評論
打印
Waxing lyrical
復(fù)刻音樂
Why one British record shop is thriving
一家英國唱片店的興起
VISITING Rough Trade, a west London record shop, in the 1970s and 1980s was like going on a pilgrimage. Young men and a few women would gather to discuss the latest releases and swap records, overseen by knowledgeable (if sometimes surly) staff. But Rough Trade's latest business venture tests the limits of faith. On November 25th it will open a colossal, 15,000-square-foot music store in New York.
在上世紀(jì)七八十年代，漫步于地處倫敦西部的Rough Trade唱片店是一次對英倫音樂的朝圣。通常，一些青年男子和為數(shù)不多的女子聚集于此，在看似專業(yè)的店員眼皮子下討論最新發(fā)行唱片或交換各自珍藏。但最近Rough Trade的最新商業(yè)計(jì)劃—于11月25日在紐約開張的15，000平方尺的超大音像店的這一計(jì)劃著實(shí)令人震驚。
Between 2001 and 2012 the number of independent music shops in Britain fell by 69%. Over the same period physical album sales fell by 68%. The American market is no healthier. Expanding in either country seems barmy.
在2001年至2012年間，英國獨(dú)立音像店的數(shù)量減少了69%，與此同時，實(shí)體專輯的發(fā)售量也下降了68%，實(shí)際上美國的音像市場也并沒有好多少，因此此時無論是在這其中哪個國家擴(kuò)大店面都不太切合實(shí)際。
Rough Trade was once both a shop and an independent record label, which released albums by the Fall and the Smiths; the two businesses have been separate since 1982. For years the store was less well-known. But it has fared well. In 2007 it opened a branch in an airy warehouse in the East End. Since then Rough Trade's annual turnover has risen by around 20% a year, according to Stephen Godfroy, its executive director.
Rough Trade曾以一家獨(dú)立唱片公司的身份為the Fall和the Smiths樂隊(duì)發(fā)行過專輯，同時它也做著音像商店的生意，這二者直至1982年才分別獨(dú)立開來。自那之后的幾年時間里，音像店一直都不太出名，好在現(xiàn)已逐漸好轉(zhuǎn)。2007年Rough Trade在倫敦東區(qū)的一個通風(fēng)倉庫里開設(shè)一家分店，其執(zhí)行董事斯蒂芬·戈德弗魯瓦表示，從那時起Rough Trade每年的營業(yè)額都會上漲20%左右。
The East End store is not just spacious and cheap to rent. It also nails something that many in the music business have tried for years to get right: how to capture the valuable aura around music. The store has a cafe, a book stall and a stage as well as lots of records and CDs. Rough Trade sells not just music but the idea of being a music lover: it is the musical equivalent of Daunt Books, a thriving independent bookstore. None of its records are priced at a discount.
事實(shí)上，東區(qū)的音像店不僅空間寬敞，租金便宜，還為許多音樂市場多年來一直試圖明確的東西樹立起風(fēng)向標(biāo)。例如，在如何最大限度地利用其他方面來充實(shí)音樂這一問題上，這家商店配備了咖啡廳、書攤甚至還有一個舞臺，當(dāng)然還有許多唱片和CD。Rough Trade試圖傳達(dá)這樣一個理念：它不僅僅是在銷售音樂，而實(shí)際上是一種音樂愛好者的信仰。它就像是販賣音樂的Daunt Books（一家很受歡迎的獨(dú)立經(jīng)營書店），而且它所有的唱片都不打折。
The rising popularity of vinyl, which accounts for half of Rough Trade's stock, is another key to its success. Between 2007 and 2012 record sales in Britain increased by 88%, albeit from a tiny base. Records are increasingly desirable not so much because of the way they sound as because they are distinctive and rare—precious qualities in a world of ubiquitous free music. “People like to show off what they have bought,” says Spencer Hickman, who runs a record label.
占Rough Trade一半庫存的黑膠唱片目前越來越受到人們的追捧，這也是促成Rough Trade成功運(yùn)作的另一關(guān)鍵因素。2007至2012年間，在銷售基數(shù)量很少的情況下，英國唱片發(fā)售量仍上漲了88%。事實(shí)上，人們對這些唱片表現(xiàn)出不斷增長的熱情并不是因?yàn)樗鼈兊囊糍|(zhì)，而是由于在這個充斥著免費(fèi)流行樂的時代，唱片的與眾不同和數(shù)量稀少的特點(diǎn)在人們看來是彌足珍貴的特點(diǎn)。經(jīng)營一家唱片公司的斯賓塞·希克曼（Spencer Hickman）對此表示，“人們喜歡炫耀他們所買的東西。”
Vinyl is more popular in America, too: between 2007 and 2012 sales swelled from $23m to $163m. But not all are convinced Rough Trade will succeed in New York. The East End shop is already so big that customers are overwhelmed, says Tim Chambers, a British music consultant; it could almost be mistaken for a large chain store. The New York shop will be three times larger. There may turn out to be a trade-off between trendiness and sheer size.
相比之下，黑膠唱片在美國的受歡迎程度更甚一籌。2007至2012年間，其銷售額由2300萬美元飆升至1.63億美元。但不是所有人都對Rough Trade在紐約的發(fā)展充滿信心。一位英國音樂顧問蒂姆·錢伯斯（Tim Chambers）說，其東區(qū)的店鋪已經(jīng)如此之大，以至于超出一些顧客的承受范圍，這種大型連鎖商店無可避免會犯錯誤，而紐約的店面是這家店面的三倍，未來這家店可能要潮流經(jīng)營和龐大的規(guī)模經(jīng)營之中做出選擇。譯者：尤熠 校對：姜開鋒
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