Record shop
Encyclopedia
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. Although vinyl records and audio cassettes are no longer sold in the majority of music stores, in favour of compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s and home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
recordings products, people in some countries, like the UK, still use the term "record shop", in conjunction with "CD shop" or "music shop".
Originally record shops were privately run and independent businesses, meaning that prices could differ greatly from town to town, store to store. Today music shops are largely chain owned and thus prices are fairly similar regardless of the wealth of the town. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
the national chain style of selling records and tapes took off with Our Price
Our Price
Our Price was a chain of record stores in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland from 1972 until 2004. Originally founded in 1972 by Gary Nesbitt, Edward Stollins and Mike Isaacs, early stores were branded "The Tape Revolution" and concentrated on the then-new compact cassette format.The name...
, itself originally a small independent business founded in the early 1970s that expanded nationwide.
Competition (like any major business) is fierce, proven by the closure of Our Price in 2004 after several rival chains emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, including HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastores is an international chain of record shops, founded by Sir Richard Branson on London's Oxford Street in early 1971. Virgin Megastores are best described today as entertainment retailers....
and MVC
MVC
MVC may refer to:* Maha Vir Chakra, a military decoration in India* Marvel vs. Capcom, a video game series* Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes* Monroe County Airport's IATA airport code...
. Around the world, the traditional record stores (chain or independent) are currently suffering from mail order (most notably on the Internet), as well as supermarkets selling recorded music at prices way below the recommended dealer price, thus devaluing the product to a damaging degree, and digital downloads
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
.
Because of the above, several major chains in the UK and North America have closed or shrunk in recent years. In addition to Our Price, Andys Records
Andys Records
Andys Records was a UK music retailer that traded from 1969 to 2003. Based in Bury St. Edmunds, its roots were in nearby Felixstowe and Cambridge.-Early days and Expansion:...
, MVC
MVC
MVC may refer to:* Maha Vir Chakra, a military decoration in India* Marvel vs. Capcom, a video game series* Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes* Monroe County Airport's IATA airport code...
and Media Play
Media Play
Media Play was a chain of retail stores founded in 1992 by Musicland that sold movies on video, DVDs, music, Electronics, video games, books, and games in the United States. Each store essentially contained a book store, a movie store, a music store, and a video game store under one roof. At...
have ceased trading. Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
closed all its British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
outlets in recent years. Even chains that are still major players such as Virgin have had to close some stores (most notably their ones at Gatwick and Heathrow airports). Virgin also had to drastically reduce their presence in the American market. Sam Goody
Sam Goody
Sam Goody was a music and entertainment retailer in the United States and United Kingdom, and was owned and operated by Trans World Entertainment which also runs FYE, Saturday Matinee, and Suncoast Motion Picture Company. It specialized in music, video, and video game sales...
, a major player for many years, has also closed dozens of stores recently, and Canada's long-running Sam The Record Man
Sam the Record Man
Sam the Record Man was a Canadian record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, their ads proclaimed they had "140 locations, coast to coast"....
finally closed the doors of its flagship store in downtown Toronto in the summer of 2007.
In addition to shops that sell new product, many record shops specialize in second hand
Second Hand
Second Hand is the title of an album by Mark Heard, released in 1991, on Heard's own Fingerprint Records. The album was listed at #4 in the book CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music ....
or used collectible records, which they purchase from the public or other dealers, and sell for a profit. It is not uncommon for such shops to contain several items priced in the hundreds or thousands of US dollars (or local equivalent) due to their rarity, as well as items that are fairly common for much less. This type of record shop has also faced fierce competition from Internet sites like E-Bay, where people can sell their own records and avoid "the middle man
Reseller
A reseller is a company or individual that purchases goods or services with the intention of reselling them rather than consuming or using them. This is usually done for profit...
".
Spillers Records
Spillers Records
Spillers Records, established in 1894, is the oldest record shop in the world. It is located in Cardiff, Wales. In addition to selling music, it is the city's main location for buying tickets for alternative music concerts....
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, founded in 1894 by Henry Spiller, is reputed to be the oldest record shop in the world. It originally specialised in the sale of phonographs, cylinders and shellac discs. In 2006 it was reported that it could be forced to close by a sharp increase in the rent for its premises, but later moved to another location close by. Rinehart's Music & Video in Kirksville, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
holds the title of Oldest Record Store in America They have been in the business of selling music recordings since 1897 when Edwin S. Rinehart started selling wax cylinders and Edison Phonographs, it remains in the family to this date. Over the years they have expanded their inventory to include all music and movie formats and recently have branched out into the video game market.