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Unsung Forum » HMV about to enter adminastration! |
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keith a 9572 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 10:31
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Website was down last night. Today it has the following notice. http://www.hmv.com/hmv/site_down_1a.jpg Gift vouchers not being accepted which is shit for the kids in particular.
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bauheed 895 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 10:34
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flatboxertwin wrote: Ian Anderson put it nicely: I'm going up the 'pool from down the smoke below To taste my mum's jam sarnies and see our aunty Flo The candy floss salesman watches ladies in the sand Down for a freaky weekend in the hope that they'll be meeting Mister Universe The iron tower smiles down upon the silver sea And along the golden mile they'll be swigging mugs of tea The politicians there who've come to take the air While posing for the daily press, will look around And blame the mess on Edward Bear There'll be bucket, spades and bingo, cockles, mussels Rainy days, seaweed and sand castles, icy waves Deck chairs, rubber dinghies, old vests, braces dangling down Sun tanned stranded starfish in a daze Oh, Blackpool Oh, Blackpool or as the Macc lads put it... "We're going down Blackpool, alright, We're going down Blackpool for a fight, We're going down Blackpool, alright To see the lights..."
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Squid Tempest 8761 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 10:36
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keith a wrote: Squid Tempest wrote: I'm also worried about the death of town centres. Before long all that will be left will be cafes, and they'll go out of business coz no-one has any reason to visit the town centre anymore. Whole communities will die because of the shrinking of the retail sector. Dark times. Of course, some of the town planning hasn't helped. I can think of a town near to me where in the past, say, 12-15 years there have been two major new retail re-developments. They are, however, some distance away from each other so for old people it must be a pain to say the least. What has happened as a result is that some of the chain stores have moved from their old premises to the new so to get from one complex to another you walk down a high street with lots of empty shops. At the risk of sounding like some embittered old fart I really don't think this is progress! I think sounding like an embittered old fart is progress of a sort!
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Fitter Stoke 2608 posts |
Edited Jan 16, 2013, 17:26
Jan 16, 2013, 11:03
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I'm sad about it (a) for HMV's overworked, underpaid staff (I used to be one of them) who'll lose their jobs and (b) because it was our last chance to buy tangible music formats in most towns and cities - though arguably it was precisely HMV's ability to afford to site their stores in prime locations that saw off most of the great indie stores of the past, at least before the download era. But it was inevitable. In fact, I'm amazed it kept going this long. I wonder if HMV and the other major defunct chains missed a trick though. I wonder if it would have been practicable or workable for them to have installed web-connected posts in their stores, from which punters could have uploaded tracks, albums, games or films to their devices for a fee. Although most of us have online access, there's a whole load of people, particularly of the older generation (and I'm nearly there myself) who have neither the interest or desire to buy a PC and who now, as a result, will have no way of availing themselves of back catalogue music short of getting their savvy younger relatives to order it online for them. HMV adopted the "if you can't beat them, join them" approach when they started flogging iPods (other, and better, mp3 players are available) a few years ago - but they should've gone further, and made it possible for customers to buy an iPod AND start to fill it up, there and then, with digital media sold on the premises. At the end of the day - and, sadly, it is exactly that now - HMV was a record store. A store that sold recorded music in every format...except - and my, it's a big except - downloads (and yes, I'm aware of their online presence, but that's not what we're talking about here). Somewhere along the line, they lost the plot. I got tired of having to walk further and further into their shops to find a CD, the rack space for which diminished more and more until the selection barely bettered the chart foddered shelves of Asda and Tesco. Meanwhile, valuable floorspace was surrendered to bloody DVDs, games, sweets, cans of pop, mugs, posters, books, t-shirts and, latterly, gadgets - most of which could be bought elsewhere on the high street at more reasonable prices. So yes, I'm sorry to read of HMV's demise. But, for all the inevitable talk of the digital revolution and economic recession, I can't help feeling they are the victims, at least in part, of their own business planning. And, whilst we may mourn them (and I will), they were usually bloody expensive places to buy a record, and (the odd very temporary offer excepted) remained so - even with, as in the last few days, 25% off their normal ludicrously high prices. Maybe that, above all else, sealed their fate. I only hope that, with the end of their principal competition, a few enterprising prospective independent record shop owners get the chance to take their place, particularly given the current resurgence of interest in vinyl. The wheel (or maybe "disc" is more appropriate) will then have turned full circle. Wouldn't that be nice?
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Kid Calamity 9044 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 11:28
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Hear, hear!! A good, thought provoking piece, Fitter. The blame can be divided between so many people and factors. Even town centre planners can cop for some, as far as I'm concerned, for allowing this corporate defiling of our otherwise characterful high streets, by brands. Bands will always form, play and need to share / sell their creations. There will always be audiences, who want a record of what they've experienced. Whilst one outlet may have disappeared another will inevitably take its place. And will continue to do so, as long as the music's there to inspire.
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Squid Tempest 8761 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 13:10
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Good post, well said. Sadly I think the independant market will also be hit by this rather than benefiting, as much of the revenue for independant record labels and sales went through HMV apparently. That may only be anecdotal - I hope so. I do think that the time has come to seriously make an effort to avoid Amazon though, before they kill off any more of the high street.
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Kid Calamity 9044 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 13:26
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Hmmm... But, a lot of independent traders sell through Amazon, of course. It's a bit like an eBay store, in that way. Amazon get a cut of course for hosting and advertising. With the beat combo I play in, we sell from an Amazon page, but they don't actually stock any of our CDs or do anything else. Then, a little record company in London we use simply gets an email telling them of a purchase, with an address of where to send another copy. Amazon get their percentage (whatever that is). We could do the mail order from our website, ourselves, but a) I can't be arsed, on top of everything else I do - b) I looks better having a 'record company' and an Amazon presence. Well, it does to me, anyway.
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Squid Tempest 8761 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 13:39
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Like I said, it might be anecdotal.
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Squid Tempest 8761 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 13:40
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Sorry, that typo was driving me mad!!!
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Kid Calamity 9044 posts |
Jan 16, 2013, 13:50
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your so pedantic.
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