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Music-Store Owners Say Business is Good, Despite Downloading

Posted on: Sunday, 21 August 2005, 15:00 CDT

Aug. 20--Despite the surge in music downloading and CD-burning, Madison record shop owners say they're holding their own in the battle for their share of the market, many by focusing on non-tech-savvy customers, customer-service and hard-to-find titles.

Ron Roloff, owner of Strictly Discs at 1900 Monroe St. said his business has never been better. He attributes his success to the assortment of music his store offers that draws a special crowd of consumers.

"We're a music enthusiasts' music store," Roloff said. "The people who are buying things online aren't real music customers."

Roloff said his customers are not likely to buy music over the Internet. A broad selection of titles and a knowledgeable staff, Roloff said, puts his business ahead of music download Web sites like iTunes or Napster. He said Strictly Discs fills more than 1,500 special orders a month for hard-to-find record titles in addition to the daily sale of CDs on hand.

"That's an example of people coming into a specialty store and getting service that they're just not getting anywhere else," Roloff said.

Chris Wipperfurth, a sales clerk at the Exclusive Company at 508 State St., said downloaded music affects business at his store a lot less than people might think.

"The much greater portion of the music-buying public still prefers buying the album format," Wipperfurth said. "The actual act of seeking out an album that you want, getting it, buying it, soaking in the art...that's still important to a lot of people."

Wipperfurth said his customers buy an album like a work of art, appreciating it on the whole as a collection of music by a performer they like. "It's not as disposable as just one song," he said. "It's a greater thing."

Madison resident Kevin Maddox said he only buys music from his local record stores. "I don't have a computer, so all my music is purchased," he said.

Thumbing through the bins of CDs at B-Side Records at 436 State St., Maddox said he spends as much as $1,000 a year on recorded music. He said the service and selection of small stores keep him coming back. "A store like this has those obscure titles and they push people toward that style of music that you can't usually hear on the radio."

But Gary Feest, owner of Sugar Shack at 2301 Atwood Ave., says he does feel the effect of new music technologies.

"It's touch-and-go, day-to-day. It's been that way for the last five years," Fees said. "Napster, CD burners, people downloading their own music and burning CDs people aren't buying music like they used to."

His decision to move his shop to Atwood Avenue in August of 2003 allowed him to tap into an older clientele, one less likely to use downloaded music.

"I don't have the walk-by traffic on State Street like I used to, but students aren't buying music from me anymore any way," he said. But "with an older clientele that's not as tech-savvy, my customers here are more inclined to buy records than download them."

Further, Feest has broadened his selection with movies and music videos, in an effort to compete.

Steve Manley, co-owner of B-Side Records, said continuing good business practices is the best way to compete against downloaded music. "There's really nothing we can do other than having an interesting shop with character." Manley said. "We try to separate ourselves out from the large national chain stores by having an interesting selection, something beyond the top 40."

Roloff said stores that fail to distinguish themselves from big box and online retailers will probably not survive. He said a broad selection of specialty products and customer service dedicated to selling music can make the difference.

"The effect of the downloading, file sharing, people buying on the Internet is felt by those stores that just have music for sale verses stores that sell music," Roloff said. "Those stores are hurting."

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NAPS,

Source: The Wisconsin State Journal

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