Fuck Ear X-Tacy
For those who are not aware there is a local music store here in Louisville in the Highlands that has become a part of local culture. It has been around since at least the early 90’s and might even date farther back for all I know. It is a place to find obscure music, indie stuff, movies, records and the like. Of course this is provided that you don’t happen to be a fan of a musical genre that is not popular with the Highlands crowd. Not that I can think of anyone who would fall into that category…. >:
Anyway recently there have been stories on the news and the like talking about how the downturn in the economy is starting to seriously affect Ear X-Tacy and they may not be able to stay open without serious support from the community (of course there have been a number of other businesses that could say that too). So the Highlands crowd (yuppie hippies) and the college students (college hippies) have decided that they need to go on an all out offensive to save this place. So all over facebook you see people joining groups like “Save Ear X-Tacy” or “If this group gets 1,000 members and each person buys 2 CDs we’ll save Ear X-Tacy.” Actually I just made the last one up, there are actually 4 groups or so with the same title as the first one though. So because all the publicity that Ear X-Tacy has received it is likely that they will see an uptick in their business and will, for now, be saved from closing.
Me? I think this stuff is all bullshit. The whole reason this fucking store was in this situation to begin with is because they aren’t adapting to the changing marketplace. Digital distribution for music has taken over the market. Do people still buy CDs and LPs? Yes, and I think that is a good thing. Sometimes it is nice to have the album, in my experience you come across some real gems on the albums that never get played on the radio for one reason or another. Even so it is absurd to think that just because it is an emotional favorite that everyone should shop there. The thing that pisses me off the most about this situation is that people look at me in horror when I say I don’t really care of they stay open or close. It’s like I pissed on their dog when I say that. If I wanted to shop there for music, I would. Fact of the matter though with my musical preferences (country normally) their selection is next to nothing for me. In fact I would sooner shop at Wal-Mart for a CD than there. Yeah, that’s right the most hated company in America is where I would rather shop than the little local shop.
Look I am all for local business. I think they add character to an area. Knowing that it is owned, run and staffed by people that grew up in the area gives you a good sense of home when you visit those establishments. The thing is that many local businesses are dying out these days because the bigger companies with deeper pockets have a comparative advantage in the marketplace. If you can’t compete on the same plane as the other business then you need to get creative and start diversifying the business. I work in the medical industry, a pharmacy to be specific. Independent pharmacies are starting to go the way of the dodo. Actually it isn’t just starting it has largely happened in many places where the larger pharmacies like my employer and their competitors have managed to establish a foothold. Yet, despite all of this there are a number of independent pharmacies in Louisville that manage to stay in business. One of the biggest reasons is the fact that they have found thing that their competitors cannot or will not offer. Billing Medicare for DME(durable medical equipment) is something that is keeping one local business ahead of its competition. Another thing is a compounding pharmacy doing things the old fashioned way, mixing it up as needed. That is necessary in some cases depending on a prescription and not every national chain has a compounding pharmacy in each town. Again, to stay competitive you must find a niche.
Ear X-Tacy has not changed their business model. If they want to stay ahead of their competition then they ought to team up with another local music establishment like Mom’s Music to try to help distribute local bands digitally to get their names out there. A partnership like that, dedicated to discovering and promoting local artists and their music in addition to their music sales in house could be a HUGE boon to the local culture as a whole. Yet that isn’t what is happening. What is happening is that people are getting fucking guilted into buying CDs from a place that they weren’t buying from before; this sort of knee-jerk reactionism is NOT a long term solution. This is something that will save the store short term and then lead to it being in a similar situation in the next year or so. Then we will be back to Square One, no not the one that used to have Mathman on it, more like Go in Monopoly just without the awesomeness of Monopoly.
On top of all this though, if all the people who are out there preaching and screaming about saving this damn place had been shopping in the fucking store to begin with then this would have never happened! Quit wasting your damn time telling ME how to spend my fucking money and go shamble around your sacred damn store.