The graying of the record store

[brownie]

Nostalgia-filled article in the Sunday Styles section of The New York Times today.

THE GRAYING OF THE RECORD STORE

By ALEX WILLIAMS

Published: July 16, 2006

SO this is an evening rush?

On a recent Monday, six people — soon enough four, then two — were browsing the bins of compact discs at Norman’s Sound and Vision, a music store on Cooper Square in Manhattan, around 6 p.m., a time that once constituted the daily rush hour. A decade ago, the number of shoppers might have been 20 or 30, said Norman Isaacs, the owner. Six people? He would have had that many working in the store.

“I used to make more in a day than I probably make in a week now,” said the shaven-headed Mr. Isaacs, 59, whose largely empty aisles brimming with punk, jazz, Latin music, and lots and lots of classic rock have left him, many afternoons, looking like a rock ’n’ roll version of the Maytag repairman. Just as troubling to Mr. Isaacs is the age of his clientele.

“It’s much grayer,” he said mournfully.

The neighborhood record store was once a clubhouse for teenagers, a place to escape parents, burn allowances and absorb the latest trends in fashion as well as music. But these days it is fast becoming a temple of nostalgia for shoppers old enough to remember “Frampton Comes Alive!’’

In the era of iTunes and MySpace, the customer base that still thinks of recorded music as a physical commodity (that is, a CD), as opposed to a digital file to be downloaded, is shrinking and aging, further imperiling record stores already under pressure from mass-market discounters like Best Buy and Wal-Mart.

The bite that downloading has taken out of CD sales is well known — the compact disc market fell about 25 percent between 1999 and 2005, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade organization. What that precipitous drop indicated by the figures doesn’t reveal is that this trend is turning many record stores into haunts for the gray-ponytail set. This is especially true of big-city stores that stock a wider range of music than the blockbuster acts.

“We don’t see the kids anymore,” said Thom Spennato, who owns Sound Track, a cozy store on busy Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “That 12-to-15-year-old market, that’s what’s missing the last couple of years.”

Without that generation of buyers, the future looks bleak. “My landlord asked me if I wanted another 10-year lease, and I said no,” Mr. Spennato said. “I have four years left, then I’m out.”

Since late 2003, about 900 independent record stores have closed nationwide, leaving about 2,700, according to the Almighty Institute of Music Retail, a marketing research company in Studio City, Calif. In 2004, Tower Records, one of the nation’s largest chains, filed for bankruptcy protection.

Greta Perr, an owner of Future Legends, a new and used CD store on Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, said that young people never really came back to her store after the Napster file-sharing upheaval of the late 90’s; she has responded by filling her windows with artists like Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. “People come in and say: ‘I remember when I was 20, Steve Miller’s second record came out. Can I get that?’ ” she said.

Industry statistics bear out the graying of the CD-buying public. Purchases by shoppers between ages 15 and 19 represented 12 percent of recorded music in 2005, a decline from about 17 percent in 1996, according to the Recording Industry Association. Purchases by those 20 to 24 represented less than 13 percent in 2005, down from about 15 percent. Over the same period, the share of recorded music bought by adults over 45 rose to 25.5 percent, from 15 percent.

(The figures include CD’s and downloaded songs, with CD’s still an overwhelming share of the market in recorded music, 87 percent, in 2005.)

The dominance of older buyers is especially evident at smaller independent stores in metropolitan areas, where younger consumers tend to be more tech-oriented and older music fans tend to be more esoteric in their tastes, said Russ Crupnick, an analyst with the NPD Group, a market research firm.

At Norman’s, which is 15 years old and just around the corner from New York’s epicenter of punk, St. Marks Place, shoppers with nose rings and dewy cheeks are not unknown. But they may only be looking to use the automatic teller machine. A pair of teenagers — he with ink-black dyed hair, and she in ragged camouflage shorts — wandered in one evening recently and promptly froze in the doorway, stopped in their tracks by an Isaac Hayes cut from the 70’s.

