Consuming Music in 2019: Keep The Future Physical
Addison paterson
On a trip to Scotland to visit family, I bought my first albums (that weren't Pop Princess or Avril Lavigne bought for me by my mum) in HMV Glasgow in 2006. I listened to them on my Sony walkman on a bus between towns, obliviously, obsessively singing along to Alright Stilland Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. In hindsight, "You were fucking that girl next door, what'd you do that for?" may have been mildly inappropriate for a nine year old.
Picking up two of the biggest debut albums at the time from two of my still-favourite artists sits among my most beloved musical memories, and marks a turning point as the moment I felt something stronger for music than just background enjoyment. Not only soundtracking a very specific, personal moment, HMV kickstarted my love of music at a time when it couldn't be anything other than physical; before playlists and single downloads, and listening to a full album on repeat was taken for granted.
In 2017 I began working at HMV Belfast, the second biggest of the company's branches. My relationship with physical music had changed with the times, and buying had become a luxury as the convenience of streaming took over. Thanks to that sweet employee discount, my vinyl collection had grown, and I still made sure to shop locally, independently, as much as I did in the store I work in. The two Christmas periods I've spent there have seen the mass buying of vinyl and turntables, either for young teenagers kicking off their collection with a Crosley and Nirvana's Nevermind, or the more seasoned generation looking to replace their collection having discarded the format as obsolete after their youth.
This morning I woke up to the news on Twitter that the largest High Street music and entertainment store, and my current employer, was on the brink of going into administration. The first thing that struck me about the news was the paradox in people buying vinyl to 'keep music physical', but doing so mostly online. Last Christmas, Belfast's last remaining 'mainstream' independent record store, Head, shut its doors for good after a long period of uncertainty. I remember discussing the sad implications of this with customers – how terrible it is for the staff, who found out only a few days before they lost their jobs. My initial fears about the change in music consumption were mainly focused on independent retailers, and the fact that Head's closure wasn't surprising made it all the more tragic. Now, aside from the potential loss of 2200 jobs going into the new year, the accessibility of physical music is extremely at risk if there's no presence on the High Street – and if a retailer like HMV cannot stand against internet and streaming services, then surely there's no brighter forecast for local, independent stores.
About a week ago, a customer asked for Tom Grennan's record. Taking him to it, I told him that I occasionally had the privilege of interviewing artists through QR, and that I had caught Tom just before he blew up two years ago. The customer began asking me for recommendations, and I excitedly chucked King Krule, Our Girl, and Matt Maltese's records from this year at him – he bought them blindly, and said that's where the fun was. I told him to come back in in a few weeks and tell me what he thought. He asked me what I intended to do once I had finished my degree, and when I told him, he set me the homework of watching Almost Famous, a film about a girl determined to make it as a music writer in the 1970s.
I feel extremely privileged to have had my experiences as a music lover (and as both customer and staff) enriched through HMV providing a place for conversations like these. With today's news, I am afraid for the future of walking into a record store and physically browsing and talking about music. The answer? Please shop physically, shop local, and shop indie. Go online as a last resort. Exchange thoughts with staff, and keep the personal spirit of shopping music alive.