News   Nov 28, 2024
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Music Stores (HMV, Virgin, Sunrise)

I remember paying $36 for a CD just b/c it had a sticker that said "import"
HMV and other specialized music stores have been price gouging for years. People still buy music put they're not throwing away their hard earned money anymore. What buy a CD for $15 when a can buy it from Best buy for $10 or when I can d/l for free online.

The creation of CDs killed the music business NOT the internet. The minute I can skip tracks on an album and get right to my favorite song or randomize the tracklisting the art of album making disappeared. I remember with cassettes I'd have to listen to 4 songs before the "it" single and surprisingly found some gems in the process. With CDs why take the time.
 
I'm surprised that anyone misses Sam's. That place always seemed so grungy/dingy/dirty to me.

Grungy, sure probably but it was clean and well lit. Did you ever read the walls in there? History man! The multi-level original store was at 347 Yonge Street ("The bus stops at our door!") then they expanded into the former CIBC bank at Gould Street (late 70's?) and finally the restaurant to the north of 347 Yonge in the mid 80's. This accounted for the different levels and unusual traffic patterns within the store.
 
I used to make my way downtown every Tuesday to buy the weekly cds. I'd often go to Sams, HMV and Sunrise but would almost always get what I was looking for at HMV. While Sams had all this history and space, HMV would get most import cds the week after release in the UK. Sams wouldn't get those cds until months later. I don't think Sunrise even knew what an import was...
 
I remember paying $36 for a CD just b/c it had a sticker that said "import"
HMV and other specialized music stores have been price gouging for years. People still buy music put they're not throwing away their hard earned money anymore. What buy a CD for $15 when a can buy it from Best buy for $10 or when I can d/l for free online.

The creation of CDs killed the music business NOT the internet. The minute I can skip tracks on an album and get right to my favorite song or randomize the tracklisting the art of album making disappeared. I remember with cassettes I'd have to listen to 4 songs before the "it" single and surprisingly found some gems in the process. With CDs why take the time.

That depends on your point of view. CDs were readily available prior to the internet and even then it was not until the dawn of cheap availability of high-speed pipelines with file-sharing technology did the music industry really started to feel the pain.

Personally I believe the downfall is caused by pure greed from the music industry combined with the lack of talent. When the CD was first introduced, a majority of people ( with the exception of professional DJs and old farts like moi) replaced their existing record/cassette/8-track collections with the CD counterpart. Artificial market demand really. Look at today, most of those CDs are still sound brand new. Who is going to buy a new CD unless it was for new material provided that band/singer is still around? The prices for a CD, average ~$20CND ( I'm talking about none of the band du jour releases ) and in most cases probably 1 maybe two tracks worth listening to? The only two recent new CDs that I can listen entirely were the last two Green Day releases.

I consider myself musically open minded but cannot even like any new pop musical act since the beginning of the century.
 
I consider myself musically open minded but cannot even like any new pop musical act since the beginning of the century.
Which is more a reflection of the state of radio/music television than anything else. There's probably more good music than ever. I often can't keep up with it all to be completely honest.
 
That depends on your point of view. CDs were readily available prior to the internet and even then it was not until the dawn of cheap availability of high-speed pipelines with file-sharing technology did the music industry really started to feel the pain.

Personally I believe the downfall is caused by pure greed from the music industry combined with the lack of talent.

I agree. but anybody remember buying a portable CD walkman?? You couldn't fit it anywhere other than a bag and it only held 80mins of music, very inconvenient.

Technology progresses based on needs and the never ending search of convenience. albums turned to cassettes for portability, cassettes turned to CDs for freedom to navigate and sound quality. I think CDs turned to mp3s due to greater portability. I personally refused to buy a CD walkman no matter how small they made it, its still at min. the size of a CD. I kept my cassette walkman b/c on a 2hr communte a 120min TDK does the job and it fit in my pocket.

Death to CDs!
 
Personally I won't mourn discmans or walkmans. I've been an iPod user for years and the only reason for me to buy a CD is to rip into iTunes. But I could buy an album off iTunes now anyway. But really I only want the songs I like so I won't bother.

I think this allows us to enjoy a greater variety of music than in the past. What's the point in listening to the crap they fill albums with anyway?
 
Sunrise Records (Sheppard Centre, North York)

Apparently the Sunrise Records has closed up shop in Sheppard Centre. Sucks, this was the best place to get vinyl around here. :(
 
The Sunrise at Yonge & Dundas (336 Yonge) may also be going. The building is up for sale on a real-estate site, however corporate claims the store is going nowhere.

It might be similar to the situation with Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma on Bloor, where the landlord started advertising both spaces. The advertising stopped once new leases were signed.
 
The Sunrise at Yonge & Dundas (336 Yonge) may also be going. The building is up for sale on a real-estate site, however corporate claims the store is going nowhere.

It's been gone for months now, replaced with a particularly ghetto looking Jean Machine. Ugh. Are there any Sunrise stores left now?

On a related note, you guys will think this is bizarre and hilarious, but HMV of all places, has OPENED A NEW STORE. Yeah, you read that right. It's in Dufferin Mall. I couldn't believe my eyes.
 

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