Experiments with retail
One of the areas of music business I’ve always been interested in is retail. The romantic notion of owning a record store and being surrounded by so much great music all day is really appealing. As, of course, is the idea that your opinions about music will be sought and respected.
The online environment has given me an opportunity to experiment with that - but without all of the headache of stocking, shelving, cataloguing, orders, returns and the general day to day business of running a physical shop.
Using ithinkmusic.com - a rather clever, artist-friendly and independent label compatible music retail platform based in London - I have built Liquid Crunch - an online music store with a bit of a difference.
First, Liquid Crunch does not boast a wide selection of anything.
There are five basic categories, which I’ve tentatively tagged JazzCellar, DanceFloor, HeadSpace, LivingRoom and WorldWide. In each of those categories, there are ten releases for sale. They’ve been picked by a panel of music specialists, tastemakers, DJs, consultants, etc. People I know whose opinions in these matters I really respect. And I’ve had my say as well.
I think people are overwhelmed with choice a lot of the time. And I think that’s a great thing. I personally think iTunes should stock 100 times what it currently has available, and the labels should be uploading the entirety of the Long Tail as fast as they can find the master tapes and digitise them all.
But when it comes to new and unfamiliar music, 6 million songs is too many to choose from. You won’t even start. But if you want some music to just chill out to, have a bit of a boogie and be a bit sophisticated, we’ve installed a very good filtering system.
And shortly, I’ll be inviting some rather well-known guest tastemakers from that end of the music scene to select their ten best picks for the site too.
Second, I’ve built in what I think must be the world’s first money-back guarantee system for an online music store. My line is that as long as you haven’t scratched the mp3s or let them warp in the sun, then you can send them back for a full refund if you don’t like them.
No-risk mp3 shopping.
My theory is that people will be far more likely to take a chance on something they’re unfamiliar with if there’s that safety net.
And what I’m betting on is that the degree of experimentation that may foster will more than outweigh the refunds on which I’ll be out of pocket. After all, if people want to play the system, there are actually far easier ways of finding free music…
Third, you’re unlikely to find indie rock or famous bands on Liquid Crunch. This is an experiment in specialist and niche music. I happen to like the kind of stuff that is best described as that body of recorded music the most switched-on design firms, architect offices and ad agencies tend to have playing while they work. You know the stuff.
That’s what we sell. A bit of jazz, a bit of electronica, a shake of Brazilian music and just a dash of hip hop. Soundtracks for living.
Now of course, there are things that I would like to be different about the ithinkmusic platform, and I am in ongoing negotiations with the team there.
I’d love to convince the labels that full track samples are a good idea. And I want ithinkmusic to believe me when I say that music shouldn’t auto-play, but if you choose for it to play, then it shouldn’t stop just because you browse to another page on the site. And that accepting PayPal in different currencies is important.
But all the same - I’m delighted to finally have my own record shop so I can live the High Fidelity dream. I’ll keep you posted and let you know how some of these experiments go.
19 Comments, Comment or Ping
Milton
“…then it shouldn’t stop just because you browse to another page on the site.”
Yep, that would be really nice.
I think the money back gurantee was amusing (the way you described it) but is it really practical? I have not visited the site yet but it seems if they can burn it and return it they will…And maybe that’s what I am missing by not visiting the site yet; that is that they can not burn it.
Milton
Apr 17th, 2008
Dubber
Yep - that’s kind of the joke. They could download the music and return it within the 14 days if they wish while leaving it on their hard drive (think about it: if you email me an mp3, it doesn’t disappear from your computer).
but honestly - if you’re going to the hassle of spending £7 on your credit card in order to get an album download, and then you’re going to send it back as a zip file (whether you keep the album or not) just to try and beat the system - well, there are far easier ways of getting free music and much better uses of your time.
But for the genuine shopper who wants to take a risk with something new and unfamiliar, it’s an extra bit of incentive to be a bit adventurous, musically speaking.
