For the local music store owner, news that Musicland is struggling must
come as welcome news. Seventy-five more Musicland
stores are set to be closed, bringing the grand total to 122 closed in the past year. The mega-chain Musicland has seen
its sales decrease and simply can't support its huge mall store empire
anymore. Oddly, during this same time period indie labels are going
through somewhat of a boom. So where have all the sales gone? To your
local music store. And why not; your local store offers more to the
customer then any chain store can even attempt. One thing Musicland never
learned is that customer service is more then a smile and a "Thank You"
after they take your money. The small shop owner knows that real service
includes knowing about music, discovering new artists, exploring the
local music scene and most importantly, informing the customer about new
music.
So not only is the indie label boom a result of Musicland's struggle, but Musicland's problems also stem from the desire of today's music listener for more service. Further, Musicland couldn't dream of offering this kind of customer service, nor has it made any real effort to do so. So yes, sometimes the little guy does win. For more information on this and other news in the music industry you might check out Scratch Magazine.
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