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From: "Mark" <markcr31uk@bluenospamyonder.co.uk>
Newsgroups: alt.music
Subject: British Record Shops Under Threat
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Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 15:33:23 -0000
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The fall of Tower Records increases fears for fate of British record
shops
By Ian Burrell Media and Culture Correspondent
11 February 2004
One of the great icons of the American music industry came crashing
down yesterday when Tower Records collapsed under competition from
internet downloads and discount shops.
The demise of Tower set alarm bells ringing across the British music
industry, prompting fears that the days of the record shop could be
numbered.
British retailers are clinging to the hope that record-buyers in the
land that inspired Nick Hornby's tale of musical obsession, High
Fidelity, would not readily relinquish the experience of pawing
through the racks, but if the United States is a barometer of future
British leisure habits then downloading and supermarket-buying are
the future.
Staff at the 93 branches of Tower, one of the best-known
international chains, learnt yesterday that the company had filed for
competition from the supermarket Wal-Mart and the electrical chain
Best Buy.
It had been struggling for some time, and sold off its 14 British
stores last year. Sir Richard Branson bought its flagship outlet on
Piccadilly Circus in central London, which continued to trade under
the Tower name.
The collapse of Tower follows the disappearance from the high street
of other well-known chains, including Our Price and Andy's Records in
the past 18 months.
A British music retailer warned last night that the specialist record
store was under threat. Simon Dornan, spokesman for Virgin Mega-
stores, said he believed that discount pricing of CDs by supermarkets
posed an even greater threat to record shops than downloading.
Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Safeway have become increasingly big
players in music retail, cutting the price of chart CDs to as little
and R. Kelly, have been propelled into the Top 10 of the album chart
after making more than half of their sales in supermarkets.
"The scenario [for record shops] is far more dangerous than anything
to do with downloading," Mr Dornan said. "Tower were quoted as saying
they could not afford to operate in the UK market. You would have
thought that in their homeland they would be safe. Everybody's
shocked to see what has happened."
He said that if supermarkets came to dominate music retail, British
music would become less exciting. "Labels will be less inclined to
invest in a wider roster and we will have far blander music on
offer," he said. "I don't suppose I will find Franz Ferdinand in Asda
or Sainsbury's this week."
Noting that France's music retail was already dominated by
supermarkets, Mr Dornan said that record shops had to offer shoppers
a more "rock 'n' roll" experience with more of a "live venue status".
Last night The Sleepy Jackson performed a gig at the Virgin Megastore
in London's Oxford Street. "I don't believe bands like that are going
to play in a car park at Asda."
Other music retailers said record stores would survive because
Britain had a different culture to the US. A spokesman for HMV
said: "Stores are more part of the culture here because of the
Sixties pop explosion. People seem to value not just the acquisition
of a piece of music but the process of acquiring it."
British music fans liked to show their devotion to a band by
purchasing a physical music product. The same culture was not as
ingrained in the US, where downloading had taken off. "There doesn't
seem to be the same emotional attachment to buying music. It's a more
functional good over there."
Record stores will take comfort from the fact that CDs, like DVDs,
are often given as gifts. "I don't think a download would make such a
good present," the HMV spokesman said. He said, however, that
downloading facilities in record stores could be a thing of the
future.
The increasing popularity of downloading in Britain was revealed in
figures from the Official Charts Company that showed there were more
legal downloads last month (150,000) than sales of vinyl or
cassettes. Legal downloads account for only 2 per cent of the total
number, industry sources say.
Lawyers for Tower, meanwhile, are hoping to bring the company back
from the brink with a restructuring package that could allow it to
emerge from bankruptcy within 45 days.
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