The record shop of the past is finished.
What that means, nobody can say. It's all guess work because this is uncharted territory.
But music has always been made and I see no reason to think that that will change.
Before it was possible to make millions from recorded music songs were being written and sung. The difference now is that it's much easier to hear what's out there. I suggest that the sooner it's no longer possible to buy a cd 'casually' the better. Do you think the average X Factor fan is gonna bother buying the latest piece of shit if they can't toss it into their shopping cart? Dare I say that it will be the likes of us, people who love music enough to want to read about it, see it performed live, buy the songs in whatever format we want, from wherever we took the time and trouble to find it, who talk about it here & yes, even buy the T-shirt who will be determining the future of music? It's one possibility.

He will download, as well, like the rest of 'em.

The future of OTC music retail is indeed the music freak. Seattle's Sonic Boom and Easy Street will last as long as they do because of music freaks, not casual buyers, who haven't even heard of those outlets.

And vinyl.... going out and shopping for CDs isn't that fun... going out and shopping for vinyl still is. And who is buying vinyl? Music freaks... well, and SOME 19-year-olds who think they've made a grand new discovery.

Nope, the casual buyer won't save anything.

It's obvious that shops like HMV and Virgin have survived for the past few years by majoring on DVDs and games. Two products that have not been quite so easy for the masses to download for free. The onset of BluRay DVDs will make downloading hard for them too until broadband speeds catch up so perhaps shops will be able to sell them and keep some CDs in the corner. I wouldn't like to think how long in total in my life I've spent in record shops and loved almost every minute of it but although I still like to flick through the racks I rarely buy because the selection isn't as good as I'm now used to in my armchair and the price is usually too high. I don't think I'll miss them when they're gone. Even if it wasn't possible to download music and buying online only meant ordering a CD (like it did in the good old days before Napster) I think record stores would be struggling simply because they chose to sell a product that actually fits through a letter box without anyone needing to be in when the delivery arrives!

however much I would wish and hope that Lukobe could be. I don't think there are enough "music freaks" (aka us lot) to keep especially specialist stand alone outlets open in anywhere other than the largest cities, as witness the closure frenzy of the little backstreet "new and second hand" emporia, which dwarf the closures, proportionately, of the giants. And, even those that remain, if you ask 'em, they are selling more online and mailorder than thru the physical presence of me and you.
When I avidly read and investigate postings about "Cex" and their ilk, this is a sign of my desperation over the drip drip drip of the personal pleasure of browsing dripping away.........

well said madam

Most of my record buying youth was spent in small shops with fairly limited selections - WH Smith for chart stuff, David's for the punkier/indier end of the spectrum and Our Price kind of overlapping in the middle. Megastores were a once or twice a year treat when I went into London.

My point is that the choice element was largely due to CD's being smaller and easier to stock coupled with a large number of reissues of albums on CD's. Add the growth of the large store chains in the 80's and there you have the record store peak. However, they were quickly overtaken by the web as it does choice better, cheaper and the thrill of coming home from work to find a cd on the mat works. Downloading is still a minority percentage of music sales.

Book stores face a similar problem but appear to retain an element of destination shopping and are more browser friendly - coffee shops and chairs for instance as well as books being inherently easier to dip into than a CD.

I would see a similar situation, stand alone independents being squeezed out of the market, coutesy the pile em high sell em cheap demanded discounts of the big boys, who themselves seem also to be struggling. WHS seem to stock fewer and fewer books these days. Much as a trip to a bookshop is nearly as enjoyable as a trip to a record shop, a) there a fewer of them and b) even Waterstones and Borders ain't what they were. Amazon, of course sell books too.

Amazon have it nailed. For the past three Christmases 90% of my gift shopping has been done from the front room of my house. Books, DVD's, Toys, jewellery, the lot. Hat's off to them. Why would I brave the nightmare that is Belfast city centre in the run up to Christmas when I can do it from home.

Some record and book shops will survive because there is pleasure to be had in browsing, but really, I can't see myself doing that anytime soon,

Ta ta

I completely agree with Beryl's point, but whilst I would love to return to my formative years spent browsing in record stores, life has changed and there's little we can do about it.