And, as a safeguard, the offer is an experimental one with an end-of-April deadline. If it seems to work, I’ll roll it out for another month or more. If people try to rip me off, then I have an exit strategy. But I genuinely believe that the benefits will vastly outweigh the potential for dishonesty. That it will generate far more sales than losses.
And I suspect that I’ll end up making it a permanent offer. And I suspect the 14 day period will extend to 30. But we’ll see.
Apr 17th, 2008
Felix
I don’t know how the split works but it does seem quite pricey for digital files.
For example the king tubby album:
15 tracks for about 15 quid - that’s around $40 NZ - for mp3s!
Am I missing something?
Apr 17th, 2008
Milton
I also made my daily visit to the Music Think Tank site and saw the latest post about piracy (and I did actually laugh out loud to myself at the “pigs / sharks” thing, I was not aware of that statistic).
I would like to consider myself to be one of those people who “gets it” in regards to the piracy issue…or rather the copying / sharing issue. I agree that if people are sharing my songs and exposing my work to others that it can only benefit my musical endeavors.
Lars Ulrich and whomever that poor red-faced lady was really need to wrap their brains around the concepts mentioned by yourself and the original post writer (sorry I forget his name).
I hope that people will latch on to my music at some point and make it viral to the point of creating demand for my work…ergo; resulting in the beginning of a possible greater income.
Obscurity is the enemy not exposure! I don’t plan on quitting my day job any time soon.
I would also like to mention my recent use of Google’s apps: Blogger and Page Creator. I have found them to be a very useful introduction for a not so code/tech savvy digital media laymen.
http://ultrameek.blogspot.com/
http://ultrameek.googlepages.com/home
Admittedly I have not utilized them very well yet but it is a start and it is been much more satisfying than waiting on someone willing to do the job for free! (I just do not have the funds or the skills to do much else at this time)
I am also acutely aware of the lack of any of my songs to break from mediocrity at this stage of the game. Once I have something I feel can break the obscurity bubble I seem to be trapped in…Then maybe these Google apps will become more substantial; A story to tell, a great song to promote, etc. etc.
As always thank you for all your hard work to inform and give direction.
Luckily I am fortunate enough to be working in the scoring end of the music game via http://www.messymusic.com and that is a start and a possible means to a greater success in the long run.
Thanks for all you do!
Milton
PS - Love & Rockets are on the move (my Messy employer Kevin Haskins), they are playing some shows in California and are slated for the latest Lalapalloza tour! I think they are planning a new LP as well. I just wanted to pass that along as my little contribution towards promoting a band I really enjoy.
Apr 18th, 2008
Peter Blue
Very interesting, Andrew. But as a customer I want to be shure that I don’t download a file that has been returned by a previous customer!
Second hand data.
The idea of the record shop that actually recommends music - a good thing.
I sell my music on iTunes and other platforms and sometimes I’m curious how people found me - buried under millions of tracks, most of them more popular.
I have no idea. But in order to make a connection with those who might love our music, recommendation is the most important thing.
What makes me listen to an artist that’s new to me? A review, listening to the track on the radio or online. Radio is mostly no help for unknown artists due to strict formats.
But specialized shops like yours - that’s a good idea. People need expert help to discover new music that fits their taste / lifestyle.
Re. High Fidelity - just read an excerpt and ordered the book. Didn’t know the author before. Brillant writing. Thank you for the link!
Apr 18th, 2008
tim
NIce site, wasnt aware of it.
but - oof andrew, bad name!
and as for the ‘fresh grooves tasty beats’ tagline..
“..best described as that body of recorded music the most switched-on design firms, architect offices and ad agencies tend to have playing while they work. You know the stuff.”
is kind of setting the store out as the most inoffensive selection of music possible .. its also totally open ended. Ive been to plenty of cutting edge design firms who listen to Kaiser Chiefs and Kylie all day.
