Alison Fensterstock
Last month, music fans everywhere were saddened to hear that Fat Beats, the iconic independent hip-hop retailer, would be closing its two remaining stores -- including its 16-year-old New York City flagship -- this week.
The announcement was seen by most as another note in the long requiem for the bricks-and-mortar record shop, a tune that's being played at ever-higher decibel levels since the advent of Napster.
File-sharing, iTunes and rock-bottom prices at online retailers, such as Amazon.com, have taken a big bite out of the music retail market -- not to mention the MP3 player's emergence as the pre-eminent technology for listening. With even major corporate entities, such as Tower Records, throwing in the towel, the idea of opening an independent vinyl shop would seem like a fool's errand and the store itself like a quaint relic of another time -- like the malt shop or general store.
Two newly minted New Orleanians, James Weber and Brian Bromberg, however, are willing to take that gamble.
Read the rest here: newest record shop
No comments:
Post a Comment