Ironwill asks, what's happened to the record buying public in London?

On the Bluff and Dire website the one called Ironwill asks, "what's happened to the record buying public in London? Coupled with Wax Unlimited and the other stores mentioned in previous threads I find it all rather shocking. Guess I always figured the market stronger than what it really was. Pity."

This is in light of many recent closures, including Andy Downbeat at Waterloo, Mole Jazz, All Tone in Brixton Market, Reggae Revive, Daddy Kool in the West End, Gladdy Wax in Stoke Newington and others. I now hear that Dub Vendor are going to close their branch in Ladbroke Grove.

But who uses record shops anymore anyway? My 20 year old son buys his few CDs from Virgin or Tower and tapes the rest from the internet. He hasn't stepped in a record shop in his life. And I imagine the same is true of most young people now.

In my youth the record shop was just about the most exciting place in the world and my £1 a week paper round money would by three new 7" singles and leave me with a shilling change. Now my son buys 10 blank CDs for a fiver and has any tune he wants. They told us that vinyl was to be superseded by CDs and this has proved the case. Basically, records don't sell any more like they did and the whole concept has been dying out for decades. Besides, there's always room for another Starbucks.

Observer

at least you have the choice of soya milk in your starbucks coffee

Or a skinny Bob Dylan CD to go.....

" Guess I always figured the market stronger than what it really was." prett naive considering the facts Penny... As for JA music the internet has provided the serious collector wih direct links to JA which means that tunes can be sourced for a fraction of London prices. This inevitably has implications for the small shop in London..BTW most of the people you cite are still trading..but only on the internet..without the overheads of a shop I am sure they are smiling all the way to the bank.

this is a test.

jeez man, you (and your son) are so out of touch. most guys of his age still go to record shops as far as i can see. if not they buy them online from hmv etc.

Quoting 'The Man':

"My 20 year old son buys his few CDs from Virgin or Tower and tapes the rest from the internet. He hasn't stepped in a record shop in his life".

.....The average person probably considers the aforementioned retailers to be "record shops". I recently discovered that Tower Records in Piccadilly has gone (it went bust two years ago, apparently) only to be replaced by ....

.... another branch of Virgin!!

A pity - as chains go, Tower was definitely much more interesting than either HMV or Virgin.