Soon I won't be able to buy a CD or DVD...

[pikachu69]

So here in a small country like New Zealand (population 4.5 million) we have 2 main chain stores that dominate our retail industry, K-Mart and The Warehouse.
In my town, other than The Warehouse, there is no other shops that sell CD's or DVD's.
I have recently learned that The Warehouse will no longer be stocking DVD's and will only be stocking top 20 CD's. Thats it. This is New Zealand wide. They have already stopped restocking the shelves in store here in town and the music section of the store is rapidly shrinking.

I drove to the closet town to me (45 min) to visit K-Mart in hopes of buying a CD only to find that not only were they doing the same thing as The Warehouse, they had already done it! No CD/DVD section!
There is now only one dedicated DVD/CD store within a 2 - 3 hour drive in any direction from my town.

Soon the only way I will be able to buy a DVD or CD will be on line and even thats getting harder to do unless you want MP3. FUCK MP3!

So, illegal downloads don't hurt no one eh? Next time someone says that to you tell them they fucked over an entire country already, how about we call it a day.

What am I to do?

 

[ahjteam]

shop online.

 

[pikachu69]

I was referring more to the principal of the situation.
A few years back we had at least 5 locally owned and operated CD stores in town. Since the internet, 0.
The price of illegal downloads is starting to show its true colors where I live.
That is all.

 

[HeadCrusher]

Yeah, what about Amazon?

How did you mean that part about illegal MP3 downloads btw? I didn't get it.

 

[Mattayus]

Ahh the Wuddy Fuddy, I do miss NZ
There was a cool privately owned CD shop in Nelson when I lived there that was really well stocked on a lot of rarer and more 'underground' stuff, so fingers crossed the private places carry on doing business even when the big chain stores pack up.

 

[BrettT]

But you live in the most beautiful place on earth so it evens out.

 

[pikachu69]

Shops have either gone out of business or stopped dealing in a product because there is no longer any money/sales to maintain business. People are not buying CD's and DVD's enough any more. I don't think for a second it is because everyone now buys on line, certainly not where I live anyway as it takes up to a month for things to get here from the USA without paying a small fortune for shipping so it is not convenient for us to do so. So it must be because of the impact illegal downloads has had.

 

[timislegend]

Shops have either gone out of business or stopped dealing in a product because there is no longer any money/sales to maintain business. People are not buying CD's and DVD's enough any more. I don't think for a second it is because everyone now buys on line, certainly not where I live anyway as it takes up to a month for things to get here from the USA without paying a small fortune for shipping so it is not convenient for us to do so. So it must be because of the impact illegal downloads has had.

things change.

 

[pikachu69]

But you live in the most beautiful place on earth so it evens out.

I have to agree with you there my friend it is a beautiful country alright both visually and as a country in general.
We have a great health and education system, a reasonable government, great weather and nude beaches. I would not want to live anywhere else, even if I can't walk into a store and buy a CD lol.
But in the next few months my town will have fiber optic broadband installed,
so I could probably download a CD faster than what it would take to drive into town to buy it.

 

[DominikJW]

Open a CD/DVD shop dude

 

[James Murphy]

i am glad the OP has some clarity of thought on this.... illegal downloading is indeed the culprit, and it's become pandemic... the largest majority of music fans are not replacing CDs with purchased downloads... no, most are now just stealing.

and saying "things change" is a bit missing the point. yes, they do.... but in the past they always changed in a way that allowed music makers to continue to afford plying their craft.... wholesale theft will not facilitate the continuation of that type of change.

there will always be music, and there will always be good music. but when art is "democratized" like this, the pile of shit you have to sift through to find a gem becomes much, much larger.

things are going to take an even sharper downturn soon... many of you that would have otherwise been able to make a go of it will give up your music and production dreams because of it, and if you steal music rather than buying it, well then you've shot yourself in your own foot.

... and budgets continue to spiral downward.....

aren't my infrequent posts just a ray of sunshine?

 

[Ermz]

It's definitely not looking good. Everyone I talk to, in all corners of the industry, I hear despair stories. It's not a good era for music, that's for sure.

 

[Harry Hughes]

I remember when I was 16-17. Wanted to be a in world touring band playing rock and/or metal of some sort.
Not anymore, fuck that. Too much work for virtually no reward. As it is, my soul has been almost destroyed without getting into that stuff.
The older I get, the more people I meet and the more I experience, the more I realize just how few people give a fuck.
I'm going to be the most cynical, pessimistic man in the history of man by the time I hit 40 at this rate.

People give me this "WTF is wrong with you?" look, or say "Why would you do that? You can spend your money on better things" when I tell them I've spent probably somewhere around 2000 dollars on music and films this year.
Ohh, but I suppose that 100-200 bucks you're spending on cigarettes and booze each weekend with the intent of not remembering the night and possibly doing something incredibly stupid is doing the world more good.
Fucking cunts.

 

[Ermz]

I'm going to be the most cynical, pessimistic man in the history of man by the time I hit 40 at this rate.

Doubt it. I'm probably way ahead of you there

 

[Oluf]

Hmm, for me, buying music in a store died, when Megastores replaced those little warm musicstores. The owner knew nearly everything about new releases, knew my favors or understood, what I may like. A good local musicdealer was better than any review in a magazine. When those Mega-Electronic-Stores came and took over the LP and CD marked, the fun with buying CDs in a store was gone. Since Amazon is selling CDs in Germany, I am buying them there. They deliver the next day, I don't have to drive miles to find out, the CD i want to buy isn't available and has to be ordered and mostly Amazon knows my Musicfavors better than any Megastoreemploye will ever do.
I don't think, that downloading killed the Musicstores, Megastores and the simplicity of onlineshops did, as they did in alot places. Ask your local Instrument-Dealer how many people come and ask question, than buy in onlinestores and ask for support after that.

 

[GarethSE]

But you live in the most beautiful place on earth so it evens out.

not to forget you guys have ulcerate and early peter jackson movies!

 

[drew_drummer]

Save the music industry. Buy my bands album. Yes... we even ship to Kiwi land, in fact just last week I sent a lock of my hair to a farmer out there; he didn't want a signed CD.. pfft... everyone gets one of those, he said.

 

[GeertSamuel]

cdwow.com

 

[Skinny Viking]

Save the music industry. Buy my bands album. Yes... we even ship to Kiwi land, in fact just last week I sent a lock of my hair to a farmer out there; he didn't want a signed CD.. pfft... everyone gets one of those, he said.

what hair? Maybe pit or ball / ass / grundle hair but not from your dome

 

[SimonSez]

I never would've imagined that New Zealand would have a K-Mart.

Luckily I still have one of the most awesome CD/DVD/Vinyl stores near me: http://www.rollingstonesmusic.com/

I remember seeing Type O Negative signing stuff there when I was a kid. Steele was so huge especially when you're next to him and you're like 3 feet tall.