The implications of the closure of Woolies and Zavvi have been much discussed on these pages (including a least one "remember the good old days" grumble from myself). The more I think about this, however, the more I think we should move on from the old ways and celebrate the new ways of discovering and buying music. I get the same buzz I used to get from browing in my local Virgin records when I discovered Spotify or find Motown's complete singles collections for £7.99 at the Word store. I can listen to whole albums free of charge before I invest my hard-earned on something I want to play off-line. Plus, how brilliant is it that I don't have to buy the whole album but can download just the good stuff?

The record stores were great, but now they're over. Let's move on.

Music was probably my first love and it may well be my last, but I don’t think I ever browsed a record shop in my life. Always had my list of things to buy, based on endless reading of music magazines, and I bought what I could find on the list, in and out. After all you can’t do anything other than look at the cover or check out the names of the songs, which doesn’t give you much. Can’t hear the music.

On the internet however, it’s hours of fun. Always being prodded towards other similar artists/ related groups, and you can have a quick listen to a few extracts. I spend hours on this. I haven’t set foot in a record shop for several years, but I’ve bought more music during that time than ever before – because it’s easier to find and it’s cheaper. Can’t say I miss them.

If bookshops go the same way however, even though they’ve undoubtedly declined in quality, I will probably cry. Few better pleasures than a good bookshop browse (even if I then go and order them on Amazon so I’ll have to take my share of the blame for their demise…)

I obtained a Waterstone's card before Christmas. A free gimmick to offer discount and stuff. I also had a quick peek at their website - the usual releases but with free postage. It was interesting to note all the exclusive books available that come at a premium because they have a slipcase and the book is autographed by the author.

This form of marketing is creeping into the sale of music. Either through artist's websites with special edition CDs, sometimes signed, or limited edition vinyl. The majority of artists know they are never going to bother the charts again with their low margin, mass produced earwax bothering sounds. Instead they plump for the premium end of the market with niche sales and hopefully still maintain a pretence of rock 'n' roll lifestyle.

Sad to see the likes of Toyah & Jeff Wayne at a memorabilia fair, normally reserved for sci-fi and TV buffs, almost pleading with the punters to buy their signed photographs at £10 each, when the real stars of the show were either bit-part actors from Harry Potter, Stargate or Dr Who. Won't be long before we see Kaiser Chiefs and their ilk doing public appearances in Asda.

"It's not for me...it's for my cousin/auntie/grandma" * delete where appropriate

I enjoy browsing in music shops, and I'll miss them when they're gone (and I'll feel sorry for the countless staff losing their jobs), but there is simply nothing to compare to the internet.

If I lost my net connection my music-buying would drop to practically nil. HMV, Zavvi (RIP) and my local independent stock so few of the CDs I want (lately a lot of goth, darkwave, industrial, neofolk, generally foreign and by niche artists on specialist labels) that I have to rely on Amazon, iTunes, Projekt and Cold Meat Industry. I hear something on last.fm or on somebody's site, browse the web, a couple of clicks on Paypal and it's on its way, either in the post in a day or so or instantly onto my computer.

As much as I used to like going to HMV and holding a CD in my hand (it seems more real than looking at it on a PC screen), why should I queue to pay well over the odds (£15 for a CD that's been out for years? I think not)? When HMV's own website undercuts its own stock (check the site for boxsets in its regular sale - Angel DVDs £15, in the shop £45) it's little wonder people are avoiding retail stores.

There will always be casual buyers looking for presents or the songs they heard on the radio. But the music I love is never played on 'normal' radio, nor sold in mainstream stores, and the only way my favourite groups will make any sort of living is via the internet.

Artists selling their music directly, labels based around Myspace, free downloads priming listeners to pay for more material... All these strategies might well put traditional record companies out of business, but we have to move with the times.

In generations to come, when music is beamed directly into our heads via some new-fangled widget yet to be invented, the idea that you had to log onto computers and download songs will seem as antiquated and ridiculous as the notion of lining up in HMV with dozens of frantic strangers on December 24 to buy the X-Factor winner's single.

all them kids are into Rancid Groin these days and their 'Death Stab Grandad' masterwork

And reflecting on the fate of Borders...