Record Store Day 2014. Our thanks and thoughts.

First of all, we would like to thank everyone that came to the shop on Saturday 19th April for Record Store Day. There were at least 150 people in the queue when we opened at 8:30am and as fast as we were serving customers, more people were joining the back of the line. Everyone waited patiently and with good humour. It was also nice to see people talking to each other as they waited and being happy for their new friends as they succeeded in getting what they had queued for.

We only had one person over the weekend who expressed unhappiness at how we ran Record Store Day, but not for the reason you might expect. An email was received on Saturday from someone who sent his girlfriend over on what he described as "an onerous journey from Wakefield" to purchase a coloured vinyl Shonen Knife album. The problem was that she came to us on Good Friday, the day before Record Store Day. He admitted that he had no issue with how we politely explained to her that she couldn't buy the album, but told us that nobody cares about rules and we should have sold her the album and that it would not have mattered. He then concluded by saying that although he thinks we are a great shop with good prices, he will never come to us again. I politely emailed him back explaining why we have to abide by those rules, but he was not for turning!

As for those rules, we take them very seriously at Crash. Several weeks in advance we let people know in the shop, on our website and via social media that if they wanted any of the special releases or limited editions, they needed a fully functioning alarm clock. I even warned friends on my personal Facebook page that there was absolutely no point asking me for any favours as the rules for Record Store Day apply to everyone.

On the day itself, the first arrivals turned up just after midnight. By 5am there were probably about 40 people braving the frosty weather so that they could get their hands on the stock they wanted. When I arrived at about 7:15am the queue stretched all the way down the road. And just to show that my Facebook post had worked, there was a very close friend of over 35 years halfway down the queue hoping to get hold of a 7" picture disc of David Bowie's "Rock n Roll Suicide" (which he did!)

At 8 o'clock we did what we have done in previous years and gave the first 60 people in the queue the opportunity to reserve a first choice from the RSD list. We find that this ensures a more even spread of the most limited releases among the early risers. It also helps to identify fans of a particular artist and gives them a greater chance of getting the one thing they want more than anything else. This meant that if you were in the queue at 6am and wanted a Paul Weller single you probably got one.

Once inside the shop the first 60 customers got their reserve item and were then allowed to purchase more releases from the list. Everyone behind them in the queue then asked for what they wanted when they got to the counter. A few of the releases like the Ghostbusters glow in the dark 10" went very quickly. But because we ordered as much stock as we could, and due to the fact there were so many different titles on the list, we found that lots of people got most of what they wanted right throughout the day.

Since then of course we have had the annual backlash about people profiting from their Record Store Day purchases. I always try and avoid looking at eBay, but it's difficult to be unaware of what is going on. We hate to see people being ripped off, but unfortunately it is very difficult to prevent it from happening. It's incredibly unfair that someone can pay us £9.99 (out of which we make a profit of about £2.50) and then sell that single to someone for £80. I would love to find a way of stopping it as it goes against everything I believe in. Perhaps we should have a loyalty card scheme? If for example you made 6 purchases at different months throughout the year in the shop, you would then be entitled to go in a priority queue, or maybe invited to a special pre-sale day? The Record Store Day queue every year is made up of regular customers, occasional visitors to the shop and people we have never seen before. Perhaps it is time to look at rewarding our regular customers rather than having them stand in line with everyone else?

Of course, the ironic thing every year is that we quite often get hold of re-stocks on many of the Record Store Day releases that have been the subject of frenzied activity on eBay over the weekend. Many of the best sellers like Sex Pistols, Paramore and even One Direction have been coming back into stock. Someone told me that people were paying £80-£120 for Adam & The Ants "Dirk Wears White Sox" on white vinyl LP on Sunday. This has come back into stock this morning (Thursday 24th April) so there is absolutely no need to pay over the odds when you can pay over the counter at Crash. If people would only resist the urge to buy Record Store Days release on eBay it would stop the touts in their tracks.

We had a brilliant Record Store Day this year as did  hundreds of cutomers who we served throughout the day. Some were disappointed to have missed out on certain releases, but I think they all realised that we were as fair as we could possibly be to everyone on the day. We look forward to seeing you all in April 2015.

Artists selling direct to customers, a few thoughts.

I made the mistake of looking at my Twitter feed late last night and instead of getting into bed for some much needed beauty sleep I ended up getting involved in a slightly heated debate. It all started out when Billy Bragg posted a tweet about his new album "Tooth & Nail" which will be released on Monday 18th March. If you order directly from his website you can get a free signed print. Someone then replied asking him why he was cutting record shops out of this offer. He answered that not everyone has a local record shop and this was an alternative to "The Big Ugly As". Back came a tweet asking why in that case was there a link to Amazon on his website for all 3 formats of the album. Billy Bragg said that this was on the insistence of his record label but the buttons for the link on his website were far less prominent than the one for people to buy direct. And at that point our friends Spillers Records in Cardiff joined the conversation. They made the point that there are places that have local record shops, so why give a better incentive to people ordering online than those that want to purchase from an independent record shop. It then got slightly heated as Billy Bragg seemed to think that Spillers were attacking him for selling the new release on his website. I don't think they were, but the problem with Twitter is that you have to make short succinct comments with a maximum of 140 characters (which is even more difficult when you are including other Twitter users in the conversation).

