[Soundminded]

HMV stands for "His Master's Voice" is the name of the largest chain of "record shoppes" in Britain. I think they have about 240 retail outlets. "In administration" is Britspeak for filing for bankruptcy. The cause is the general trend to buy recordings on line or to by them by downloading them as computer files or copying them by other means. This is believed to be part of a general trend in the recording industry. The former retail model not just for recordings but many other brick and mortar stores in many areas is becoming increasingly less viable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21023016

[rooze]

It's a sad day, not just for the 1000's of job-losses which will likely follow, but as a statement of where the music industry is headed in general.

People just aren't buying CD's. At least not in quantities sufficient to sustain these larger chains. You can see it in the US, just look in any of the larger stores like Target and Walmart and you'll probably see that the amount of space devoted to CD's has reduced considerably in the last 5 years or so.

I hope whatever shakes out of all of this is something which can still sustain the average Joe musician/band.

The times they are a changin'...

[Soundminded]

I like CDs. I have no problem with CDs including RBCD standards. One thing that's nice about CDs is that used CDs are usually in perfect playing condition. There are so many of them that amassing a huge library of them is getting cheaper and cheaper. So far at garage sales I've spent as little as $1 each but I expect to see even that price tumble. Of course that doesn't compare to the 110 vinyl phonograph records I bought last spring at a garage sale for $10 or less than 10 cents apiece. Most were in excellent condition and were music I'd never ordinarily buy but this was not real money. Besides, hearing music I don't like and have a generally very negative impression of gives me a ready reference to understand why. Still if someone comes to my house and wants to listen to them, why not. All I need for that is to buy a nice set of in the ear...ear plugs...for myself. 

[Phil A]

I read the news earlier.  It is sad but a sign of they times.  Even though Tower Records was high priced, when they had a sale (even if it was a bit cheaper online), I'd enjoy browing CDs/SACDs and buying things.  Then Borders, although it did not have nearly as good a selection as Tower, began to shrink their CDs before closing.  I'm busy with lots of things but have been digitizing things and expect within a year or so to use a disc very infrequently vs. played back by a server.  I expected the day to come but it is a bit sooner than expected.  I also remember Sam Goody's.  They carried a nice selection and also some audio equipment.

[jarcher]

I always feel its a great loss when another major music retailer goes under, but then realize that this sentimentality is not congruent with my behavior.  I haven't bought a new full priced retail album from a bricks & mortar store since I can remember.  And even the last time I was in a used record store, I thought to myself, this manual browsing around in the racks is not as fun as I remember. Its much more productive and convenient to be sampling clips and downloading stuff from an itunes, amazon, etc.  If they would just offer FLAC or ALAC files, I would be completely happy (I know - HD Tracks : but too pricey for me). 

So yeah, as much sentimentally as I like the idea of the corner music shop, the reality is that I like most have moved on, and as much as I hate to admit it, in all honesty prefer to shop for music online.  About the only exception is a  used record stores to have an avenue to sell unwanted records or to buy the occasional discount music.  But even here, buying used music online still often is better (better selection, more convenient, lower cost).

Lastly, I regret the job losses, but as someone whose first job was at a record store (Tape World - ha ha), I can tell you that working at a corporate record store was not that cool.  Even working at my next job - a mom & pop camera store - was better (better $, better boss, better working conditions).  So hopefully those folks can find better jobs, even in the retail sector, even with the state of the economy being what it is.

I guess in sum what I'm saying is that it's too easy to be nostalgic about these things. The world changes, and if we stop to think about it, in some ways for the better.