Keeping Independent Record Stores Alive

Aug 10th, 2006 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Selling CDs

Putting the gloom and doom of the Tower Records post behind us, there are still opportunities for indie record stores to stay alive and stake a claim for relevance in their customers’ lives. To survive, a good record store should:

  • Position themselves as an expert in one or more specific niches. When folks think you’re THE destination for emo/jazz/metal/reggae/yourgenrehere, you can go deep and superserve a grateful customer.
  • Focus on special events. Make the store a destination. Create lots of in-store concerts, signings, listening parties, and anything else that can get folks out at lunch time, after work, or around shows (if the store’s near a venue).
  • Make it easy to do business. Offer online presales with in-store pickup. Blog about upcoming releases and special events.
  • Create a space that’s fun to shop in. Ditch the flourescent lights and use warm gallery bulbs. Make it easy to browse and listen to songs. CLEAN THE STORE, so folks won’t mind spending time there.

Here’s a profile of a store that’s working hard to stay open — and it sounds like it’s working…

[ via Matthew Kappenman ]

Technorati Tags: ,

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Add to:
Bloglines | | Digg it | Y! MyWeb

2 Responses to “Keeping Independent Record Stores Alive”

  1. matt Says:
    August 11th, 2006 at 8:52 am

    Thanks for the link!

  2. Tips for running an independent record store « N10AH: your independent music network Says:
    April 9th, 2007 at 5:01 pm

    [...] from music business coach Joe Taylor Jr., are some tips for successfully running an independent record store in your [...]

Leave a Reply

You May Also Be Interested In...

How Local Record Stores Can Stay in Business

It's not the first time we've covered the issue here, but amidst the horror story that has become the chart...
American Idol: Keeping the A&R Myth Alive
A group of our colleagues share notes on why -- despite all its guilty pleasures -- American Idol is rotting...
Stores That Sell Wax Won’t Make Tracks
More evidence that niche, independent record retailers have a future in our economy....
“If I sold what I liked, I’d be out of business.”
A great profile of what it takes to keep an independent record store running these days. When you're looking at...
Quotas for Indies?
Eric de Fontenay from MusicDish has posted a compelling editorial, inspired by the Supreme Court's opinion on Affirmative Action. Although...