Melody Records is Going Under :(

[John L]

After a difficult battle, Melody Records in Washington DC is finally shutting down. Melody Records is a family run business that made a point of stocking a good selection of music, including from independent labels like Nessa. I used to love visiting that store and always tried to give them as much business as a I could. I would order CDs from Internet or by mail only in the event that Melody didn't stock them.

They really enjoyed running the store and tried to hold on as long as they could. But the business just doesn't pay any more. The closing of Melody is the end of an era in Washington, the end of quality music stores. RIP

[BeBop]

Over the decades, I probably stopped in twenty times, but seldom found much to buy...even in the days when I was an active buyer. But it was one of just a few lunch-hour time-kills in the area...along with the old Tower, Olsson's, Kemp Mill. I guess Second Story is still around, but that's another animal.

[seeline]

Very sorry to hear this - I was a frequent customer for many years and became friends with some of the staff.

Their buyers knew what they were doing ... they had the best jazz and international sections in the area. (Post-closing of Serenade, which was owned and run by the same family.)

[Leeway]

I was only a very occasional customer there, as I did not live or work close by (until recently). I admired the store's intelligent selection of music. You could tell the owners were music lovers and each section appeared to be selected by a fan of that particular type of music.

I do think it was too slow to stock vinyl, only stocking LPs fairly recently. I also thought it would have been good for sales to include select used CDs and LPs in its stock, although space might have been an issue in that regard. The brutal economics of it, though, was that when you came right down to it, buying a CD at Melody (usually full price, although they had some sale items), plus the 10% DC sales tax, you might end up paying 30% more than from Amazon. Factor in the cost of parking or Metro, and......it's a testament to Melody's quality that they fought that fight for as long as they did. I imagine their rent must have been astronomical too.

[Hoppy T. Frog]

Great classical selection, too. You don't find that any more.

[seeline]

... each section appeared to be selected by a fan of that particular type of music.

That's how it usually worked.

Agreed on their classical selection as well.

[Hoppy T. Frog]

... each section appeared to be selected by a fan of that particular type of music.

That's how it usually worked.

Agreed on their classical selection as well.

About DC area stores--I've lived in the area for 10 years, and have never checked out Politics and Prose (not on the metro)until yesterday--but I was surprised to see a small, but well chosen classical CD selection there, with lots of imports.

[BeBop]

At Melody Record Shop, sadness and a tinge of guilt as an era ends From the Washington Post Edited January 22, 2012 by BeBop