They had the confused looks of would-be congregants who had stumbled into a church of the wrong denomination; they quickly shuffled off. Most of Norman’s other customers were old enough to remember eight-track tapes. Steven Russo, 53, for instance, was looking for jazz CD’s. Mr. Russo, a high school teacher in Valley Stream, N.Y., said that he values the store for its sense of camaraderie among cognoscenti as much as its selection. “It’s the ability of people to talk to people about the music, to talk to personnel who are knowledgeable,” he said.

Richard Antone, a freelance writer from Newark whose hair was flecked with silver curls, said his weekly trip to the store is a visual experience as well as an auditory one. “I remember how people admired the artwork on an album like ‘Electric Ladyland’ or ‘Sgt. Pepper’ as much as the music,” he said.

The lost generation of young shoppers — for whom a CD is a silvery disc on which you burn your own songs and then label with a black marker — will probably spell doom for Norman’s within the next five years, said Mr. Isaacs, the owner. Several of his downtown competitors have already disappeared, he said.

Some independent owners are resisting the demographic challenges. Eric Levin, 36, who owns three Criminal Records stores in Atlanta and oversees a trade group called the Alliance of Independent Media Stores, representing 30 shops nationally, said that businesses losing young customers are “dinosaurs” that have done nothing to cater to the new generation. Around the country, he said, shops like Grimey’s in Nashville, Shake It Records in Cincinnati and Other Music in New York are hanging on to young customers by evolving into one-stop hipster emporiums. Besides selling obscure CD’s and even vinyl records, many have diversified into comic books, Japanese robot toys and clothing. Some have opened adjoining nightclubs or, in Mr. Levin’s case, coffee shops.

“Kids don’t have to go to the record store like earlier generations,” Mr. Levin said. “You have to make them want to. You have to make it an event.”

But diversification is not always an option for smaller stores with little extra space, like Norman’s. Mr. Isaacs’s continued survival is due in part to a side business he runs selling used CD’s on Amazon and eBay. He buys them from walk-in customers who are often dumping entire collections.

Unlike the threatened independent bookstore, with its tattered rugs, dusty shelves and shedding cats, indie record stores in danger of disappearing do not inspire much hand-wringing, perhaps because they are not as celebrated in popular imagination as the quaint bookshop. (Record geeks can claim only “High Fidelity,’’ the book and movie, as a nostalgic touchstone.)

Still, the passing of such places would be mourned.

Danny Fields, the Ramones’ first manager, points out that visiting Bleecker Bob’s on West Third Street in the late 70’s was “like experiencing the New York music scene” in miniature — it was a cultural locus, a trading post for all the latest punk trends. “Dropping into Bleecker Bob’s was like dropping into CBGB’s,” he said. (You can still drop into Bleecker Bob’s.)

Dave Marsh, the rock critic and author of books on popular music, noted that rockers like Jonathan Richman and Iggy Pop honed their edgy musical tastes working as record store clerks.

“It’s part of the transmission of music,” said Mr. Marsh, who recalls being turned on to cult bands like the Fugs and the Mothers of Invention by the clerks at his local record store in his hometown, Waterford, Mich. “It seems like you can’t have a neighborhood without them.”

[robviti]

while i too lament the decline or demise of most of my favorite record stores, norman's certainly isn't one of them. the guy charges too much, reseals used cds and sells them as "new," and he once refused to sell me an oop blue note i found in the bins, saying: "oh, that wasn't supposed to be out there."

[RonF]

while i too lament the decline or demise of most of my favorite record stores, norman's certainly isn't one of them. the guy charges too much, reseals used cds and sells them as "new," and he once refused to sell me an oop blue note i found in the bins, saying: "oh, that wasn't supposed to be out there."

With business practices like that, Norman may be responsible for his graying.