Our biggest selling album of the year so far has been "mbv" by My Bloody Valentine and so I joined the debate to point out how artists can sell copies of their own album and include record shops too. I also tried to make the point that independent record shops support independent music 52 weeks a year. When My Bloody Valentine's third album was released at the start of February, a mere 22 years after its predecessor "Loveless" we were bombarded with enquiries. It all looked slightly worrying at first, as there didn't seem to be a release date for shops. The LP and CD formats were only available on the band's own website. Then, just over a week ago  it came to our attention that they were going to put some out to independent retailers, so we contacted the band directly. They supplied us with some stock and we were then able to satisfy the demand that had built up from our customers. My Bloody Valentine from what I understand, have not and will not supply any stock to Amazon. There is certainly no link to their website from the band's home page.

So back we go to Billy Bragg. His new album comes out on the Cooking Vinyl label and on Monday 18th March we will have it in stock on CD, 2CD + DVD and on LP (which includes a download of the full album). I'm fairly certain that Spillers Records in Cardiff will also be stocking it. I have absolutely no problem with Billy Bragg selling his own album on his website and I don't think our Welsh friends do either. It would be lovely to have some of the signed prints (as a long time fan I would like one for myself) but I fully respect the decision that they are only available on his website.

What I would like to see though, is a mention on Billy Bragg's website that the album will also be available from independent record shops in the UK. There could even be a link to a list supplied by the record label embedded in there. I think more than anything else that was the point that Spillers were making, I know that I was. If you go on the website it seems to imply there are only 2 options. direct from the artist or through Amazon. It would be great to see all independent minded artists adopting a policy of supporting record shops on their websites. I realise how easy and convenient it is to give an Amazon link, but why not give us a shout out too.

Anyway, I hope it's all cooled down now with Billy Bragg. He is an artist who I have much admiration for. I recently watched him play an impromptu gig in City Square for the Occupy Leeds protesters and I will definitely be there when he performs at Leeds Town Hall later this year.

"Tooth & Nail" is released on Monday 18th March.

Leeds Arena #somethingforeveryone

In a drawer in my desk at the shop, there is a letter dated November 2002. It is a reply from the then leader of Leeds City Council about the lack of an arena in our city. In the letter he says that it has been an ambition of Leeds to have such a venue for 10 years. So from wanting one in 1992 to finally opening one in 2013 it has been quite a long journey. I and many other people have also expressed our frustration over many years in our local paper the Yorkshire Evening Post that Leeds has been the only major city in the UK without an arena. Their reporter Paul Robinson has regularly covered the story as we have slowly inched our way towards its opening. 

So now here we are in 2013 and the opening of Leeds Arena is almost upon us. In my previous blog I gave my views on the huge coup of getting Bruce Springsteen to play his only indoor show in the UK in a special pre-opening gig on Wednesday 24th July. This is probably the biggest gig Leeds has seen for decades and it has opened a bit of a can of worms.

Ourselves and Jumbo have both been ticket agents for all the major venues in Leeds for many years and as soon as the Springsteen date was announced we were both bombarded with enquiries about ticket availability. Neither of the shops will have an allocation, but that wasn't a huge surprise to either of us. We have both been in regular communication with the Leeds Arena boss Tony Watson who has been very clear and honest with us. We will be allocated tickets for some gigs but not for others. The Springsteen gig will sell out instantly with tickets available online and by calling in person at the Town Hall box office. That is the promoters decision and I fully respect that. We would prefer to have an allocation of course but this is a very different situation to the existing venues in Leeds which are largely run independently.

Yesterday a Facebook group was set up to support ourselves and Jumbo and to try and put pressure on Leeds Arena to supply us with tickets. Although it is well meaning and sincere and quite flattering that so many people have joined, it is really not needed. It claims that we have been snubbed on tickets for all but one of the events, but it's simply not true. There have been 11 events announced so far, but some of them are just not relevant to us. We sell tickets for gigs. There is absolutely no need for us to get an allocation of tickets for Jesus Christ Superstar, Andrea Bocelli or Cirque De Soleil. We also don't need Micky Flanagan or Miranda Hart tickets, that's not what we do. We are a music shop and of the acts that have been announced so far we have got Kaiser Chiefs tickets. I didn't see a great need to ask for JLS tickets. So that just leaves Elton John and Bruce Springsteen that we have not received any allocations for. If we were selling tickets for all the events at Leeds Arena it would completely change what we are about as a shop and we definitely don't want that.

Leeds Arena is going to be a huge asset to the city. It will mean that Sir Elton John makes his first visit for 29 years and Bruce Springsteen returns after a 28 year gap. These are indeed exciting times for Leeds. The last thing we want is people being negative about ticket selling arrangements. The new venue has quite often used the tag line something for everyone when it has announced shows and so far it is proving to be the case. Please get behind Leeds Arena, we have waited a long time for it to appear.

