That one smug individual (who claims he’s been quoted out of context) openly relished the closing of record stores is not, in and of itself, a big deal. What’s far more fucked up is the number of dopey acolytes who took to the twitterverse to proclaim they too, saw no purpose for record stores (and presumably wouldn’t shed a tear if book stores, art cinemas or museums were bulldozed as well).
Much the way Mark Cuban was once dared to make Blizzards for a day, some enterprising music retailer (of the physical variety) should offer to do a change-up w/ Maus ; the former is given an opportunity to personally interact with his adoring public for an afternoon, the latter is entrusted with the monumental task of making WENDY CARLOS SOUND LIKE THE SCREAMERS BY COMPARISON.
Good fucking grief.
Well I’m not some big-city lawyer, but seems to me ye aulde shoppe can’t lose if Target and Starbucks lose interest in selling music. As one market forecaster observed recently on NPR thar is gold in them USB turntables. DISCLAIMER: past performance does not indicate future results, I went and bought “Libertine” on MP3 then later found a CD of it, so consult a professional at all times
given the number of big name artists who’ve done Target exclusives in the last year, it’s a real eye-opener to hear Target might “lose interest in selling music”.
Fine, you win, I forgot how much they cleared on the Pitbull/Glee split 7″. If every record store depends on those to survive then I’m prepared to switch to Lomax-style field recordings.
perhaps not (cough) the Pitbull/Glee 7″, but retail exclusives with artists coming off prior #1 albums, yeah, that’s exactly the sort of thing that drives more traffic Target’s way and leaves many non-chain retailers up shit creek. Probably not a big deal for stores that wouldn’t carry Taylor Swift under any circumstances, but it’s a matter of time before it happens with an artist that do care about. When it does, they’ll find it tough to absorb losing sales to to a non-music store during a period in which they’re likely hanging on for dear life, anyway.
OK, Messrs. West and Z hate the local stores, no question there. They’d charge to courier it to everyone’s door in Maybachs if possible. After some thought I’ve no compunctions about boycotting the former’s digital exclusive “Tastes of College ’11 Sampler,” in spite of the A.V. Club special citation.
For posterity, I also am wholly in favor of music shops selling records above cost; I fervently hope they remain after stray buyers of Demi Lovato’s Essential Felony Assaults migrate to Google Sky Brain; I angrily support the anti-anti-backlash; I’m mildly miffed the ESPYs overlooked Coco Crisp for Showstopper of the Year, how typical; and remember to Keep Orinda Weird