January 21, 2010

Blame it on the chains

CD Alley, a local music store in downtown Wilmington will close its doors on Jan 31, according to this article. I’m really upset to hear this. Last year I worked in a building on the same block as CD Alley and I would frequently stop by on my walk home to browse through the used CDs. Even if I left empty-handed, I always left happy.

I have a big problem with the article in the Star News that announces the closing of CD Alley. The article says “…with the proliferation of music downloads and competition from mega-chains like Walmart, Target, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble — stores that can afford to sell music at or below cost – it’s just tough for the independent guys to make it anymore.” Is this a quote from Fred Champion, the owner of CD Alley or is the author hastily jumping on the evil chain store wagon.

To say that people are shopping for CDs at WalMart, Target, and Best Buy instead of CD Alley is really silly. CD Alley caters to a specific audience. CD Alley offers an eclectic selection of music and a knowledgeable staff, this is something that WalMart and Target do not even try competing with. If you’re looking for a Leonard Cohen, Slowdive, The Rosebuds, or Stars of the Lid CD, would you look in WalMart or Target? No. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, or Rihanna CD, would you look in CD Alley? Probably not.

The point is that blaming the closing of CD Alley on chain stores is unsound. When it comes to music, chain stores do not try competing with local independent music sellers. Chain stores try attracting a wide, popular audience, which is exactly what independent music sellers do not want to do. Last I heard, independent music sellers were there to give local musicians and smaller bands a place to sell their records. The people who could not get their music sold in Target would have their music available in CD Alley.

Yes, iTunes and downloaded music have really hurt local independent music store such as CD Alley, but blaming this on chain stores is not going to help. I am certainly going to miss CD Alley and I commend them for staying downtown as long as they did. Hopefully Gravity Records, Wilmington’s last local music seller, will have continued success against iTunes and downloaded music.