Remember When You Bought CD's?

Another slightly straying blog entry today, but one that holds some nostalgia to those who used to wait for new releases and save up your pocket money to buy them. Those days are gone my friends, and here are my thoughts on why.

HMV have been dominating the headlines and water-cooler chit chat for a couple of days now as it faces going in to administration. Even though hope is on the horizon for the ‘Top Dog’ music retailer, one can’t help wonder where it all went wrong?

HMV certainly was Top Dog back in the 80’s and 90’s when it first opened and was the place to buy music vinyls. The introduction of CD’s only fuelled their already booming music selling business. The company went global and opened up stores all over the world, the biggest being in Oxford Street in 1986. In the early 2000’s HMV bought Waterstones and Dillons and grew bigger than ever before, but in an article written by Philip Beeching, an accountant for HMV for 25 years, he says HMV were blind to the threats on the horizon. In a meeting with HMV’s Managing Director Steve Knott, he recalls pitching the ideas that HMV could suffer from online shopping, supermarket chains and music downloads. Ideas that were dismissed completely and unfortunately, it was this that eventually led to its downfall.

Major online retailers like Play.com and Amazon are by an large cheaper than HMV, I often see something for sale in HMV for say…£12 and I know I can get it for less on Amazon and Play.com, second hand. The only problem with buying it online is I have to wait for it to arrive, HMV have a shoe in there, especially for DVD’s. However, there are countless avenues to go down if you want to watch a film without leaving the house, the first and most taboo is obviously pirating. It takes a matter of minutes to find anything you want and you could be watching it on your TV in full DVD quality later on that day without even putting your coat on or counting out your pennies. The majority of people will risk the mythical fines that claim the bank accounts of some unfortunate downloaders because it feels so legal to do it. It easy, its heavily used and the websites are well known and established. If you want to go to heaven however, there are other  legal ways and means of watching movies with the help of LoveFilm and NetFlix, which if you have an internet connection and a game console, you have access to hundreds of films and television shows on your TV which you can access anytime you want for a small monthly fee that comes straight out your bank account. The case is the same for music. If you don’t mind the odd advert you can download Spotify for free where you have instant access to thousands of songs. Or, if you want to buy a digital album you can get one from iTunes for less than you’d pay in the shops and with only a couple of clicks of the mouse.

Films and music are so easy to obtain without leaving the house it’s no wonder that it’s the traditionalists who like the idea of a CD or DVD being a material possession, or those who enjoy browsing the isles of shiny new products that were keeping the business alive. However, even this can still be done in the form of other retailers such as CEX, the multimedia company who buy your old stuff off you and sell in in the'r shops for a very reasonable price, including videogames. So that’s the big three, CD’s, DVD’s and games all available online or for a lot less than being sold in HMV or Game, even with the addition of pre-owned products in both major retailers, it’s just not working.  HMV even sell other products; books, t-shirts, headphones, posters, iPod docks and all manner of accessories but the problem again is that they can be bought for less online, or in other places.

People don’t have the money they used to and things are so expensive if bought new when second hand are just as good. There isn’t even the promise of a new fangled multimedia system on the horizon that will replace blu-rays. Everything is digital, even the cinema is slipping from our fingers as being a materialised projection. The art of film itself is so old and so forgotten that if it were to make a comeback it would probably be considered retro, even though its only been gone for a couple of years. Paul Thomas Anderson’s revival of the 70mm film for his film The Master was certainly a promising move, and perhaps other film makers, the ones with an emotional attachment to film work, will follow in his footsteps.

‘It’s all for the best!’ They all keep saying, but is it? Do we have to kill one thing in order for something else to flourish? In the case of multimedia high street retailers vs. The Internet, I think we have an obvious winner. HMV will be saved but how long will it last? In answer to my original question, I think it’s clear to say that even though it is sad another high street retailer has sadly fallen into the depths containing Woolworths, Dixons and Comet, it’s not really going to have much of an impact on the entertainment industry. It’s easier to showcase and publish your work online be it a film, a song or even writing and instantly access millions of people with it. It’s easy for those people to get your work and even easier if they just want to sample it. The box office reached an all-time high last year with record numbers of people flooding into our multiplexes to watch the latest flick in all kinds of different formats, does Bilbo Baggins look better in HFR, IMAX or 3D I wonder? The industry is very much alive, but the retailers need to adjust to that. Trying to flog the ‘Friends’ box set for £50 is preposterous when it is shown on repeat every single day, 4 or more times a day on Comedy Central. HMV should stick to new releases, special editions, exclusive editions and pre-owned goods to be in with a chance of making it. Hit the online retailers where it hurts and sell something they don’t. People will still go to HMV, the queues at Christmas are enough for you to question this administration business, as the majority of people over the age or 25 will still want to buy a hard copy of a film or a song, to play on their CD players, HiFi systems or, hold your breath, turntables.

Here’s hoping the buyer of HMV will allow it to succeed, as our high streets really wouldn’t look the same without it. Where will we all go and kill some time on Sunday afternoons if HMV has closed down? EH?