Shedding No Tears For The Closing of An Icon
CeeDee mentions the impending shutdown of Colony Records in Reader Forum: Music Shop Recognizes Somber Tune: It’s Final Coda. Other than the requisite sadness of the closing of an institution affiliated with the music of our era, I will shed no tears for the closing of Colony. In my 40 years of jazz record collecting I don’t think I ever purchased a single record there. The prices were always way out of reach, the condition of the records spotty, and the attitude of the store personnel was marginal, at best. In the past few years what little vinyl they actually sold was not on display and you had to basically make an appointment to see a bunch of overpriced records in the basement.
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I felt the same way about Bleeker Bob’s… never found anything there worth half the money they were asking.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2012/07/6226589/records-capital-presents-documentary-about-final-days-bleecker-bobs
how many recordshops, where you can buy jazz, are there left in NY??
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I have the idea that here in Amsterdam (800 thousend people only) ,the Netherlands, there are about 6/7 good recordshops, big and small, that are doing good business.Some combining it with cd’s or hifi equipment,I also see young people buying it..
“offcourse, the old days never come back”
I NEVER leave high price records out where everyone can handle them. The records and their potential buyers deserve better. We have signs in all of my stores that state, in part, ‘If you wish to see a record above $100.00, just ask.’ Saves a lot of dollars in lost revenue.
The problem with “never” leaving high priced records where people can see them is those are the records that keep the continue to push me into the stores. I love walking into a shop and seeing Tenor Madness or Blue Train on the wall. It shows that there is still the possibility of finding these in the field and not just the bay. If a store doesn’t want every single customer to have access to handling the expensive inventory, put them on the wall and make sure to have a sign that says “Ask before pulling down the records on the wall.”
As far as being overpriced, brick and mortar stores need to learn to price the LPs at least 20 to 30% below ebay prices.
Al, I couldn’t agree more. I went in there as a young collector in the sixties and was shocked by the prices. I went back as a tourist recently and was shocked by the prices all over again. The place should have had a sign outside as one of our local bars does – “We reserve the right to cheat tourists and drunks”. The place gave all honest record stores a bad name.
Terry — which stores do you own and where are they?
Euclid Records in NOLA prices records well. I recently purchased Wallington’s “Live at the Cafe Bohemia” from Euclid in New Orleans for $70 in VG+/VG condition. After I cleaned it, it plays great. I think that’s a good price for a store, they could have gotten more on ebay. They have a lot of great records in there bins. Not NM- $1000 bin records. But nice VG+ riversides, Impulse, and a few Blue Notes and Prestiges all at around $30 or below. I picked up Johnny Griffin sextet VG+/VG+ for $30 and Monk “At Town Hall” for $25 in VG/VG+. When I left I though it was a VG++ when I left so I bought it as a gift for my brother. But there was a pressing defect I couldn’t see that causing a skip, so I didn’t get as good of a deal as I thought. Oh well, I love shopping at record stores.
Hyde Park Records in Chicago used to be like that. They had great records consistently, and for the most part they were under $50. They also had great stuff that they priced for more, but at least they had it out on the floor (on the wall behind the counter)and available for a few weeks before placing it on EBay.
Kept me going back and spending a lot of money almost every week.
Longtime”Nu Yawkers” may have fond(or not so fond)memories of walking into Dayton’s on the corner of 12th & Bway and having “Fat Jay” give you “the look”-peering down at you over his glasses-when you asked to see something on the wall. It was always rare,great,and(for me)out of my price range. I mean,what kid could afford $61.99(or whatever the arbitrary price was) for a mint “Portrait In Jazz”? This was at a time before the Milestone “two-fers” came out. “Jazztrack” was out of print,too. I had just discovered Bill Evans and wondered what was wrong with a record business that didn’t have those records available for a(then)young jazz fan. Colony,to me,was too musty,too dusty-and too far away from my West Village jazz stompin’ grounds. Those were the days…
Pastime:
Mine are on racks behind the counters, the biggest store having them 10 high by about 80 feet long.
Al:
I own Coda Music Group, the largest privately owned record label in the world. All of the stores are named Coda Records (in the language of the country they are located in);
Tokyo
Osaka
New Delhi
Rome
Barcelona
Seville
Valencia
Lisbon
London
Paris
Berlin
Bohn
Mexico City
Panama City
Bogata
Rio De Janerio
These are the largest (I think). There are others, but I can’t remember where they are. I have 37 recording studios in 27 countries, so retail is not on the top of my list of things to do! We do sell new release material, back catalogue and collectables.