Another one bites the dust. (Criminal Records is going out of business.) (Decatur: sales, real estate)

[MathmanMathman]

Criminal Records is going out of business.

Criminal Records owner plans November close *| ajc.com

Originally Posted by AJC

There are more than 700 independent record stores nationwide. Many have closed their doors saying they can’t compete with Amazon, iTunes and big box retailers such as Best Buy or Target that sell new releases at deep discounts...

Wax n' Facts, which started up in Little Five Points 35 years ago. The store sells new and used CDs, vinyl records and other music-related items, but Bourne said CD sales have dwindled to less than 5 or 10 percent of the store's bottom line...

Moods Music, Criminal's neighbor across the street, has found a business plan that works for them. In addition to music, they sell items such as soy wax candles, soaps, oils, DVDs and T-shirts.

A handful of record stores may survive for a while it seems to serve only an older generation.

I also noticed that one of bookstores that serves GSU is going out of business too. Amazon and ebooks might have made impossible for GSU's market to support three bookstores.

And comic strips might die out as syndicates see newspapers decline. Soon a comic strip's only hope is as a webcomic and will have to rely on site advertising and selling merchandise related items like t-shirts.

We'll lose a lot if intellectual property is not worth the time and effort to create if it cannot be protected.

[DTL3000]

Clever...you do know it's Freddie Mercury's birthday, don't you?

Yes, this completely sucks. But I really can't say much because I can't remember the last time I bought anything there. I guess the new space was a bad move for them. It was a much nicer store, no doubt, but with the music retail industry in the shape it's in it probably was doomed to go under. No telling what the rent was on that huge space. What was there before it by the way? I can't remember for the life of me.

I'm hoping some smaller stores will survive. Places like Full Moon and Wuxtry. I buy a decent amount of vinyl. As far as college bookstores, I really can't shed too many tears for them because textbooks are such a racket. I think comic strips may survive and comic books will carry on like vinyl. I think there will always be a devoted subculture.

I do lament the fact that online shopping is taking out the communal aspect of buying music, books, and other popular media. Pretty soon no one will ever leave their houses...

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by DTL3000

Clever...you do know it's Freddie Mercury's birthday, don't you?

Today's Google's page pointed that out to me. It wasn't my intention. Must have been a subconscious thought implanted in my mind that manifested itself in my choice of title.

I'm hoping some smaller stores will survive. Places like Full Moon and Wuxtry. I buy a decent amount of vinyl.

Probably will become increasingly more difficult to find vinyl record players and player parts. I'm told there is a difference in sound between vinyl and digital (other than the hiss, pops, and crackles) If it can be identified and recreated, it might be an interesting setting for a digital player.

As far as college bookstores, I really can't shed too many tears for them because textbooks are such a racket.

Ga Tech still has its independent Engineer's Bookstore. I wonder how they are holding up? I would go there because they were a bit cheaper and offered better buyback than the Tech Bookstore. I think they used to be on North Avenue but left there to be just outside of West Campus because of the Olympics and the North Avenue Dorms. Tech relies on B&N for its "official" bookstore but I wonder if B&N might not survive the ebook revolution? I've been by Engineer's Bookstore but it seems so dead. Wonder what market is left for them. I don't even recall if they had much in Tech paraphernalia. Even specialized books are probably better purchased off the web if one can avoid the brick-and-mortar markups.

I think comic strips may survive and comic books will carry on like vinyl. I think there will always be a devoted subculture.

I think comic strips were a strong draw for newspapers but the paradigm is changing. The only place I can think of where bite-sized humor can flourish is on smart phone screens since they have so little "real estate". One possible hold comic books have over electronic media is as artwork. So the quality of the paper and printing is important. A person might rather have the physical artwork than just the image.

I do lament the fact that online shopping is taking out the communal aspect of buying music, books, and other popular media. Pretty soon no one will ever leave their houses...

It lives on at places like Dragon*Con where people can gather to talk and even through costume vicariously live the life of some pop icon.

Technology might make it easier to withdraw and "drop out" of society, but people do need to be around other people. Unfortunately, technology makes it possible to focus on just a few. We'll have our small inner circle of close friends, a few second circle of friends, and a large outer circle of acquaintances.

[Iconographer]

Decatur CD is still hanging in; I think my baby brother is singlehandedly keeping them in business!

http://www.decaturcd.com/

[JPD]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

Probably will become increasingly more difficult to find vinyl record players and player parts.

Record players and parts are easier to find than they've been in a long time. Vinyl sales have been growing at a pretty impressive rate, and it's becoming the norm for current acts to once again put their new releases out on vinyl.

Vinyl isn't going away.

[koko339]

Which GSU bookstore is going under?

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by koko339

Which GSU bookstore is going under?

Park Place

georgia state university - Google Maps

I wonder if he is getting out because of the decline or is he losing money now? I guess the market will just support fewer of these types of stores.

Strange how things have changed. Some retail stores have gone away (or at least have diminished a lot). TV repair shops, travel agencies, and perhaps soon book and record stores. It's even hard to find a pay phone. Even the Post Office is thinking of severe cuts and needs a bailout as people text, email, or facebook. I must admit though that the Post Office does a better job with fast delivery than UPS.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

Park Place

georgia state university - Google Maps

This doesn't surprise me. There's a GSU bookstore right in between the dorms and the main campus. One could be a GSU student and never even walk past Park Place bookstore, perhaps never even realizing it exists. Even the students who walk from the main campus to Aderhold never get within a block of it.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by JPD

This doesn't surprise me. There's a GSU bookstore right in between the dorms and the main campus. One could be a GSU student and never even walk past Park Place bookstore, perhaps never even realizing it exists. Even the students who walk from the main campus to Aderhold never get within a block of it.

Yes, but a lot of students get off at Five Points and are very likely to pass it. Plus the College of Education is right across the street. It's not a bad location really.

The dorms might have saved The Georgia Bookstore as it has gone from being on the fringe of the campus to being more central. But still, the march of information technology may eventually bring them down.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

A handful of record stores may survive for a while it seems to serve only an older generation.

Interestingly enough several of the vinyl fans I know are younger folk. I'm not sure whether it's the retro aspect, the analog sound or just the look and feel of record albums.

Fantasyland seems to be kicking along pretty well in its new location.