International record shop day

Sadly, record shops are in trouble. This is explained by several factors. The value that people place on music has changed. Almost any song that you would want to hear can be found and downloaded via the internet within 15 minutes. For someone who just likes a tune and isn’t interested in the physical artefact of a CD or vinyl LP a digital download is perfect and ‘free’. Record companies hate this as music is essentially worthless in this format and very easy to ‘steal’. Record shops lose out because they are removed from the equation completely.

If you actually want to own a physical artefact it is often less expensive and more convenient to purchase music on-line from Amazon. Amazon is generally well stocked and economically priced. Today, I was in a record shop trying to pick up some limited edition LPs that were available as part of record shop day. I saw a Galaxie 500 CD that I want to buy. In the record shop (Avalanche) it cost £8.99 while on Amazon it costs £7. It is economically impossible for a small independent record shop to compete.

So, we may not need record shops but should we have them? I like the record shop experience but I think they will only succeed when they offer a personalized experience. My favourite record shop is currently Monorail records located beside King Street car park in Glasgow (just opposite the thirteenth note). Monorail is run by Stephen Pastel and another really nice bloke who used to work in Missing records. The Mono complex also includes a coffee shop/vegetarian café and is a great place to hang out. I think it is also partially owned by members of Teenage Fanclub and Belle & Sebastian.

The great thing about Monorail is the staff who are friendly and helpful and music fans. When I have money, I sometimes buy something just to help pay for the privilege of being able to go to Monorail. It is such a nice experience.

Today I was able to but a copy of ‘Dark side of the moon’ by the Flaming Lips and ‘Hits are for squares’ by Sonic Youth, both on limited edition vinyl. I was lucky to get these records and I spent a long time standing in a queue to get them. I’m delighted that I now own these amazing musical artefacts although I don’t think one day promotions like this are the answer. I think friendly, bespoke service is probably the future and I hope shops like Monorail continue to thrive.

http://www.monorailmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/monorail_music
http://www.monocafebar.com/