Continuation of a discussion on the SOPA thread.
For those that haven't read that one, the conversation veered off the original topic and into the reasons behind the death of the traditional record store so many of us remember. The place many in their teens and twenties spent a great deal of time in the 50s, 60s and 70s, even into the 80s. Places the size of bookstores where thousands and thousands of albums and 45s lined the aisles. Mostly anything you could look for would be there from ragtime piano to big band to various forms of jazz, opera, classical, movie soundtracks and everything else.
Some were destinations for traveling artists and bands to do autograph signings and personal appearances. Radio stations did live remotes on weekends or when certain new albums were to be released. Some were national chains, others were local stores. Department stores had large music sections featuring records, posters and sheet music. This was BIG business.
In the SOPA thread, the discussion turned to various theories as to their demise including MP3s, iTunes, piracy (illegal downloads) and some other ideas.
So, if you were there in the late 80s to early 90s when MTV hit cable by storm (Video Killed The Radio Star as the song goes), what is your opinion of why the record store became a thing of the past?
For those that haven't read that one, the conversation veered off the original topic and into the reasons behind the death of the traditional record store so many of us remember. The place many in their teens and twenties spent a great deal of time in the 50s, 60s and 70s, even into the 80s. Places the size of bookstores where thousands and thousands of albums and 45s lined the aisles. Mostly anything you could look for would be there from ragtime piano to big band to various forms of jazz, opera, classical, movie soundtracks and everything else.
Some were destinations for traveling artists and bands to do autograph signings and personal appearances. Radio stations did live remotes on weekends or when certain new albums were to be released. Some were national chains, others were local stores. Department stores had large music sections featuring records, posters and sheet music. This was BIG business.
In the SOPA thread, the discussion turned to various theories as to their demise including MP3s, iTunes, piracy (illegal downloads) and some other ideas.
So, if you were there in the late 80s to early 90s when MTV hit cable by storm (Video Killed The Radio Star as the song goes), what is your opinion of why the record store became a thing of the past?