You don't say no to The Boss when he asks to play Leeds Arena

It was Sunday afternoon as I was walking home from my Mum and Dad's house when the phone rang. The person calling was Tony Watson from Leeds Arena with an invitation to have breakfast at their office on Tuesday. He wanted to gather a few people from the local music community together for an announcement that was going to be made that morning. We were all asked to arrive at 8:00am and whilst munching bacon butties and drinking coffee, find out who had been added to the ever growing line-up at the city's new venue. I don't think any of us were expecting the two pieces of news that came our way, firstly that Bruce Springsteen would be playing Leeds Arena and secondly that it would be on Wednesday 24th July, about six weeks ahead of the official opening date.

It had already been announced that the first week (and a bit) of events would include Sir Elton John on 4th September and local lads made good Kaiser Chiefs on Friday the 13th. In fact it seemed as though there was still much work to do inside the venue and there would be a couple of low key test events during August prior to opening to the public in September. It now seems we are going to have the test event to beat all test events when The Boss comes to town.

They told us at the breakfast meeting that Springsteen's management had approached the venue to ask if they could slot a Leeds Arena date in amongst the big outdoor shows that he is doing. I can't imagine there is any other answer than yes please to that request! Somebody like Bruce Springsteen playing our new venue is exactly the kind of statement of intent that is needed to make this one of the first choices for touring bands and artists to play. When the recent Fleetwood Mac tour dates came out I was quite dismayed to see the usual cities of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow on the list. I want to see Leeds break into that elite group. We have waited so long for an arena to built in Leeds and now that we have one we should look to attract the biggest and the best. It was great to see Billboard, the world's most influential music magazine naming Leeds Arena as the number one venue to watch in 2013, having a Springsteen concert attracting people from far and wide in the summer is a great start.

The official proper opening of Leeds Arena is still the beginning of September when a full and varied series of events will start to take place. In some ways the Springsteen gig will take away the impact of those September gigs, but can you imagine the reaction if it was found out later that the Leeds Arena management had said no to The Boss? They couldn't possibly have refused the offer of what is going to be a massively high profile gig. I'm sure there won't be any other major events happening at the venue between 24th July and 4th September when Elton John plays his first Leeds gig since 1984 (I was there) swiftly followed by Kaiser Chiefs. The Springsteen concert is an unexpected and welcome gift for the city's music fans.He was last here when he played Roundhay Park in July 1985 (and yes I was there too!) It's so good to see that we have finally got round to building a much needed arena in the city. Today we have the added bonus of knowing that it's going to be open even sooner than we thought and that there are three great gigs lined up to start us off.

 

Are record shops still important?

Well you wouldn't expect the answer no from me would you?! As someone who owns an independent record shop in Leeds city centre we rely on people buying physical product. And I have to say that I'm pretty positive at the moment. The huge resurgence in vinyl sales during the last few years has had a very significant impact on our ability to continue trading. The shop is now in its 28th year and half of those have been under my ownership.

Prior to buying Crash I worked as a sales rep for CBS/Sony Music calling on record shops throughout the north of England. I did 12 years on the road and loved just about every minute. Future blogs may well contain some of the stories from those days! Before my days working for a record company I had 8 years in record retail. The first four at Virgin Records, followed by a stretch of similar length at HMV.

Virgin has of course disappeared off the map, but the big worry now is that HMV may also vanish from the high street. You may think this would be a cause for celebration for an independent record retailer but it isn't. As other people have already said, HMV closing would negatively impact on the whole record industry and would probably mean fewer releases and labels going out of business. There simply aren't enough independent record shops to pick up those lost sales. (And yes, I do realise that Top Dog probably contributed to lots of independent record shops closing during the last few decades).

The perception that a piece of music has value would soon disappear if we lived in a world where downloads were the only option. Thankfully though lots of people still want to own something tangible by their favourite band or artist. We love to collect stuff, it's in the nation's DNA and there aren't many things better than a record collection (in alphabetical order of course!) so it's vital that we continue to see record shops in cities and towns across the country. There is still plenty of demand out there for CDs and LPs.

Once the HMV situation is sorted out I think the record industry should look at ways to try and ensure that shops continue to trade around the country. Encouraging people to visit bricks and mortar retailers rather than heading straight to Amazon would be good. We pay all our taxes so it's difficult to match them on price without a little help from the record companies.

Something that should definitely be looked at though is the day of the week that albums and singles are released. It has been Monday for many years now, and in the past the only option was to head to the shop on that day to pick up your new release. It used to be a very busy and exciting day for retailers. Now, because there are so many options for people that buzz has disappeared, So why not have Saturday as new release day? It's the busiest day of the week when lots of people are not at work. It could potentially bring the excitement back to new release day. And if that means that the chart is moved to Friday instead of Sunday then why not? There's nothing wrong with shaking things up now and again.

Anyway, that's enough from me for now. Thanks for reading the very first Crash Records blog.