Music not gimmicks

WITH a bail out from the banks and the industry in turmoil the plight of HMV, one of the UK’s biggest music retailers, is a well documented one.

The effects are none more evident than in the Spindles shopping centre, where shelves that once were a magnet for music-lovers now lie empty and the shutters remain locked on what was the local branch.

But while fans lament the draw it once was, bosses are frantically pinning their hopes on a rescue mission to diversify the high street chains and the website to boot.

Sure, mistakes have been made, shifting out racks of CDs for an Orange mobile stand was the nail in the coffin for the Oldham store.

However staking the brand’s future on the sales of headphones, mp3 players and live tickets seems somewhat of a stinker.

Instead of being a brash leader connecting with what the new generation craves, the rescue plan seems content to play puppy dog to the internet beast – already too far ahead to be worth the effort of chasing.

The fatal flaw will be in such a market. Dr Dre’s Beats headphones sell for up to £300 a pop, or the equivalent to legally downloading roughly 350 songs online.

Whereas youngsters once religiously trekked to the store each week to spend their pocket money on accessibly priced CDs, they’d have to save all year to treat themselves to such a product. Even then what would they listen to having blown their cash?

It’s akin to ditching the car and pinning your hopes on petrol.

What about specialist music, employing savvy staff, listening zones, intimate environments, interactive touch screens, music sharing spaces, pulsing tunes, creating a buzz?

The possibilities are endless to create a unique space filled with excitement and modern wonder.

If bosses haven’t got the guts to consider a radical overhaul to alter what has become obsolete then what hope is there for the company? RIP His Master’s Voice.