Another retail demise

[Andy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/arts/music/other-music-record-store-closing.html?_r=0

Too bad Myles.... did you know the place?

[lasercd]

Other Music is arguably the most important record store in NYC. They opened up across the street from Tower Records and everyone thought they were crazy. The store thrived. According to the article the store is still making a boatload of money. Their lease must be up.

Many of the NYC record stores have moved to Brooklyn. You can spend a solid day canvasing the stores in Brooklyn but it just doesn't feel the same.

[MylesBAstor]

Other Music is arguably the most important record store in NYC. They opened up across the street from Tower Records and everyone thought they were crazy. The store thrived. According to the article the store is still making a boatload of money. Their lease must be up.

Many of the NYC record stores have moved to Brooklyn. You can spend a solid day canvasing the stores in Brooklyn but it just doesn't feel the same.

Interesting that area was nothing but a wasteland when Tower first opened (and later Other Music) on the east side of the NYU campus. Thirty six years later, that area is just another high rent, chi-chi area of Manhattan. Same goes for when Andy Singer first opened Sound by Singer a little further north on West 16th St. just west of Union Square. Now it's high rent district. And landlords can raise the rent any amount they want. So they triple or quadruple the rent and what does the business do when they look at their bottom line and see their profit isn't increasing three or four fold?

I went into Other Records a few times but wasn't my type of music.

[Tunes]

Sad to hear of another shop closing
Despite the increased vinyl sales, still hard to make a go of it as an indie record store owner.

[MylesBAstor]

Sad to hear of another shop closing
Despite the increased vinyl sales, still hard to make a go of it as an indie record store owner.

Yes I think record store owners have to be creative to get customers into the stores such as: having bands play in the store; having a coffee bar for people to meet and greet; combing efforts with an audio store like In Living Stereo does in the Village, etc.

Still the sticking point-at least for used LP stores-are finding those old LPs and having a constant stream coming into the store to keep people coming back on a regular basis. Used albums are getting harder and harder to find because everyone thinks they are going to hit the jackpot like they saw on Antiques Roadshow! Something Princeton used to do quite well. Now they get albums into the store but the condition of these LPs is nowhere the quality of ten or 15 years ago. 😒

[Beaur]

Was a store I frequented regularly. Found all sorts of interesting music I had never heard of. Chatting with the staff was always a pleasnat experience. Sad to see them go. Appears it was a preemptive move before things got our of hand so I suspect another increase. Wonder if this will affect In Living Stereo which is around the corner?

Also in the realm of real estate closings is Ears Nova. Similar situation in that the landlord was the driver, not the store wanting to leave. Still open but don't have a B&M store right now.

Pretty soon Manhattan will be full of chain stores and high end restaurants.

[MylesBAstor]

Was a store I frequented regularly. Found all sorts of interesting music I had never heard of. Chatting with the staff was always a pleasnat experience. Sad to see them go. Appears it was a preemptive move before things got our of hand so I suspect another increase. Wonder if this will affect In Living Stereo which is around the corner?

Also in the realm of real estate closings is Ears Nova. Similar situation in that the landlord was the driver, not the store wanting to leave. Still open but don't have a B&M store right now.

Pretty soon Manhattan will be full of chain stores and high end restaurants.

The city of nail salons, Duane Reades, Starbucks and Japanese restaurants on every corner.