Sound of music retail turns silent

Another one bites the dust or so it seems with news of Mumbai’s popular music retail outlet, Rhythm House, about to down shutters. Does this also mean that the retail market for physical products is finally over Unfortunately, the answer is in the affirmative with several key chains having already closed — or coming close to it — as current trends of content consumption turn comprehensively digital.

Music World was just one example but, even those retail chains that continue to exist, the contribution from the entertainment category — in terms of sales and, effectively, revenues — is falling dramatically, and the space earmarked for music is being dwindled to non-existence. Take a look at Planet M, Crossword, or Landmark. Current releases still obtain space but, that too, only for a limited period of time. Catalogue content is hard to find.

Certainly, a series of technological events has led to this reality check, but it is really going to be difficult for those from the old school to accept these changes (like me!) as I still prefer to acquire/listen to my music on CD. (For instance, I pre-ordered Adele’s 25, which had a global launch date on November 20 but, as this column is being written, the product is still awaited). Now arrives this unfortunate news about Mumbai’s iconic music outlet, Rhythm House, about to turn into history in the new year.

My memories of walking into music retail outlets commenced with Rhythm House, based at Mumbai’s Rampart Row — the location more popularly known as Kala Ghoda — during my school days in the 1970s. Back then you had enclosed rooms — known as “booths” then but, in the modern world, they would have been dubbed “cubicles” — that had a turntable, speakers, and sound-proofed walls, and you “borrowed” vinyl-singles or SPs (45 rpms) and albums or LPs (33 and 1/3 rpms) — from the counter for audition purposes.

During the pre-internet era, the music outlet was also the single source of information as the sleeves on the albums and, subsequently, the inlay cards placed within cassettes contained information about the artiste, may be a bio too, details of the songwriters and producer, studio where it was recorded, and similar information that has since gone amiss with digital streaming/downloads.

Many thanks to Mehmood Curmally, a director at Rhythm House, for supporting niche genres and promoting lesser known artistes through the years while I was part of the mainstream music business. If memory serves me right, my first purchase at the outlet was Golden Greats by the Ventures, which was sponsored by my mother, the vinyl disc equally popular for its striking album cover too.

For those interested, some of the world’s greatest musicians have credited the Ventures for being a huge influence on their respective careers. George Harrison stated in the Guitar Player magazine that he preferred the American guitar sound of the band to British bands, whereas Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, when asked to name the most influential rock solo, said he would nominate the Ventures’ Walk, Don't Run.

But what is occurring in the Indian market scenario is not really a surprise. If you look at the scenario globally, it is obvious that the downturn of purchasing physical formats is merely a replica of what has transpired abroad through the years.

Take the coveted HMV stores, for instance. The 60,000 square foot HMV at London’s Oxford Street opened in 1984 and it became the biggest music store in the world. However, the chain underwent a financial collapse in January 2013. So did the ubiquitous 57,000 square foot Virgin Megastore at New York’s Times Square that preceded the HMV bust back in 2009. And, if you remember Tower Records, the chain that had a significant presence in South East Asia, it closed its business in the U.S. even earlier, in 2006.

Even the limited physical format sales occurring in India are predominantly through the Internet, what with online retailers offering discounts on retail prices, the convenience of ordering through applications residing on hand-held devices, and having the physical content delivered at a place of your choice. While you have to accept that the sight of brick-and-mortar music stores shutting shop is no longer a shock, it does hurt to witness that the joys of the past are being relegated to history, such as the impending closure of one of my greatest joys in life and, especially, the source of my once memorable vinyl collection, Rhythm House, that has commenced skipping beats and, with it, so has my heart!

The writer has been part of the media and entertainment business for over 23 years. He still continues to pursue his hobby, and earns an income out of it.