Music Stores: Online VS Offline.
Who has time to hang out at the local music store???
More and More Customers are Going ONLINE.

by: Jason @ NetCohesion

When was the last time you were able to go and hang out at the local music store and check out the latest CD from your favourite group? The only time I get out to the music stores anymore is to buy a birthday present or Christmas present for someone else.

So what do you do when you don't have the time? Go Online! It isn't the same as going into the music store and looking through the shelves and finding something special, but online stores do have one huge advantage over a real life store, and that is being able to search through inventory by title, music genre, music group or just by music styles. Some online stores even let you sample the first 30 seconds so you can see if you like it. Another advantage is that you don't have to travel anywhere, you can shop from the comfort of your home and arrange delivery.

Although online stores are convenient, Imiss the days where I had time to go and hang out in the local music store and check out new CD's by bands I had never heard of before.

Sometimes I would listen to some pretty brutal stuff, but sometimes you would come across a piece of music that just connected with you and you had to buy it. I bought this CD one time by Baby Animals (1992). They never really made it big, but there are some solos on that CD that I just love and still play once in a while. I also miss checking out the deals on used Vinyl LP's. For those of you too young to know this, an LP is a record. I still have a small record collection and every once in a while, I will play a side of an original Led Zeplin BBC cut of Whole Lotta Love before it was done in the studio. To hear that authentic crackle of the needle on the record..... You have to love that sound, it is just so real... so raw.

I still like going downtown Toronto to Sam The Record Man or HMV on Younge St as online stores can never replace the feeling you get when you are there in the flesh. Sam The Record Man has that nostalgic feeling. Many famous bands have been through those doors. You can smell the history in that place. HMV is also really cool. They have 4 stories all broken up by different music genres with the top floor being assigned to classical music where they have a grand piano and the basement floor they have all the cool vinyl available for spinning records in the club circuit. They have a huge video wall out front and they will frequently bring in bands to add some buzz to the local scene on Younge.

Today, people are turning more and more to online stores for their music needs. The time saving benefits of buying music online are obvious, so I don't see online sales flattening out anytime soon. This is just the beginning of the curve. With one of the highest growth sectors being driven by the advent of MP3 players and the iPod, the entire retail music sector is becoming more technologically advanced than ever. We are also a merging of technologies and media which is changing our lifestyle at a rapid pace. The iPod by Apple Computer is driving new technological advances and creating a new market in itself, for example with the launch of Podcasts. The portable music player is now a full blown information tool, as well as an entertainment system. These devices are changing the way we listen to music, and are opening doors for other information media like Podcasts to be captured on portable devices and listened to while commuting in your vehicle or running on the weekend.

Gone are the days where people only buy a full album. There is also a big movement to buying individual 'downloadable' songs. A lot of customers are not even buying a CD anymore. Instead, they are just hooking up their iPod to the web, logging into a service like Apple's online Music Store through their iTunes on their Mac or PC and buying individual songs.

What is to come next? Will Satellite Radio take over? Is the local small music store doomed for good and only the big players like HMV will continue to have a store? What is your opinion on this topic? Please write to editorial@netcohesion.com attention Jason and send me your opinion.