[sheldonm]

Lots of places charge too much but the last two points Jazzshrink made......that's just bullshit! He probably did more to kill his shop than anything else did!

m~

[ghost of miles]

Interesting article. A friend of mine recently opened a record store here in Bloomington, and you know what he's selling tons of to the kids? Vinyl. He sells much more vinyl than he does CDs, even though he stocks CDs. His 15-25 or 30 crowd is mostly into LPs. (For Hoosiers or visitors, it's Landlocked Music in the 300 block of S. Washington, right next to the local leftwing bookstore Boxcar Books. Both places well worth checking out.)

[(BB)]

For some it may be the balding...

The booming music store here in humble Spokane, WA is 90% vinyl and truly an all ages scene.

[Chuck Nessa]

This week I was informed by my friend Mike Johnston a store he manages (New Moon in Mt Pleasant, MI) is closing by the end of the month. The store has been there since the early '70s.

[7/4]

while i too lament the decline or demise of most of my favorite record stores, norman's certainly isn't one of them. the guy charges too much, reseals used cds and sells them as "new," and he once refused to sell me an oop blue note i found in the bins, saying: "oh, that wasn't supposed to be out there."

That's what I was thinkin'. Fuck him.

[kulu se mama]

Interesting article. A friend of mine recently opened a record store here in Bloomington, and you know what he's selling tons of to the kids? Vinyl. He sells much more vinyl than he does CDs, even though he stocks CDs. His 15-25 or 30 crowd is mostly into LPs. (For Hoosiers or visitors, it's Landlocked Music in the 300 block of S. Washington, right next to the local leftwing bookstore Boxcar Books. Both places well worth checking out.)

ironically i first noticed this phenomenom (sp.) about 5 years agon on a trip to bloomington.

i use to make the trek (about 2 1/2 hours one way) at least once a year.

there were about 5 record stores in a one block area, plus a couple of others just a short drive.

the last time i was there most of the stores had closed.

i was told that young college students no longer buy cd's - they would rather download.

[ghost of miles]

You're probably referring to Kirkwood Avenue (aka Fifth Street)--correct? I used to work at Tracks, a local store that has hung on (not sure how--owner tries to charge outrageous prices for used CDs). But Roscoe's, the CD Exchange, Karma, and Streetside have all closed. TD's is hanging on, only because of its superlow overhead (a very sweet deal on rent, and the manager is criminally underpaid). All Ears, which was an incredible store in a more out-of-the way neighborhood location, closed--he did a great deal of vinyl business, and my friend Jason, who worked there, has now picked up a lot of that traffic with Landlocked.

[Soul Stream]

Hey, things change. It's the music that's important and not the format or where you buy it. Record stores as we know/knew them will be wiped out as we leave this planet. A 12 year old today will have absolutely no nostalgia for buying a dusty old piece of vinyl or scratched up CD in a store.

It's the music that matters. The delivery system and format will always change. 30 years from now MP3s and iTunes will seem like a joke. And I'm sure some kid who'll be in his 40's then will say..."Man, wish you could still download iTunes". Somewhere I'm sure there was a guy lamenting the loss of his mail-order edison disc.

[7/4]

Record stores as we know/knew them will be wiped out as we leave this planet.

There won't be anyone left to buy cdz.

[Chuck Nessa]

Record stores as we know/knew them will be wiped out as we leave this planet.

There won't be anyone left to buy cdz.

But imagine the great close-out sales.

[kulu se mama]

i have a different opnion than most on this issue.

while i think downloading my be robbing the industry of new customers, i think there are multiple issues in the decline of sales.

first off, i do'nt think that there is an industry on the planet that treats its best customer worse than the record industry (not to mention how they treat many of the "producers" of their product).

i mean - how many times do i have to buy the elvis costello catalog (short answer - 0).

secondly, i think there is much more competition for the entertainment dollar today than when we were young.

when i was in high school there were 2 choices - go to a movie or buy an lp.

today the "record" stores that i see doing well do as much business in dvd's as they do in cd's.

games are a big purchase for young people - and they ain't cheap.

i think the computer games might be the number 1 reason that cd sales are down.

the record industry should focus on their "graying" clientele.

that might work best for all of us in the long run.

