Re: WANTED: Online music responses

["Alan Imberg" <alan_i@sprynet.com>]

It is my hope that the availability of online music will put a fire under
conventional retail outlets to make it more enticing to go to the corner
retail music store. I love places like Amoeba in Berkeley. It's a 20 minute
drive for me but its worth the trip because I can find the esoteric stuff I
love and can't find at the crappy Vallejo Wherehouse. Of course, most of my
weird musical cravings can be satisfied by shopping online and I do avail
myself to these outlets often. However, there is still something wonderful
about milling through the bins looking for that rare find or bargain price
and I'm fortunate to live in a metropolitan area that has cool outlets.
Conversely, much of my family live in rural Oklahoma and only have Wal-mart
or Sam Goody to rely on for their retail music needs (try finding a David
Torn CD in one of those places). My family give thanks everyday for online
music outlets.



> As for the record store issue, I shop at Amoeba (in San Francisco or
Berkeley CA)
> all the time, I also really enjoy Aquarius Records (in SF). I usually 
>walk
out of
> those record stores carrying a delightful surprise. The reason that I 
>have
a
> grudge against the national chain stores is because a lot of people don't
have a
> really great record store nearby. I think there's more good record stores
than
> there ever was, but for most towns in America, the best selection at a
record
> store is Media Play (which is owned by musicland, I believe).
>
> more on this later, I believe, I have to go to work.
>
> matt
>
> Kim Flint wrote:
>
> > At 11:51 PM -0700 7/26/99, Andre LaFosse wrote:
> > >Matt Davignon wrote:
> > >
> > >> Well, I'm responding to the group because your questions looked a
little
> > >> "official" and I don't want to wind up on another unsolicited 
>mailing
list.
> > >
> > >No spam here -- I'm an independent musician/cash register clerk (not
> > >always in that order) trying to gather some ideas for how to go about
> > >getting his music heard.
> >
> > Andre's been on the LD list pretty much since it started. He's cool 
>man.
> > Old timers will recall that Andre's ability to tell me I'm wrong 
>exceeds
> > Hawkeye's by about 1000 times, in quantity, quality, and intensity. If
he
> > can still post here, anybody can. ;-)
> >
> > >> Most of the musicians I enjoy do what they do to be creative and
> > >> to spread musical ideas, not to make money.
> > >
> > >Hopefully these two things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
> > >
> > >> Right now, there's a wonderful thing that's happening in music right
now.
> > >> With the internet, mp3 files, and affordable CD burners, the music
business
> > >> is becoming less of a business. You can go to the Wherehouse or
Musicland
> > >> and pay $17 for a mediocre CD, or you can find a website where
someone is
> > >> offering their CD "free-for-trade" and find some music that actually
has
> > >> some passion to it.
> > >
> > >I do hope that the change you're talking about doesn't result in 
>people
> > >writing off any mainstream retail outlet as a place to find 
>interesting
> > >music -- or for that matter, writing off the notion that an artist
might
> > >want to make some significant income from their work...
> >
> > I don't mind paying for music at all. I vastly prefer that good
musicians
> > be able to devote their life to bringing me more good music, without
them
> > having to spend large chunks of each day behind the register at Tower
> > Records so they don't starve to death. I think the advantage of the
> > internet and recording tech is I can now much more easily give the
musician
> > my money directly in exchange for his/her music, rather than to a lot 
>of
> > middlemen. (in time, the Sendero Luminoso will fix all of this for
us!;-)
> >
> > However, I do really enjoy browsing around in Amoeba records. I always
end
> > up with great stuff I wasn't really thinking about when I went in. Much
> > more pleasant and social than web surfing by myself. Getting out in the
> > world, seeing people with green mohawks, etc.  I hope they don't go the
way
> > of the dodo... I think you just need a real music store, Matt. Stay out
of
> > those malls, nothing good happens there.
> >
> > kim
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________________
> > Kim Flint                   | Looper's Delight
> > kflint@annihilist.com       | http://www.annihilist.com/loop/loop.html
> > http://www.annihilist.com/  | Loopers-Delight-request@annihilist.com
>