The Death of an Indie Record Store

POP GOES ANOTHER MUSIC SHOP!

Modernity strikes yet another crushing blow. This time it’s the musicindustry, as it finally realises it’s in a crisis – or does it? Mark mywords; there are dark days ahead for all involved in the business. In part,the record companies are paying the price for ripping – off customers forseveral years. Elvis Costello confirmed this in a candid interview 18 monthsago. He was bold in the face of possible recriminations, but ex-bank clerkCostello has his head screwed on, and thankfully he hasn’t been targeted forhis honesty.

In addition, the world has seen another phenomenal change – the‘downloaders’. I like to call them – prudent reactionaries. They either,legally get cheaper songs, (or illegally free) because the music is strippedof hangers – on: or as they’re officially called – the entourage.Downloading is no frills, but boring. People still want to show-off theircollection, just like book fans do. I certainly do.

Another vehicle for accessing cheaper products has come via the supermarketsthat offer ‘chart only’ new releases at highly competitive prices. Inreality, they’ve captured the family market or lazy buyers who can’t bebothered to visit independent or chain stores. A step in the right directionhas come from some artists who insist on a £2 threshold on singles.

For the real ‘muso’ like me, and there are millions of us, this brings its inherentproblems. The genuine music fan obviously wants a good deal, and willinvariably gravitate towards it. In my game, it is essential to get my handson the peripheral information which normally comes with the item: where itwas recorded, who produced it, which composers are involved, musicians, andyes, even the lyrics. Download gives you none of this.

Before I venturedinto music journalism, I was a real anorak when it came to these essentialdetails. The net result being, I had a wealth of information stored, andready at my disposal should I need it. Artist recommendation was commonplacein those days, and believe it or not, it’s invaluable today. In effect, itopened up a new world for me as we swapped LPs for fun, discovering newinformation along the way.

As a student in 1977, I was fortunate to work inwhat was then Wrexham’s leading indie store –Rabbit Records owned by PhaseOne proprietor Alun Hughes. I got the Saturday and holiday job, not onlybecause I needed the cash, but because I was knowledgeable and passionateabout music. Such was my enthusiasm; I became store manager in 18 months.The formats were simple back then: 7″ singles, LPs and cassettes, followedrapidly by the 12″ single. With these changes came new styles of music:Disco, Punk, New Wave, Modern Romantics, which led to various otherspin-offs, pushing the boundaries of contemporary music to its limits. Inthe process they led to genres that went further from core pop music, thusfracturing the music industry as independent labels popped up everywhere. Inessence, they catered for minority tastes.

Things haven’t been the samesince. Then came the CD in the 80s, the mini-disc, and the rest is history.Through this little gem of a shop on Bridge Street, I met a host of up – and- coming DJ’s and musicians, most of whom I still see to this day. Customersstill remember me from those halcyon days. Life-long friendships were forgedduring that time. Whenever possible, we still help each other out even tothis day. It was as much a meeting point as a store. The gossip, thewind-ups, the camaraderie has not diminished one iota. Interactive was theethos of the workplace – the personal touch meant everything.

In 1980, a well established north Wales outlet moved into High Street, which partlyplayed in the demise of Rabbit Records. Two years later Alun Hughes bouncedback – he’d relocated and morphed into Phase One Records on King Street.Since then, successive chain stores have come and gone, but POR hasweathered them all. Despite trying to keep pace with rapid technologicalchanges, sound quality has dramatically improved. In some cases the producthasn’t. Over the years, one thing has never changed – the thrill of buying anew piece of music. Ok, it’s a childish emotion without any doubt, but Idon’t care.

On July 12 1963 I bought my first record – Twist And Shout byThe Beatles, which I still have. Ironically, it was from an independentstall in the Vegetable Market in Wrexham. I can still see me walking up tothe high counter, (don’t forget I was only eight years of age), as myparents watched me nervously approach the stall. I handed over the cash, andthere it was in all its glory – in my possession. Forty two years on, Istill get a buzz every time I look at the cover of John, Paul, George andRingo leaping up in the air on some derelict building in Liverpool. Pavlovcalled it Stimulus Response.

There was no record player in our modest homeat the time. I had to wait a punishing six months before my Christmaspresent arrived – a Dansette record player. I can’t even begin to articulatethe emotion. I can feel it now as I write : such is the power of music. So,as technology progresses at alarming rates, where have we actually reached?Well, we find music fat cats running scared. Why? Clearly, over investmentin totally talent – less acts is a major factor – we know who they are. Over-pricing,the bane of every customer has been justified as ‘futureinvestment‘. Lack of vision by them has finally set in.

In the past fouryears, I’ve seen and heard a wealth of local and national talent. Musicianswill tell you that there’s a ground-swell of opinion that consolidates mybelief that the current shock waves are in the higher regions of the Richterscale. The domino effect equivalent of a Tsunami is about to be unleashed,with the tail-end ripples shaping-up ominously. Some reps are quaking intheir boots as more and more independent stores fall by the wayside. Result?Redundancy. No doubt, all aspects of the industry will be affected.

A case inpoint was record producer Phil Beaumont of Forge Recording Studio based atthe border town of Oswestry who confirmed this hypothesis. He made sweepingadaptations in response to drastic changes in his field of work, which hasproved very profitable. Phil said, “At one time all our work was for therecord companies. Since the lack of new signings, bands have been forced toset up their own independent labels to market their own product. Inresponse, we’ve restructured prices to cater specifically for theindependent artist. This means that bands have easier access to equipmentand are able to stay for longer periods in the studio.”

