Yamaha Home Theater
(Credit:
Thomas Perry)
By now you've read what I love about record stores, and what I could live without. In this third--and final--installment, I'm going to throw out some ideas for how to bring record shops into the 21st century. If record stores are to survive, what's the way forward? I'm sure these mom and pop shops are asking this question every day, so if you have any ideas beyond what I've outlined below, let's hear 'em.
I may be a romantic, but I still believe that in spite of our access to music downloads, fans need a physical space to explore and consume music, and to mingle with their peers. But to work, the High Fidelity throwbacks need to evolve.
The trick is to leverage digital music to give customers the best of both worlds, and to do it without losing what makes your store unique. If I could sit down with my old boss and give him some advice, here's what I'd offer:... Read more
A Virgin Records store closes in San Francisco. It's fitting that an Apple store is across the street.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)Last week, I offered five reasons record stores are worth saving from extinction. As someone who's spent plenty of time on both sides of the music retail counter, I believe that the world still needs record stores; however, I also have a laundry list of record-store failures.
Many record stores are going out of business for perfectly good reasons that have little to do with iTunes or Amazon. In general, the brick-and-mortar music retail experience is antique and frustrating, and when it's bad, it's enough to make you swear off record shops for good. Consider my complaints below, and then click over to part three to learn what strategies record stores could take to stay relevant and vital.... Read more
Encore Records, Ann Arbor, MI.
(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)Last Saturday, independent music retailers organized a national Record Store Day, complete with in-store freebies and exclusive releases from dozens of bands who want to see these business survive. As someone who spent two of the best years of my youth working at an independent record store, I have a nostalgic attachment to these mom-and-pop shops.
I don't know if I was motivated more by sentimentality or pity, but I felt an obligation to honor the spirit of the day and visit my local music store. The shop was ripped right out of "High Fidelity," and contained all the requisite elements for an indy music store: aloof, yet knowledgeable staff; equal ratios of vinyl and CDs; postered walls; a selection of local music; and a lazy pet cat. But nostalgia aside, I couldn't shake the reality that stores like this can't last much longer.... Read more
(Click to enlarge.)
Internet music retailer eMusic is undertaking an ambitious site redesign that infuses music discovery and social networking features. Beginning July 22, eMusic is rolling out new album pages for their collection of more than 3.5 million songs--an update that includes both cosmetic and practical design upgrades.
Visually, the new eMusic album page design has a much cleaner and bolder feel than the somewhat dated look the site had been holding on to. The new album page layout is wider, and puts more emphasis on album artwork and user ratings. In a move that should delight those of you who get a kick from printing out CD covers, eMusic now offers high-resolution 1400x1400-pixel album art.
The new eMusic album page integrates artist videos, images, and biographic information from popular sources such as YouTube, Flickr, and Wikipedia.
(Credit: eMusic)The most intriguing new feature on eMusic's new album page is the inclusion of content from partners such as YouTube, Flickr, and Wikipedia. For instance, a look at the album page for Radiohead's In Rainbows offers the usual track listing, cover image, editorial blurb, and user comments, but as you scroll down further you'll notice a selection of Radiohead YouTube music videos, as well as a handful of live concert photos hosted by Flickr, and an excerpt of the band's entry on Wikipedia. Aggregating dynamic content such as this from around the Web may not seem revolutionary in today's age of Facebook applications and Wordpress plug-ins, but compared with the hermetically sealed environments of iTunes and Amazon MP3, eMusic's move is a relatively gutsy break from tradition.
One of the eMusic album page's less obvious new features is a drop-down menu with 18 different social networking links, including Facebook, Digg, Twitter, and Stumbleupon. Each link lets you post clips from the album page on whatever social networking site you prefer. While eMusic's social networking link feature is well-executed, they're off to a late start in a medium where users are already consuming full song streams from services such as iLike, Rhapsody, and Seeqpod.
Upgrades to other eMusic page types are soon to follow, including new layouts for artist pages, improved search functionality, and a new "visual bread-crumb" feature that keeps better track of your browsing history.
Despite eMusic's face-lift and infusion of Web 2.0, some users will still be turned off by the company's unique monthly pricing plan and lack of major label recordings, however, indie-loving music fans should definitely give eMusic's revamped site a look.
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Donald Bell is an electronic musician, a veteran record store employee, and a fearless hardware hacker. He's also CNET's Senior Editor for MP3 and digital audio.
Jasmine France is CNET's resident digital audio doyenne, writing and editing product reviews, crave blogs, and feature stories on all things MP3. And if you need advice on headphones, she's your girl.