[JSngry]

This whole discussion is predicated on the notion that music "matters" to most people.

I say that, right now, it doesn't. For most people, it's little, if anything more, than a disposable lifestyle accessory. Simple as that. The number of people who really "care" continues to shrink.

Yes, it's always been that way, but not to the extent that it is now. Disposability and portabilty are the order of the day, and those are qualities which do not engender attachment at any level beyond the superficial.

The culture has changed, and irrevocably so, I think. The handwriting's not just on the wall anymore. It's everydamnwhere you look.

Maybe things will change, but I'm not holding my breath.

[Alexander]

i mean - how many times do i have to buy the elvis costello catalog (short answer - 0).

Let's see...I've bought most of Costello's albums at least twice...three times in some cases...

Funny thing is, I'm not angry or resentful in the least. No one held a gun to my head and told me that I *HAD* to get the new reissue of "Get Happy!!!" It's important to me, so I got it and sold my old copy. Simple as that...

Edited July 16, 2006 by Alexander

[sheldonm]

This whole discussion is predicated on the notion that music "matters" to most people.

I say that, right now, it doesn't. For most people, it's little, if anything more, than a disposable lifestyle accessory. Simple as that. The number of people who really "care" continues to shrink. Yes, it's always been that way, but not to the extent that it is now. Disposability and portabilty are the order of the day, and those are qualities which do not engender attachment at any level beyond the superficial.

The culture has changed, and irrevocably so, I think. The handwriting's not just on the wall anymore. It's everydamnwhere you look.

Maybe things will change, but I'm not holding my breath.

...then they better start treating us with some respect!!!

m~

[JSngry]

Not gonna happen, not by "the industry" anyway.

Think about it - when was the last time that any business looked at the marketplace and said, "Here's a demographic that is shrinking, has been shrinking, and in all likelihood will continue to shrink. Let's put an emphasis on them"?

[Chuck Nessa]

On the other hand.... The last 10 (or so) years have had the most music "in print" in my lifetime. I'm certainly no promoter of the majors but they have shoveled tons of product our way.

How many of you expected a "first class" reissue of Slim Gaillard's Dot album?

I believe the shrinking market for cds has paid off well for the jazz customer, if not for the music itself.

[BruceH]

Interesting article. A friend of mine recently opened a record store here in Bloomington, and you know what he's selling tons of to the kids? Vinyl. He sells much more vinyl than he does CDs, even though he stocks CDs. His 15-25 or 30 crowd is mostly into LPs. (For Hoosiers or visitors, it's Landlocked Music in the 300 block of S. Washington, right next to the local leftwing bookstore Boxcar Books. Both places well worth checking out.)

Sounds happenin'!!!

[BruceH]

while i too lament the decline or demise of most of my favorite record stores, norman's certainly isn't one of them. the guy charges too much, reseals used cds and sells them as "new," and he once refused to sell me an oop blue note i found in the bins, saying: "oh, that wasn't supposed to be out there."

That's just wrong!

[Uncle Skid]

This whole discussion is predicated on the notion that music "matters" to most people.

I say that, right now, it doesn't. For most people, it's little, if anything more, than a disposable lifestyle accessory. Simple as that. The number of people who really "care" continues to shrink.

Yes, it's always been that way, but not to the extent that it is now. Disposability and portabilty are the order of the day, and those are qualities which do not engender attachment at any level beyond the superficial.

The culture has changed, and irrevocably so, I think. The handwriting's not just on the wall anymore. It's everydamnwhere you look.

Maybe things will change, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think you're wrong. Hell, I hope you're wrong.

I believe there's a small (but growing) community of younger people that do care about the music.

Perhaps I'm naive, but I firmly believe that the music will take care of itself. Us "older" people (by definition!) will not understand when, where, how, and why -- but that's the beauty of it.

