One of the
UK's leading independent record stores has predicted the death of independent
record stores in the UK within three years.
Independent
record stores are currently involved in a desperate battle for survival and one
of the key issues is that Amazon is able to offer shoppers lower prices because
of their aggressive tax avoidance policies.
Within the
last nine years more than 60 per cent of the UK's independent record stores
have closed and now just under 300 remain.
Doug
Anderson from Coda Records in Edinburgh which has been selling Scottish, Irish
and English folk CDs and records since 1997, and who predicts the death of the
independent record store including his own, said:
“Shoppers compare independent record
stores like us us to Amazon on price which is a completely unfair comparison. We make no profit to speak of but we
pay tax and VAT on everything we
buy.”
Anderson
also warns of the consequences when the last independent record stores closes:
“Do people seriously think that
Amazon are good guys and will keep their prices cheap when they've no competition? When the last store closes prices
will shoot up and people will then have
no choice but to shop at Amazon.”
This dire
warning comes as Ethical Consumer magazine publishes its latest Amazon-free
buyers' guide to shopping for CDs, MP3s and streaming. With the
majority of music now being bought online, the buyers' guide reveals that many
online music businesses are now adopting tax avoidance policies similar to
those of Amazon.
The two
biggest players in the online music business are Amazon and iTunes who each
control around 30 per cent of the market. Both companies are aggressive tax
avoiders.
Ethical Consumer researcher Tim Hunt said: “There are
obviously many factors which are causing the crisis for independent record stores. However the fact that Amazon is
unfairly undercutting the independents on price is the single biggest factor. The
situation is complicated in that Amazon have now created a culture of
dependency as many independent
stores now rely on Amazon Marketplace which further entrenches Amazon's market dominance. We're now
calling on shoppers to think hard about shopping at Amazon and instead support their local record store.”
Pip Piper, the director of Last Shop Standing, the film
which chronicles the fortunes of the indy record shop said:
"It
is important we support our independent record shops as they are the people who support their own local music scene
and champion new music. Without them music will stagnate.”
Ethical
Consumer recommends that the ethical alternative to buying music from Amazon is
to buy second-hand CDs from Discogs, MusicStack and Oxfam.
For new
music Ethical Consumer's recommends that shoppers support their local
independent record store.
To find
their nearest independent record store Ethical Consumer recommends that
shoppers visit:
The
following are also recommended for CDs:
- Propermusic for buying CDs online; Crochet, MDT and Presto Classical for classical music CDs.
- For downloadable MP3s Ethical Consumer recommends Fairshare because of its charitable donations.
- For new CDs and MP3s Ethical Consumer also recommends buying directly from the artist or label rather than through Amazon.
- Ethical Consumer currently cannot recommend any company for streaming
Ethical
Consumer launched the world's first organised boycott of Amazon in 2012.
Details of the campaign can be seen here:
Launched
in 1989 Ethical Consumer is the UK's leading ethical and environmental
magazine. In each issue Ethical Consumer examines the ethical and environmental
record of the companies behind everyday products and services from bread to
banks. For more information visit the Ethical Consumer website: www.ethicalconsumer.org
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete