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I think the last time I bought a CD in a store was in 2001. Seems like so long ago, a different time when there were CD's sold at many stores and you could whip out the phone book and find two or three used CD stores. Cut to day: there's only one place that has CD's around here, and the selection is tiny at best. There are no used CD stores in my county.
I have to say, though, even if that hadn't changed, I still wouldn't be shopping at CD stores in person because of two simple things: modern scores are not worth a purchase, for the msot part, and two: everything I do want now comes out from specialty labels like La La Land Records, and those are not sold in stores.
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Posted: |
Jan 29, 2017 - 8:57 PM
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By: |
NUMBER 6
(Member)
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I think the last time I bought a CD in a store was in 2001. Seems like so long ago, a different time when there were CD's sold at many stores and you could whip out the phone book and find two or three used CD stores. Cut to day: there's only one place that has CD's around here, and the selection is tiny at best. There are no used CD stores in my county.
I have to say, though, even if that hadn't changed, I still wouldn't be shopping at CD stores in person because of two simple things: modern scores are not worth a purchase, for the msot part, and two: everything I do want now comes out from specialty labels like La La Land Records, and those are not sold in stores.
In Qc, the best one was in Montreal on ST-Catherine. I live in Québec city and in the 90's i took the 2h 45 long trip bus to go and see (and by some) almost all the soundtracks made at the time. They had a huge stock. When SAM THE RECORD MAN closed on the same street, it was the best.
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It's the only reason to visit the mall in Regina, other than the food court. That's a shame for the people working there. I'll miss browsing.
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What you need to do is find a friend in the U.S. who can get them for you, then once a year you cross the border, pick 'em up, then go back to Canada. ;-)
Border Agent: "Sir, do you have anything to declare?"
Chris: "Yeah, I love Jerry Goldsmith."
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Posted: |
Jan 31, 2017 - 10:09 PM
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By: |
Guy
(Member)
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Yup they will all be closed by April, if they have stock left.
In Calgary, we've lost 'Play', 'Music World' an independent or too, Future Shop and now HMV in the last 10 years.
When I was in Toronto, the Sam's and HMV on Yonge were good, but I really enjoyed Rotate This on Queen West, but they are gone too.
It only leaves the local current stuff in Best Buy and Walmart really, and Amazon picking up the rest of the mainstream.
Thank goodness for the score websites, but like Chris points out, the shipping is getting crazy, even with the lower cost USPS rates, you're lucky to get 3, possibly 4 single CD's and change from $100 CAD nowadays... comparing to a 50 cd classical set from Deutsche Gramophone on Amazon.
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SAM's always carried a deeper inventory than HMV, and rarer stuff.
Not when I was the soundtrack buyer, dammit! (Nah, you're partly right, but only about soundtracks.)
I was privileged to be the soundtrack buyer for the HMV Superstore for a few glorious years and we got in a lot of what Sam's got but couldn't get the FSM stuff. Sam's had an exclusive on that from long before my time. We did eventually get to the point where we had some great stuff Sam's didn't, they had some great stuff we didn't have. It was actually a beautiful time in music retail where neither felt too proud to refer customers to the other. Mainly because if you were the soundtrack buyer, you were a soundtrack geek through and through - you wanted your customers to benefit from the same awesome titles you did.
That also went for all the other genres, when the industry was healthy. Eventually the tightening of the belt led unfortunately but understandably to a homogeneous approach across the board for all HMV outlets and, to a certain degree, the HMV Supestore, which had previously been like a whole bunch of little indie stores within one big building, became less characteristic. It had to adapt, which unfortunately also meant the selling of rock teez and tchotchkes. That actually kept the chain open several more years and allowed those passionate genre buyers to get in as much of the cool stuff as possible within a much tighter budget. Within each store, buyers did their best to get those niche titles.
Over the course of about 15 years I worked at the HMV Superstore. I met many of my closest friends there, either as co-workers or as customers. To say I'm heartbroken, both because of the chain itself folding and because of what this signals for physical media, is an extreme understatement. And some of those dear friends are now losing their jobs. One just left yesterday - he has been with the company for 30+ years and championed me so many times when I pushed to get a soundtrack onto the shelves that was one-way (meaning non-returnable). Almost without fail that soundtrack sold. (Although I do recall we got stuck with too many copies of the Stallone GET CARTER score - my bad.)
$ and I share a very close friend who will also be losing his job - a manager at one of the stores whose passion for the business is as deep as $'s and mine. I'm sorry they're both losing their jobs and I'm sorry that we inch ever further toward the death of physical media. Thank goodness, however, for our favourite labels - more precious today as the last great music chain closes its great doors.
#hmvlove
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HMV's main store was the last and only reason for hitting Yonge St. in Toronto. It's the end of a 53 year personal tradition for me. (Beginning with Sam the Record Man and A&A and later including Peter Dunn's Vinyl Museum now all defunct. And then Sunrise came and went and now HMV).
Bob, you and I have had many wonderful discussions in that store. When I moved to Toronto in 1987, a few years prior to HMV's arrival, it was all those other stores you mention whose neon glow used to beckon me - several nights a week! "Music row" as we used to call that strip on Yonge Street was absolutely glorious. I'm teary-eyed as I remember any given night (hellz, even weeknights!) when you'd walk into those stores and they would be packed. Packed! When a song finished on the sound system and another wasn't yet playing, you'd hear the multitudes flipping the big, plastic retail CD holders. Rack-jobbers knew you well and you were all in it for the passion. Dammit, why? Why, digital era, why?
Hell, Bob, I still give POLAROID VERITE a listen here and there. (Bob's a damn fine songwriter and musician in his own rite, folks.) Hang in there, Bob. We'll get through this together. 
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Thanks for sharing Accidental Genius, and thank you for your service over the years!
I always appreciated the diversity of soundtrack selections at HMV Superstore - the best in the country to be honest.
Ryan, we probably met over those years and just don't know it. You should let me know when you are planning to make that last trip to 333 Yonge. If I can extract myself from fatherly duties, I'd love to meet you there. One (sniff) last (sniff sniff) time (sniff). Hit me up at in the moment (at sign) Hotmail . (No spaces, obvee.)
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I haven't been able to find CDs in store for some time, film scores especially but even other genres. Most of the time if there is an interesting release by one of my favorite metal bands they don't even bother stocking it at Best Buy. I've generally gone to purchasing digital lossless downloads of everything I can because as others said, the shipping is getting more and more ridiculous.
And most of us will eventually succumb to that once physical CDs are no longer made. For now, however, I will fight it tooth and nail. 
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