You're sounding like an old fart, Sangrey.

[Alexander]

On the other hand.... The last 10 (or so) years have had the most music "in print" in my lifetime. I'm certainly no promoter of the majors but they have shoveled tons of product our way.

How many of you expected a "first class" reissue of Slim Gaillard's Dot album?

I believe the shrinking market for cds has paid off well for the jazz customer, if not for the music itself.

I agree with Chuck's first statement. Hell, things have improved steadily since I started buying jazz in the early 90s. Almost every major OOP Blue Note album that I wanted in those days has come out in some form...in some cases more than once!

[JSngry]

There's going to be a community of people who take music "seriously". Of course there will be. There always has been. But it's always been a minority of varying size. And I see the size of that community shrinking today, and have no reason to believe that it won't continue to shrink into the forseeable future.

You gotta remember that tking music "seriously" ahs always been a function of devoting time to serious, thoughtful, dedicated listening. Today's lifestyle(s) and fromats of preference are not aimed towards that type of activity.

I would indeed be an "old fart" if I bemoaned this as a sign of societal decay or some such. But I don't know that it is. A part of me thinks that it's actually healthy to use music as a lifestyle enhancement tool w/o getting too caught up in the specifics of it all. But I'd be a fool not to recognize a change when I see it and pretend that any day now things are going to be the way they once were. They're not.

Look - what do most "serious" music fans these days in these parts look forward to? Reissues. And that boom is all but over. The European PD labels might be hastening the end, but they're also positioning themselves to be repositors by default. If you're able to find a Lucky Thompson side on any other type of label in 15-20 years, it'll be a miracle.

Read the article above - how are the stores profiled staying afloat? Older music for older customers.

How is David's friend's store getting over? Selling vinyl.

When the time comes for today's digital youth to get nostalgic, do you really think they're going to be interested in comprehensive, well-annotated collections? I don't think so. They'll do what they've been doing - looking for digital files to play on the device of their choice.

Some changes are temporary, some are permanent. This one is permanent, brought about by fundamental changes in lifestyle and technology. That might seem like the musings of an "old fart", but I prefer to think that I'm merely seeing things as they are.

It's a helluva lot easier not to get crushed by the avalance if you see the rocks coming at you.

[ep1str0phy]

It's quite possible that the declining youth interest in records stores has something to do with the phenomenon of genre adaptability (which is a whole other can of worms, no doubt). Speaking from the perspective of an individual who did grow up in the the past couple of decades, I can testify to the fact that today's younger fans often gravitate toward that music most ideally suited to new technological media (efficiency/practicality/effort is a factor on the level of, or complicit with, marketing techniques). It's easy to get frustrated here--and, knowing the dedication, passion, and fervor of the folks on these boards, there's no doubt that there are few individuals in the world as wholly committed to the music as we are (our community is--and that's musicians, critics, etc., too--and, on another level, who the hell are those anonymous guys reading this board, anyway?). But I have little doubt that this music (jazz, modern improv--not just the well-marketed shit, but cats like Horace Tapscott, too--for example) has the capacity to reach the younger set--at least on a facile, 'purchasing' level (the college set, anyway, is rife with dabblers--even in more 'popular' forms). These difficulties are tied into larger questions of finance, distribution, and the capacity (not necess talking intelligence or willingness, here--I mean means)of the industry to adjust to the demands and excesses of the younger generations.

That being said--this whole 'updating' music shop thing--with the comic books and shit--can't be helping the cause. We're left with dilution, marginalization. If the interests of the average 'contemporary' buyer have shifted so drastically, who's to say that music buying isn't so much an industry as novelty--on the level of bobbleheads and collector's market action figures? Who is this customer--and does he/she give a shit that there are obscure LPs in the back? Prove it to us--that the one-stop detritus emporium won't drive music prices through the roof (as per the wont of 'novelty' sops), won't completely destroy the rare album market.