more expensive, the people in there are safe as fuck!!! they love wat they are doing

long live vinyl! Cds or mp3s will never bring the good vibes a 12" does!
 
yeah my favourite store is beatdown records in newcastle upon tyne, and underground solushn in edinburgh. but in bristol (now dmt's shut down) there's only rooted and chemical that sell new release stuff and i'm not a fan of rooted. and chemical's just a big warehouse where you listen and buy while sitting at a computer so not like goin to an indie shop where you get to chat about records etc. that's why i wanted to open one here but that ain't gonna happen now! even if there'll always be a market for vinyl, the fact is shops make most of their money on line nowadays. the costs of running a shop are too high when on a bad day you might not even make enough to cover them.

we'll see though ay. maybe there'll be a backlash against the net and a rise in independent shops!
 
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