response 24 of 106:

May 27 22:13 UTC 2001

We discussed the problems of online browsing for classical CDs 
recently,  and in that discussion you (David) had the suggestion of 
browsing a Schwann catalog instead.  I haven't got a better solution.  
CD Connection's search functions may be a tiny bit better than Amazon's.

Other than that, there's Borders, which in Ann Arbor was the weakest 
of the three classical CD shops, but now it's all we have left.
I suspect the model becomes that one will now browse magazines and 
radio shows, rather than actually being able to paw through piles or 
lists of discs. 

response 26 of 106:

Jun 26 19:01 UTC 2001

http://www.latimes.com/business/20010623/t000051875.html
 
Excerpts:  
 
"Tower Records... may have to file for bankruptcy protection if it 
cannot restructure weakening finances in the coming months, according
to the nation's top bond rating agency."    ...
 
"The 41-year-old Tower is being squeezed by a decline in album sales and 
a protracted price war with discount houses that is driving down 
profit margins." ...

"Music merchants say sales are down 5% to 10% for the first six 
months of the year, following disappointing showings by releases from
such big-name acts as Ricky Martin, Aerosmith and Depeche Mode....
According to research firm SoundScan... album sales at chain stores are
down about 3.6% from a year ago."
 
"Record chains such as Tower also blame their tepid sales on 
cutthroat competition from discount houses such as Best Buy, which 
purchase CDs from manufacturers for about $10.80 and often sell them
for less than $10 to lure customers in to buy other products such as 
electronic equipment..."

"In a regulatory filing, Tower said it also would close or sell its 
operations in Canada."

response 28 of 106:

Jul 1 05:50 UTC 2001

  I went out record shopping yesterday with a walletful of cash,
  determined to buy several albums I'd borrowed from the library
  and enjoyed..  I found several of the albums I'd intended to 
  pick up, as well as several other interesting-looking possibilities,
  but I wound up leaving the store empty-handed -- I just couldn't
  bring myself to pay what the store was asking for the CDs.

  The least-expected I'd selected was priced at $16.99, and a couple
  of my selections were $18.99 for a single new CD.  If I'd gone to
  a store like Best Buy instead of the independent record store at
  which I'd been shopping, I probably could have saved a dollar or
  two per disc, but I doubt I could've brought myself to buy most of
  my selections even at a "mere" $15.99 per CD.  The area where I live
  in Washington state has an 8.6% sales tax, so a $17.99 CD costs me
  almost $20.00 total..

  Back when new CDs were routinely priced in the $11.99 - $12.99 range,
  I used to go to the record store and come home with 7 or 8 new purchases
  every couple of weeks.  It wasn't unusual for me to buy 100 to 150 new
  records a year in those days.  Nowadays, though, I can't clearly remember
  the last time I left a record store with more than three full-length
  releases, and I've probably purchased less than 20 new albums so far this
  year.  It's true that my purchases have slowed partly because I've already
  collected a lot of the albums I wanted, but even these days, when I rarely
  try out new artists because I don't want to take a $20 gamble, there's
  still a backlog of music on my "I really ought to buy that.." list.
  At the current rate, however, most of the entries on that list are going
  to remain there indefinitely.  If the RIAA wants to know why record sales
  are dropping, my best guess is that they're pricing most people out of 
  trying new music..

response 30 of 106:

Jul 1 15:37 UTC 2001

From the June 15th promotional e-mail from the NorthSide label, which
specializes in issuing Scandinavian folk & folk-related music for the 
North American market: 
 
> At the same time, we're dealing with growing problems
> at U.S. record retail, so unless you're one of the
> lucky few that has a great independent record store
> in your town, be sure to visit our website often
> and take advantage of our secure server to buy direct.

They did not elaborate on what those problems were.

response 32 of 106:

Jul 6 02:12 UTC 2001

The new Afro Celt 3 was on the shelf @ Borders for 18.99 last week, so I
added it to my wish list and left. This week it's on sale for 12.99, so I
got it. Whenever I hear something new, I'll almost always try out Encore
Records to see if someone else paid full price and didn't like it. That's
how I got AfroCelt's 2nd disk for 8.00.

response 34 of 106:

Jul 26 21:38 UTC 2001

Curiouser and curiouser....

I've given up on thinking that any given development will be the last straw
that will turn people against the music industry: there have been far too many
last straws already, and we're apathetic and cranky, but we still buy from
them.  Still, I'd have fun following this if it became a big scandal; I'm
rooting for it just for that.

response 36 of 106:

Aug 18 18:28 UTC 2001

The State Street Harmony House in Ann Arbor seems to have bitten, or to be
in the act of biting, the dust.  They have a 'for rent' sign in their window.

response 38 of 106:

Aug 20 16:37 UTC 2001

Yeah.  I think everyone in the Grex music conference who commented on 
the Harmony House store wondered what the heck they thought they were 
doing, putting a mall-quality CD store, which could compete on neither
price nor selection, in the State & Liberty area.

response 40 of 106:

Aug 22 10:02 UTC 2001

  So for those of us who aren't in Ann Arbor any longer but are
  still keeping score, what's left?

response 42 of 106:

Aug 22 16:52 UTC 2001

And Encore, Wazoo and PJs.
 
I've found that my shopping for new CDs at stores has collapsed.
For new CDs, I'm shopping only at Borders, Elderly Instruments 
in Lansing, and very occasionally at Schoolkids-in-the-Basement.  
Schoolkids is limited both in stock and in hours open, so I haven't been
going there much.

My rough guess is that I'm buying maybe 1/4 of what I used to buy
in the local new shops.  For a lot of what I want, it's not 
even worth the time to check Borders: obscure folk/world 
and classical CDs just aren't being stocked much in Ann Arbor any more.

I miss being able to wander out either from home or work to browse 
through bins of CDs, but it seems that era has ended.

response 44 of 106:

Aug 23 17:37 UTC 2001

Most used stores let you do just that.  

response 46 of 106:

Aug 24 22:11 UTC 2001

        Borders has a new, different kind of listening station in 
the newly opened stores...a way to listen in a multitude of CDs 
from one place, instead of only 5 at a time.

response 48 of 106:

Sep 14 02:58 UTC 2001

At the Frandor Mall in Lansing yesterday, I unexpectedly stumbled 
over a new Michigan Where House Records outlet.  (This is the locally-
owned small chain which used to operate campus stores in East Lansing
and Ann Arbor, not the California-based chain with the similar name.)
Alas, it's beyond easy walking distance from my office, but I will 
have to stop in there and see if their stock is interesting enough
to merit any business.  If anyone is looking for it: the store
is just to the east of Bollert's Ace Hardware.