A few jumbled thoughts on the collapse of the HMV chain:
- If all or most of HMV’s current shops close, what does this mean for music? I would estimate that half of my music purchases over the past 2-3 years were from my local HMV in Reading. The rest were direct purchases from the artists, either via their websites or their merch desks. I’ve not used Amazon for at least a couple of years. Without HMV, will people like me buy more independent music, or just less music?
- Going beyond music, what is it about the “Traditional High Street” that ought to be preserved? Do the faceless chain stores that dominate our clone towns really have any value? If the High Street is doomed because it can’t compete with internet shopping’s lower overheads, what can replace it?
- And finally, how about social and leisure activities that revolve around something other than shopping?
What does anyone else think?
The commentary I’ve seen is speculating that HMV will survive in a slimmed down form, surviving on favourable discounts from the record/film industry, because they don’t want to lose their “presence” to supermarkets and the internet. But who really knows.
HMV have been on the slippery slope for years so this was to be expected sooner or later. Tellingly, have you noticed that the chief exec of HMV joined them last year … from Jessops! Now there’s someone who’s going to be out of work for the foreseeable future.
Going to miss them as a refuge on shopping trips though.
Our Government must ensure that Amazon , Vodafone , the Barclay brothers – Littlewoods etc pay the correct amount of Corporation tax on their commercial activities in The UK – somehow I doubt it will happen. There must be fair competition in the markets in which they operate. The Ritz Hotel ( owned by the Barclay brothers ) has not paid a single penny in Corpoeation Tax since 1997 !
I am going to miss them but I must confess that I do virtually all my CD shopping either from Amazon or directly from bands’ websites or merch desks. The last two times I’ve gone into my local HMV in Oxford looking for something they haven’t had it. I can accept that most of the bands I follow are well below HMV’s radar but the White Stripes for goodness sake !!!