The Fall of HMV

It’s official; HMV have gone into administration. Early morning on the 14th, Britain’s last major ‘record store’ announced that they would be calling in the administrators after a particularly harsh few years. This raises vital questions about the state of the current economic climate and indeed the music industry itself. As a university student studying the ins and outs of the industry, this signals something so much more than a recession. Over the years, specialised stores such as Tower Records and HMV have been battling the likes of supermarkets in terms of prices, yes, but the simple fact is that people aren’t buying music anymore.

It has been well-documented that the music industry (and indeed retailers who sell music in physical formats) have missed the transition into the digital age, but the fact that, according to The Guardian, digital sales were 0.3% higher than physical sales of music should have been a warning. I mean, in today’s day and age, who has the time to spend hours in a record store, flicking through the titles to find that one CD you’ve been waiting to get for months? Unless you’re very passionate about music, chances are that you’ll pop onto iTunes and buy it, or search it up on Spotify and hope that they’ve got it in their vast catalogue. The major music store chains have all dried up, leaving us with only the hardcode dependants left to buy our CDs from. And at that, how long is it before they all start to close down?

But of course, we can't just blame digital downloads for the loss of Britain's biggest entertainment chain. In an era where almost everything is available online (including CDs, DVDs and band merchandise - three of the biggest sections in most HMV stores), and at a fraction of the store price, people are boycotting large stores. If you can get it online for £2 cheaper then why would you deliberately leave your house, take the trip to the store and buy it? The simple answer is that you wouldn't. Money has been tight for most in the UK, and every pound saved counts. And with the busy lifestyles of your average person, having the product you want delivered directly to your door is a massive bonus.

With the loss of HMV, the music industry and social climate are going to struggle even more than they already have been. Over 4500 jobs could be lost if the company goes completely under, and with the amount of debt they are reported to be in, it might be time for Nipper to hang up his gramophone for good.