HipHopSite is going completely digital.

Hotsauce84

Wow.06.18.07HIPHOPSITE RETAIL STORE CLOSING; 30% OFF YOUR ENTIRE ORDER!With the 5-year lease for HipHopSite's retail store ending next month, we were at a crossroads. Do we renew the lease for another 5 years and continue to face the steady decline of the music retail industry? Or do we take things in a bold new direction?The decision we have come to is this. HipHopSite will be re-launched in the coming weeks as a 100% exclusive DIGITIAL DOWNLOAD site (yeah, you will be able to download stuff for your MP3 player). In the meantime, you can still come here to get your usual news, reviews, and interviews like always, but we are phasing out the mail order retail end of it completely[/b].But in order to do that, we've got to clean this place out - and we need your help! So, starting NOW, all orders placed online and all walk-in customers to our Maryland Parkway store, will receive 30% off their entire order (before shipping).We will not be bringing any new stock in or restocking old items, however in the coming weeks we will be adding plenty of used vinyl to the online store catalog (that is, the stuff that doesn't sell out locally in this huge sale). Any backordered items, TBA'd items, or out of stocks will be credited back (including all backorders for J. Dilla's "Jay Love Japan"). Please note, when checking out, your order total on your HipHopSite invoice will appear as normal, but the 30% will be taken off the total before shipping when your credit card is charged.Thanks for your support all of these years, and we look forward to serving you DIGITIALLY in the next movement. Peace.- HipHopSite Crew

Imperial_Mao

Oh Shit !!!

Reynaldo

Adapt or die.

noz

army of the pharoahs!

highscheme

Adapt or die.

Japanese Society

HAZ

They may as well start a Soulseek room.

TNG

I'm sorry, but something has to be said about this new record store culture of total pussies. The time of the fight hasn't even been scheduled and they're already planning their fucking escape route? Fine, please, get the fuck out. We didn't need you anyway. Good luck with exclusively selling digital downloads to the crate digging culture, I'm sure we'll all be rushing to your site to get the new Madlib record. Really.

But seriously, is this the new reality of the music business? I offer two totally retarded examples of this new "trend":

1. Virgin Records closes Chicago store. After the press release claimed that they were hemoraging money, I went to the source and asked the manager of the store if they were really doing that bad. Surprise! Their sales were actually up. Granted, this is due to a combination of non CD expansion including books, DVDs, clothing, and... hold the fucking phone... vinyl. The real reason they are shuttering the last deep catalog store in the third largest city in the US? Forever 21 bought out the remaining eight years on their lease. Anticipating a downward turn, the suits upstairs decided to get out while they could.

2. Acme Vinyl announces they're ceasing vinyl pressing. After RS has a conversation with them, we discover that it's not because they're losing money, but rather they're anticipating many record companies going out of business and don't want to get burned. Meanwhile, vinyl production is a booming business with wait times at pressing plants pushing into one month to get a new record on the press.

So this is it Strutters, we're now in the business of anticipation. We don't bother digging for records because, hey, why bother, there aren't any out there in the world any more.

highscheme

I've started selling off my vinyl in anticipation of declining value

rootlesscosmo

serving you DIGITIALLY

meatyogre

While having a record store is fun, dealing with customers is not always a joy, and I can completely see why a record store would want to shut its doors to go strictly digital. Not much hassle in selling MP3s, as they don't skip, can't scratch, flat fee's (no bitching and moaning about the prices), and theres no return policies. I personally wouldn't bother with one because mp3s are bullshit, but I see why people are doing them.

yuichi

I HATE DIGITAL. My ass still does not own an ipod.

cas

I HATE DIGITAL. My ass still does not own an ipod.

asspod.

highscheme

I HATE DIGITAL. My ass still does not own an ipod.

you've been holding out for the iPhone, right?

yuichi

I HATE DIGITAL. My ass still does not own an ipod.

you've been holding out for the iPhone, right?

fo sho. NOT!

kicks79

In all fairness to hip hop site the kind of music they stock ie indie/underground hip hop has probably been hit the hardest by the digital download. My friend owns a hip hop store and you can see by how many records are comming out now and what numbers they are sellin compared to a few years ago that things have slowed down.

SPlDEY

Holy shit! I'm gonna head there tomorrow.

Damn Pizzo did the mashups go to your brain?

- spidey

Brian

i love how people are all complaining about this shit when the reality of the situation is that no one is buying rap records anymore and especially underground rap since everyone moved onto some new trend by now. are you guys angry that a business is looking into the future and realizing that their current business model will probably not work? i always read threads about people complaining about crotchety old record store owners that are stuck in their ways but when something like this comes along, people still complain?

matamatic

Dj's aren't playin hip hop anymore and if they do it's on some mash up tip. An underground hardcore beat with a pop rap accapella. Or a rock/hip hop mash up. Or they've jumped on the b-more, hipster hop bandwagon. Nothing wrong with that, just saying, things done changed.

yuichi

I'm sorry, but something has to be said about this new record store culture of total pussies. The time of the fight hasn't even been scheduled and they're already planning their fucking escape route? Fine, please, get the fuck out. We didn't need you anyway. Good luck with exclusively selling digital downloads to the crate digging culture, I'm sure we'll all be rushing to your site to get the new Madlib record. Really.

