THE WEEKLY SKANK
by Andrew Rossiter

"The Music Industry In Decline"

Well, I’ll start off by admitting this is, for the most part, a ska column.  However, there are a few times in which I feel I need to address important pressing issues.  Well, that time is now and the issue is now, more than ever, prevalent to our music scene.

Here in Toledo, OH, we don’t have many record stores.  The one record store everyone I know seems to love is a small independent store called Boogie Records.  They carry everything you can think of - used and new records, and if they don’t have it in stock, they’ll order it for you.  The employees at the store even have built a relationship with the many frequent customers at the store.  Over the years, Boogie has gained a reputation in our town, as well as surrounding towns, as one of the most customer-friendly and music smart record stores.

Earlier this month, Boogie announced that they would be closing because they were not making enough money.

Now, I don’t know about the people reading this, but this says something to me.  This shows how terrible the music industry is becoming and how even some of the best stores out there aren’t doing well.  So many people have started downloading music and burning CD’s that no one even buys them any more.

Even I, not that I want to come off as a hypocrite, have done and continue to do my fair share of burning CD’s, but we have to support our local music scenes.  With stores like Boogie going under, it only makes way for more big business to come through and take over even more independent stores.  Say goodbye to musically knowledgeable employees, customer-employee relationships, and record stores carrying local bands, or even holding shows.  That doesn’t happen in Media Play or FYE.  The way I look at it, it's better to burn CD's yourself than to go to one of those places and support them.  But, if I'm going to buy a CD, I go independent.

I do realize how expensive CD’s have gotten.  Hell, I can’t afford to buy new CD’s every time a new one comes out that I want.  But, let’s not get too greedy here…  Support your local independent record stores; you don’t know how long they’ll be around.

Andrew Rossiter
andrew.rossiter@XROXX.com