The PRS Foundationis the UK’s largest funder for new music of any genre. Launched in March2000, it aims to stimulate and support the creation and performance of newmusic. Funding over 1,000 initiatives to date, to the tune of nearly fivemillion, it led to Phil rethinking his operations. Therefore, I believe it’snecessary to encourage entrepreneurialism by developing a strong network ofindependent stores to facilitate the sales of the independent artist. Somenational stores do accept these products, but not on grand enough a scale.

It is also necessary to maintain the current operating outlets such as PhaseOne. Its closure would be a travesty to the town in general. It’s not only alocal concern, but a national one, which simply cannot be ignored anylonger. Another aspect, the’ grey pound’ theory has only just dawned atboardroom level. We’re talking about folks with greater disposable incomei.e. big spenders – particularly on luxury or leisure items. With this,album sales are soaring, music DVD’s even more so. MOR playlists by thelikes of BBC Radio 2 have transformed the channel into the most successfulin the land. On that channel, people consider they’re getting value formoney. Bona fide singer – songwriters are fighting over themselves to getair play.

In real terms, the record companies have failed to recognise thedeath of certain genres. Hip – hop, Rap, Thrash Metal etc, are dead in longterm commercial value. Thuggish youths spouting on about indigenous orparochial problems, usually angst ridden, have failed to hit the point ofpopular music. Remember punk? It lasted 18 months max. Pop music is meantto be universal – period. Minor acts are not executing commercial sense bycrossing over to the mainstream. Some do, most don’t. Some don’t even wantto – it’s their prerogative. If they do, they aren’t around for too longeither there’s little or no longevity because they’re gripped by fame andfortune. There are more one-hit wonders than ever. More worryingly, whereare the so called ‘Super Groups’? Only a handful exists, and they’re elderstatesmen now. Few can sustain the long run, because they’re not encouragedto do so.

Flash the flesh, make up artists, bubblegum songs is the order ofthe day – total ‘shortermism’ is the stupid agenda. TV talent shows havespawned some horrifically useless characters who believe their own hype.Most end up being nothing more than ‘pantomime acts’. Perhaps the chartsshould be re-invented. Pantomime chart for the likes of Geri Halliwell(who’s recently discovered her ‘true voice’ at last!) and a real music chartfor Alex McEwan, James Blunt, Ben Lee and Ben Folds. Not a bad idea inreality, because reality doesn’t prevail on the present scene. They win fora bit, whilst flavour of the month. They either fade away, or they’redropped like a lead balloon: Scary Spice, and various members of S Club 7for example. They desperately try to make a comeback or comebacks in somecases, even though they’ve long lost the credibility factor. That’s when thepanic button is pushed on both sides – by artist and company.

When they’ve failed, they’re mortified. It’s time for rehab, crash diets,boob jobs, 48 hour marriages, Celebrity Fat Club, or if they’re really lucky- I’m A (so-called) Celebrity ..Get Me Out Of Here, rounded-off with anexclusive tabloid sob story, presumably sold for quite a few bob forludicrous reincarnations. Shamelessly for the fast buck, they reveal more oftheir personal lives than their supposed talents. In short, they’re alaughing stock. It gets madder by the minute as millions of pounds ofcompany money is wastefully flushed down the pan. Funnily enough, we allknow it, so how come they don’t? Maybe something to do with greed, ratherthan common sense?

The record-buying public will only be fooled for so long, and we’ve seenenough to remind us of our folly. Frustratingly, pop has mutated into pap:music into muzak, yet it seems the coffers still swell up for themanufactured acts. As if things weren’t bad enough, artistic licence leadsto writers and singers using blatant expletives – Parental Advisory ExplicitLyrics appears on virtually every album or single these days. There is noplace for such arrogance, and more worryingly why do the record companiesallow it? It only serves to alienate them even more from potential buyersand much needed income.

Greats like Elton John, Paul McCartney, U2 et al,never resort to those kinds of desperate attention seeking tactics.Basically, the people in charge have totally lost the plot. Maybe, justmaybe, they’ve actually had the wake-up call. CD singles prices seem to betumbling, even if they are inconsistent in their pricing. Thankfully, alongthe way, we’ve lost the four-track CD (with innumerable amounts ofunnecessary remixes) to a more realistic ‘VFM’ – Value For Money.

Market forces have played a helping hand i.e. internet downloads, and in someplaces, lack of sensitive structural planning. With this new angle ofacquiring music, we’re deprived of all the add-ons mentioned earlier. As anation we’re witnessing the new phenomenon of ‘cloned towns’. We’re alsowitnessing less community pride and interaction which indies proveotherwise. On a recent visit to Amsterdam, they seemed to be on every streetand flourishing. There’s something rather special about them – they’re uniqueand you feel it as you enter.

With regard to supermarkets, funnily enough,we’ve seen the re-invention of the corner shop mentality. Seems like whatgoes round, finally comes round after all. One day, I am confident, thecurrent trend will be reversed, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Wrexham seesthe emergence of another indie music shop – but it might need a helping handfrom all concerned. Perhaps this little boy can once again relive thosecherished memories, as he willingly hands over the cash.

Of course, I simply can’t ponder on who I might be handing it over to.