Apr 18th, 2008
Rob Shelby
This is a BIT like burnlounge.com was before it got shut down. People would pay $22 to get their own store. Anyone someone bought a song off of their store, they would get about 5 cents back. You got to pick what music was on your store.
Apr 18th, 2008
Tom Parnell
In a way, you’re setting yourself up in competition with indie record label sites, rather than mp3 stores, aren’t you? The idea of an online store that’s already “filtered” is pretty much the same (obviously, though, indie labels are likely to supply other retailers, too).
Increasingly, it seems to me, the value of being ’signed’ to an indie label is in the implied ‘quality guarantee’ … and the ‘halo’ effect of being associated with other, revered artists on the same label.
Do you see this venture as, in a way, picking out the best (= most sustainable in the digital age) aspects of an indie label (trusted source, potential to become ‘cool’, implicit opinion-leader) whilst setting aside some of the worse aspects (risk, need for investment in artists)?
Interesting, anyhow. My own tastes, though, don’t immediately tally with any of your categories. Which saddens me a little. How about an experimental punk-folk section, eh?
Apr 18th, 2008
Tom Parnell
One further comment … the design of the Liquid Crunch site is fine. But it’s a long way from breathtaking, in my opinion. I’d be of the opinion that you should aim for a more high-quality look. Not high-quality in the ‘luxurious, opulent’ sense, but in the ‘done by a design agency’ sense. If I didn’t know of you (and the site) through NMS, I suspect, as a casual visitor to the site, I’d not be convinced by its design. That ’stamp’ title font looks really quite dated, in my opinion …
I say just because the site seems to rely on being regarded as trend-setting and opinion-leading. And its design should ideally reflect this, I think … Which means it has to be *brilliant*, not just fine!
Apr 18th, 2008
dunc
Recommendation is an important part of buying new music, but you have to know the person recommending stuff to you, and trust that they’re not going to sell you something you won’t like.
Last FM is generally excellent, and Amazon Recommends is often worth a punt because they’re based on what you’ve been listening to or buying. Similarly if you go to a record shop, you can chat to whoever is behind the counter about what’s worth taking a risk on.
So maybe the music experts, consultants and tastemakers *shudder* who pick the records also need blogs on the site about why they like the music and why I should buy it.
Love the returned MP3 idea, it’s a step in the right direction.
Apr 18th, 2008
Juan Zelada
I like this idea! My only doubt is similar to other comments about people burning the mp3 then returning it? Does that still seem benefitial, i guess it could do in a way.
I will get cracking on it, as it seems very intriguing!
great work!
Apr 18th, 2008
JAVVEL
Andrew,
Long time RSS subscriber here. Haven’t you criticized for ages, online stores that only let you listen to a preview of what you’re about to purchase? Yet, on your site, I can only listen to a couple of seconds of each song. Doesn’t the consumer have to be able to listen to a FULL sample of what they are going to become fans of and later investing money on? Weren’t 30-second samples (didn’t count how long the preview on your store is, and it doesn’t display them either) outdated?
Please clarify this to me. Also, just a suggestion, as someone mentioned above, the design itself is not very appealing.
However, props for your excellent blog, Mr. Dubber.
Javier
Apr 18th, 2008
Andrew
I am laughing my ass off over the comments on the refund concept - you’re brilliant and if you don’t mind - I think I’ll steal it.
I’m also appreciating the insight into the phoenix that was “The Record Store” - I’ve been a fan of the idea behind Pandora for ages but never really used it - I want my recommendations to be branded - I want to see a track history, a past record - I’m digging the Dubber brand so far…
Apr 19th, 2008
Milton
DOH!
That’s all I can add to my very first comment regarding “returning” an mp3 file from my e-mail.
Apr 19th, 2008
Sarah Brown
Nifty
I just wrote a mini post about my Liquid Crunch thoughts.
Apr 20th, 2008
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