Where are the local music stores?

I realize it has been a while since my last discussion topic but today I felt inspired to mention something I think true music enthusiasts can relate to. What’s happening to local music stores?  I’m asking because yesterday, I found out that my favorite one, Vinyl Fever, is closing. To some people, this might be no big deal; especially since we still have Best Buy, Target and other stores in town as well as countless websites to purchase music from too. But, for me, that news was horrible. For years, I’ve gone to Vinyl Fever to listen to both new and old music and to purchase diamonds in the rough, as they offer quite a diverse selection of artists and genres. I’m certain that all of the employees recognize me, if for no other reason than because on numerous occasions I’ve stayed in that store for hours, picking up one cd after another, wondering if I really could be addicted to music. (By the way, I found a very cool website yesterday called Music Addikts and I laughed to myself as I read their Meet the Addikts section. I relate to them too well.)  So, to put it mildly, when I heard about the store closing, I was heartbroken.

And, how did I cope with the news? I rushed straight to the store to see if they were having a sale. I wasn’t ready for what they were offering. We must really be in a recession because all of their used cds were 50% off and new ones were 30% off. Somehow, I convinced myself that the only way to get over the shock was to search for as many deals as possible. Let’s just say that my coping mechanism may have worked because the sales associate gave me a box to carry the 20 cds that I had purchased to my car. I know you’re probably thinking “Mimi, 20 cds is too many!” My rationale was that this was a golden opportunity to find music that I can use for the Monday Mixes. Besides, like most music addicts say, the cds were calling my name. Where else was I going to find Wes Montgomery, Tramaine Hawkins and Xscape for $5 each? I had to rescue those albums.

So, as I think about the ways the music industry is changing, I wanted to start a discussion about local music stores. Have any stores closed in your city? Are you going to miss them as much as I will? Rarely do I solicit comments but I’m just wondering if we’re seeing a new wave of music purchasing. Perhaps in a few years, it will all be digital for real. What do you think?

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Discussions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.