From: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org (loud-fans-digest) To: loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Subject: loud-fans-digest V9 #172 Reply-To: loud-fans@smoe.org Sender: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-loud-fans-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk loud-fans-digest Sunday, September 26 2010 Volume 09 : Number 172 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [craig] Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [Jenny Gr] Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [glenn] Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [Rich] Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [Rich] Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [TruePanto] Re: Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [c] Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [Jenny Gro] Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [Michael B] Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [TruePanto] Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... [TruePanto] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 14:30:52 -0500 (CDT) From: craigtorso@verizon.net Subject: Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... >The latter is the sense of size I get from many of the RS photos. Some are >small neighbourhood shops, but loads look like huge city stores. When that >size is matched by dynamism you have a chance to compete with your rivals. The stores on the list that I'm most familiar with--Newbury Comics here in Boston and Electric Fetus in Minneapolis--are in fact pretty huge. But the key in both those cases is that a large part of the sales floor is devoted to gift items, toys and knick-knacks that have a much higher profit margin than CDs do. Mike Dreese, the owner of Newbury Comics and an all-around solid guy, always says the reason why the chain has prospered when so many others have faltered is those things pay for the LPs and CDs. S ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 16:43:07 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... On 09/25/2010 03:30 PM, craigtorso@verizon.net wrote: > > The stores on the list that I'm most familiar with--Newbury Comics here in Boston and Electric Fetus in Minneapolis--are in fact pretty huge. But the key in both those cases is that a large part of the sales floor is devoted to gift items, toys and knick-knacks that have a much higher profit margin than CDs do. Mike Dreese, the owner of Newbury Comics and an all-around solid guy, always says the reason why the chain has prospered when so many others have faltered is those things pay for the LPs and CDs. > I'll be in Boston next weekend. What's the best Newbury branch store to go to? Jen ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 17:00:19 -0400 From: glenn mcdonald Subject: Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... The actual Newbury Street location is the one to visit if it's your destination, but the Harvard Square one is an acceptable alternative if the other doesn't happen to fit with your movements. On Saturday, September 25, 2010, Jenny Grover wrote: > On 09/25/2010 03:30 PM, craigtorso@verizon.net wrote: > > > The stores on the list that I'm most familiar with--Newbury Comics here in Boston and Electric Fetus in Minneapolis--are in fact pretty huge. B But the key in both those cases is that a large part of the sales floor is devoted to gift items, toys and knick-knacks that have a much higher profit margin than CDs do. Mike Dreese, the owner of Newbury Comics and an all-around solid guy, always says the reason why the chain has prospered when so many others have faltered is those things pay for the LPs and CDs. > > > > I'll be in Boston next weekend. B What's the best Newbury branch store to go to? > > Jen ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 21:19:32 +0000 (GMT) From: Richard Blatherwick Subject: Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... Interesting, for a couple of reasons - this is a model I've come across in a few places (most notably a huge indie store in Auckland, whose name escapes me at the moment), but which hasn't saved those places in more than the medium term. Selectadisc in Nottingham diversified in as many ways as it could - formats new and 2nd hand, t-shirts, memorabilia of almost infinite variety, tickets... - but gradually shrank over the last 20 years from up to 4 stores in Nottingham down to their original store, and then out of business a couple of years ago. And secondly, because Newbury Comics is one of the places on this list with whom I've done online business with via Amazon or eBay, and it was nice to get a bit of background showing that they did a bit more than trade a few collectables! Richard Looking forward to the arrival of Blood Candy in a few days! A rival for Goodbye Killer?? - --- On Sat, 25/9/10, craigtorso@verizon.net wrote: From: craigtorso@verizon.net Subject: Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... To: loud-fans@smoe.org Date: Saturday, 25 September, 2010, 20:30 >The latter is the sense of size I get from many of the RS photos. Some are >small neighbourhood shops, but loads look like huge city stores. When that >size is matched by dynamism you have a chance to compete with your rivals. The stores on the list that I'm most familiar with--Newbury Comics here in Boston and Electric Fetus in Minneapolis--are in fact pretty huge. But the key in both those cases is that a large part of the sales floor is devoted to gift items, toys and knick-knacks that have a much higher profit margin than CDs do. Mike Dreese, the owner of Newbury Comics and an all-around solid guy, always says the reason why the chain has prospered when so many others have faltered is those things pay for the LPs and CDs. S ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 21:22:38 +0000 (GMT) From: Richard Blatherwick Subject: Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... The Auckland store I was remembering was Real Groovy and there seems to be good news on that front as they seem to have expanded into Wellington and Christchurch (hope they survived the earthquake), locations they certainly weren't in when I last visited those cities 10 years ago. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 17:47:21 -0400 (EDT) From: TruePantone293@aol.com Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... In a message dated 9/24/2010 9:22:46 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, andrew.hamlin@gmail.com writes: While we'll have to dodge the cartoon steam coming out of Mark's head when he reads the top pick, here's "Rolling Stone" on the "The Best Record Stores In The USA": My feelings about Amoeba are kind of like what my best friend in high school wrote in an early short story: "He hated the city. The city didn't care." Amoeba doesn't care about me. But they don't care about you, either. Just show them the money. No cartoon steam coming out of my head, just pipe smoke (yes, I know smoking is bad, but it's either smoke my pipe or kill people, so I choose to smoke). - --Mark ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 16:06:49 -0500 (CDT) From: craigtorso@verizon.net Subject: Re: Re: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... What glenn said. The Harvard Square store is my usual, since it's within easy walking distance, but the original Newbury Street location is the best. If you're doing touristy things anyway, there's one in Quincy Market, but it's not that great. S >The actual Newbury Street location is the one to visit if it's your >destination, but the Harvard Square one is an acceptable alternative >if the other doesn't happen to fit with your movements. > >On Saturday, September 25, 2010, Jenny Grover wrote: >> On 09/25/2010 03:30 PM, craigtorso@verizon.net wrote: >> >> >> The stores on the list that I'm most familiar with--Newbury Comics >here in Boston and Electric Fetus in Minneapolis--are in fact pretty huge. B But >the key in both those cases is that a large part of the sales floor is devoted to >gift items, toys and knick-knacks that have a much higher profit margin than CDs >do. Mike Dreese, the owner of Newbury Comics and an all-around solid guy, always >says the reason why the chain has prospered when so many others have faltered is >those things pay for the LPs and CDs. >> >> >> >> I'll be in Boston next weekend. B What's the best Newbury branch >store to go to? >> >> Jen ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:40:12 -0400 From: Jenny Grover Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... On 09/25/2010 05:47 PM, TruePantone293@aol.com wrote: > Amoeba doesn't care about me. > > But they don't care about you, either. > Well, I haven't been to the L.A. one, but having been to both SF area ones, I'd have to disagree. The staff were extraordinarily helpful, I found some good bargains, some other of the rarer, out of print things off my psych wishlist, and at very fair prices. Mark, I know you think they pay peanuts for used, but what you told me in that regard sounds just like any other record store I've sold used things at, and better than some, and what you get also depends a lot on what you are selling and how well that will sell for them. Yes, that's about money. Businesses have to make money. They aren't charities. You may have something that's a rare treasure for a true fan, but if that true fan who is going to fork over for it and doesn't have it already is 1 music buyer out of 1000s, it's not such a good bet for a walk-in store. You're better off selling on GEMM or eBay. Jen ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:20:37 -0400 From: Michael Bowen Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... Just for the record, I don't know how they made Other Music look so spacious, but if you go there any time other than, say, Thursday at 10:30 am, be prepared for terminal butt-brush. MB ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 01:24:47 -0400 (EDT) From: TruePantone293@aol.com Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... In a message dated 9/25/2010 8:23:00 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, bowenm@gmail.com writes: but if you go there any time other than, say, Thursday at 10:30 am, be prepared for terminal butt-brush. This cracked me up. Thanks! I needed that. - --Mark ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 01:54:39 -0400 (EDT) From: TruePantone293@aol.com Subject: Re: [loud-fans] Earshot Music, sadly, does not make the cut... In a message dated 9/25/2010 4:46:43 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, sleeveless@suddenlink.net writes: Well, I haven't been to the L.A. one, but having been to both SF area ones, I'd have to disagree. Well, when I get to SF, I'll check them out, or at least one of them. SF and LA are very different beasts, from what I've been told. I would think that from what I hear about SF, the Amoebas there are probably very customer-friendly, since I've heard that San Franciscans themselves are friendly. I agree with the article about Wuxtry in Athens. A great store, IMO. I had a laugh with the guys at Earshot the other day. They were talking about the stickers that they sell there--you know the black and white narrow rectangular ones that say stuff like "JESUS HAD A MULLET" or "DEVO WAS RIGHT." They said that "all the rednecks want the 'BOO FUCKING HOO' stickers," so they sell out as soon as they get them in, to the customers who buy the Colt Ford or Hank III CDs. - --Mark ------------------------------ End of loud-fans-digest V9 #172 *******************************