But seriously, is this the new reality of the music business? I offer two totally retarded examples of this new "trend":

1. Virgin Records closes Chicago store. After the press release claimed that they were hemoraging money, I went to the source and asked the manager of the store if they were really doing that bad. Surprise! Their sales were actually up. Granted, this is due to a combination of non CD expansion including books, DVDs, clothing, and... hold the fucking phone... vinyl. The real reason they are shuttering the last deep catalog store in the third largest city in the US? Forever 21 bought out the remaining eight years on their lease. Anticipating a downward turn, the suits upstairs decided to get out while they could.

2. Acme Vinyl announces they're ceasing vinyl pressing. After RS has a conversation with them, we discover that it's not because they're losing money, but rather they're anticipating many record companies going out of business and don't want to get burned. Meanwhile, vinyl production is a booming business with wait times at pressing plants pushing into one month to get a new record on the press.

So this is it Strutters, we're now in the business of anticipation. We don't bother digging for records because, hey, why bother, there aren't any out there in the world any more.

Interesting stuff. But wouldn't you say these cases are pretty unique?

Jonny_Paycheck

TNG and Brian are both totally right.

If I were in Pizzo's shoes I would probably do the same thing.

I can't imagine looking down a 5 year lease where my model is based on selling indie rap vinyl on mail order. Vinyl itself may be experiencing a comeback, but THAT shit is dead.

DocMcCoy

Vinyl itself may be experiencing a comeback, but THAT shit is dead.

And on that very topic...

Lamont

i love how people are all complaining about this shit when the reality of the situation is that no one is buying rap records anymore and especially underground rap since everyone moved onto some new trend by now. are you guys angry that a business is looking into the future and realizing that their current business model will probably not work? i always read threads about people complaining about crotchety old record store owners that are stuck in their ways but when something like this comes along, people still complain?

spot on

onetet

As far as Hiphopsite's concerned, it seems like the real issue is:

why stop retailing a physical product that an established, if declining, clientele purchases in favor of a digital "product" that most "consumers" download illegally? I'm guessing behemoths like iTunes make profits off their mp3s, and maybe a few niche stores like Rough Trade do.

But trying to profit off mp3s to a hip-hop audience? Please. Most titles are copped by thousands -- if not tens or hundreds of thousands -- of people pre-release.

I'd wager that the massive number of people who illegally download hip-hop mp3s is climbing exponentially faster than the small but loyal number of hip-hop vinyl purchasers is declining (if, indeed, that number is in decline).

It's possible that the clocks going to be turned back somehow, and new controls are going to be developed to prevent or discourage illegal downloading. But banking on that as a business plan is the riskiest form of "anticipation" discussed in this thread yet.

HAZ

I think this is waaay bigger than just hip hop mp3's. People are dl'ing music of all genres. Shops are closing all over the place. The writing is on the wall for record stores & it doesn't matter what you sell. I wouldn't want to be looking at a 5 year lease if I was owning any kind of record store.

DB_Cooper

Vinyl itself may be experiencing a comeback, but THAT shit is dead.

And on that very topic...

Wet Wet Wet's Love Is All Around, which spent 15 weeks at no 1 in 1994, was the last no 1 to sell more than 50,000 seven-inch singles in total.

Wait, what?

flatblackplastic

i never would have thought that sandbox would outlast hiphopsite

DocMcCoy

Vinyl itself may be experiencing a comeback, but THAT shit is dead.

And on that very topic...

Wet Wet Wet's Love Is All Around, which spent 15 weeks at no 1 in 1994, was the last no 1 to sell more than 50,000 seven-inch singles in total.

Wait, what?

This is the UK, remember. We're the kind of people who make Crazy Frog a #1 hit.

mannybolone

i never would have thought that sandbox would outlast hiphopsite

Well, only insofar as Sandbox is still selling physical product. I'm surprised that HHS decided to go digital-only but presumably, this is a physical space issue (as was the case with Sandbox). However, Sandbox decided to end vinyl sales the other month so they're following the trend as well.

meatyogre

I think this is waaay bigger than just hip hop mp3's. People are dl'ing music of all genres. Shops are closing all over the place. The writing is on the wall for record stores & it doesn't matter what you sell. I wouldn't want to be looking at a 5 year lease if I was owning any kind of record store.

I think its a matter of what you sell. The store I work is doing just fine, in fact better than when they opened 3 years ago. We sell the shit out of used CDs and DVDs, LPs, 45s and 78s, etc. and things are only getting better for us since Coconuts went out of business down the street. Relying on new product sales will put you on the fast track to retail pitfall though, for sure. The only reason we carry new product is to bring people in the door. The mark up for new CDs is terrible, and 12"s and LPs are even worse, unless you got a promo dude making pit stops twice a week, selling you shit for dirt cheap.

DB_Cooper

This is the UK, remember. We're the kind of people who make Crazy Frog a #1 hit.

I'm just blown away because I don't remember that song at all. Granted, in 1994, I was listening to Cypress Hill after school every day and smoking as much pot as I could get my hands on.

jaymack

I'm just blown away because I don't remember that song at all. Granted, in 1994, I was listening to Cypress Hill after school every day and smoking as much pot as I could get my hands on.