It was with sadness that I heard yesterday that the British music store HMV (His Master's Voice) has gone into receivership. This has been the largest music retailer in Britain for many years, and its closure marks the end of high street music sales. Not just music sales, this also affects film sales on DVD and Blu-ray. The company was first formed in 1902. Initially it specialised in manufacturing gramophone records and record players, but over the years it branched into retail and other entertainment items such as television sets. Eventually the manufacturing and the retail divisions were divided into separate companies.
But that's enough of the cold history. Let me give my personal memories. When I was 16 I became a frequent customer of HMV's branch in New Street, Birmingham. The first record (vinyl, of course) that I bought at the shop was "Carnival in Babylon" by Amon Düül II. This wasn't my first ever record, but maybe one of my first 10, and I remember buying it at HMV because it was cheaper than at Virgin Records. Over the following years I bought most of my records from Virgin, but I always checked HMV because it was sometimes cheaper.
The store changed with the times. It skipped the videotape revolution, but in the early 2000's it began to sell DVDs, and by 2005 the main Birmingham store (now in Bull Street) devoted more of its sales area to films than to music. In fact, I bought my very first DVD from HMV in 2002. It was "Army of Darkness".
So what happened? Some people are blaming HMV's demise on the advent of music downloading. I don't think that's the reason. As I already pointed out, HMV was selling more DVD's than CD's. I think the reason was the online revolution. People no longer want to buy from a store when they can get goods cheaper online. I am just as guilty of this. I almost never buy DVD's, CD's or books in a store. I order online. It's cheaper, and I like to save money. One reason for the cheaper prices online is the Jersey/Guernsey tax loophole. The Channel Islands belong to Britain, but they are not part of the UK. Because of this they have no sales tax (called VAT in the UK). If I buy a DVD or CD in a store I'm charged 20% sales tax. If I order the same item online from a Jersey or Guernsey mailorder I don't have to pay sales tax. High street stores can't compete with this.
There are still, and always will be, small specialist stores for those people who are unwilling or unable to order online. But HMV is the last giant to disappear from the streets. Farewell.
After reading an article on the BBC's web site I sat and reminisced about my first purchases. When I was a child my parents bought me singles by current pop groups, but I have no sentimental connection to them because it was probably what they wanted to listen to themselves, bought for me as an excuse. What I remember best is the music I bought with my own money, of which I had very little during my time at school.
ReplyDeleteMy first album was Barclay James Harvest's debut album, which I remember buying at W.H.Smith's in Walsall in 1971. It was an exciting experience that I'll never forget. I actually wanted BJH's second album, which Alan Freeman was playing a lot on the radio, but it was sold out and I didn't want to wait. For months this was my only album. Ah, the good old days. My second album was Labi Siffre's debut album, bought while on holiday from a small shop. My third album was the debut album by Fields. Then I got an evening job at Asda in Bloxwich, and with my first wages I bought four albums at once from Virgin Records in Birmingham (Ash Ra Tempel's first two albums, "Känguru" by Guru Guru and "Alpha Centauri" by Tangerine Dream). I bought my 8th album from HMV in Birmingham, "Carnival in Babylon" by Amon Düül II.
After this I spent almost every Saturday at the Virgin Records store in Corporation Street, Birmingham (next door to the magistrates court) listening to music. Mostly I was following up on bands played by Alan Freeman and John Peel, my two favorite radio DJs.