A strategy that independent record shops that have survived the harsh conditions while being loved by local people adopted to "lock"

There are shopkeepers with knowledge of a wide range of music, there are about one store shop in the town where strong music fans gather, but the rise of chain stores by major capital, and music is downloaded and sold The old-fashioned record shops are disappearing one after another. The story of the record shop which is sluggish after the era of the prosperity of the past and promoting efforts to rebuild again is told.

What It Takes for an Independent Record Store to Survive Now | Pitchfork
http://pitchfork.com/features/article/9927-what-it-takes-for-an-independent-record-store-to-survive-now/

On Saturday, April 16, 2016, the record shop "Used Kids" located in Columbus, the state capital of Ohio, USA, was preparing for the opening of the store early in the morning. On this day, an event to be held at a record shop around the world as a "festival where people go to a record shop and share the fun of listening to music and the enjoyment of music"Record Store Day(Record Store Day) ", the Used Kids participating in the event were also preparing to welcome many customers.

"Used Kids" has a history of 30 years, the current owner is Mr. Greg Hall, 54 years old. On the day of the event, it opened at 8 o'clock and guests were charged with free donuts, coffee, pizza and cold beer, and the stage inside the shop was wrapped in an atmosphere where performance by indie rock bands and rappers could be done . Even in the afternoon the inside of the store was full of people and music, and the air was floating in the 1990s when the record shop was full of vigor. Used Kids also benefited from the CD booming economy in the 1990s, and in 1996 and 1997, the year when the annual revenue reached 1 million dollars (100 million level) It seems there was also.


But in the 2000s, Used Kids celebrates the tough times like other shops. In 2001 the shop sometimes burned a fire that was burned down. Although we were able to reopen the shop after a fire, sales also stagnated sluggishly, and the situation was inevitable that traditional staff left and dismissed.

In the era when music spreads on the Internet, small record shops such as Used Kids will be affected first as "endangered species". This trend is not limited to Columbus, there were cases that New York's famous record shop was forced to close. Still continued to operate The Used Kids also said that there were various twists and turns.

It seems that Mr. Hall bought such Used Kids in 2014. Used Kids, which has been operating for over 30 years, is a "hangout" type gathering of a large number of music fans and musicians, and various kinds of chemical changes have occurred among people's connections That's right.


Used Kids was founded in 1986 by Mr. Dan Dow and Mr. Ron House. In 1990, we opened an annex next to the original store, it seems that there was a smooth store management, including the number of staff to hire. Used Kids became a well-known record shop in Columbus, became to have a presence as a "hub" where music fans gather, and in 1995It is taken up in Entertainment Weekly magazineIt became like it. By this time, there were also cases where famous musicians such as Pearl Jam's vocalist Eddie Vedder and Sonic Youth visited the shop. In addition, it seems that efforts such as setting up their own record labels and getting into music production were done.

In this way, in the 1990s the music scene was greatly excited and many people came to the record shop. Mr. House said, "I do not understand how exciting to go to the record shop in the 1990s was for the people today."


But in the 1990s as well, the situation gradually starts to move in a bad direction. The situation surrounding the store deteriorates due to changes in lifestyle of staff, death of core staff, and deterioration in sales. Then, in June 2001, the fire broke out due to a malfunction of the electrical system, and the store fell into a situation of burning down. A staff member who knew the situation at the time said, "Everyone was totally insane, the shops changed and the staff at that time ceased to be the same as the old days."


After that, the store was rebuilt, but record shops are forced to struggle in times when the music business shifts greatly to download sales. The staff at that time left the store or someone who is dismissed. From there Used Kids will endure the tough times.

And in 2014, Mr. Hall decided to buy a shop, who had been working part - time at Used Kids. Although I bought the shop, I had a lot of debts at that time, and Mr. Hall was not able to obtain salary properly. Still, Mr. Hall, "Part of the business to take risk", has taken various measures towards rebuilding Used Kids. At that time Mr. Hall thought that "This is not done to survive, it is doing to lock the store (to make it lively)." It seems that it was a speech with the staff at that time that Used Kids was "to make it the best record store between New York and Chicago".


From there Used Kids will make a variety of transformation attempts. Mr. Hall is looking back, as a change following the change took place, compared with a musician who changed the appearance one after another, "(David) Bowie-like thing".

Until now Used Kids was a shop dealing only with records, but now it has become to handle record players and audio equipment as well. Furthermore, I was embarking on it in 1999EBay Online ShopAlso has grown to occupy a part of sales.

Nonetheless, it seems that even now, it accounts for 90% of Used Kids sales, it is still sold at stores. Mr. Hall sometimes shows an aggressive attitude toward purchasing goods, and by purchasing a record of unlikely numbers of records at other stores, goods are neatly aligned whenever fans come to the store It is said that it is in a state. Otherwise, it is a measure that has a risk that inventories may swell and put pressure on the finances of the store, but Mr. Hall said, "Although I understand the inventory risk, it is also a factor to become a" cool "store One of them, because something that is not in the store can not be sold, "he says the reasons for taking the risk.


In 2016, Used Kids moved away from the previous place and moved to a place slightly away from the city center. Although I was not worried about relocating to the suburbs where there were few passengers, I was able to use a convenient parking lot that I could not hope for in the downtown area, and from the visit of a neighboring Ohio State University student, a new flow It seems that he expects to be born.

On the day the new shop opened, a lot of customers came to visit, although they did not particularly prominent publicity. Moreover, Mr. Hall said that there were many new customers who did not see in the former store, Mr. Hall said, "That person's face to watch for the first time, that person is the same, so feeling very well" I am satisfied with the new customer 's visit. When asked to a man who has a cup of records with both hands and is lined up at a cash register, "I often come downtown like this?", I replied that "No, I have not seen much of it". In this way, it may be that the flow of new people is also being brought up by the store.