BACK IN THE GROOVE: RECORD SHOPS TAKING ON THE DIGITAL AGE

HMV, Britain's last big music chain, is closing 60 branches. Yeta new wave of CD stores is thriving. Jonathan Brown finds out why

It has been a difficult week for the record shop. HMV's decisionto close 60 stores as it fights a seemingly losing battle with itsinternet and supermarket competition sent a shiver of fear throughBritain's high streets. The long- term slide in album sales - bothphysical and digital - also continued with a further seven per centfall. But in the gloom there was hope. After a decade of brutaldecline, which has seen their numbers ravaged from 1,064 in 1998 tojust 269 in 2009, the number of independent record retailers grewmodestly for the first time since the advent of the digitaldownload. According to the Entertainment Retailers Association, 15new indie shops opened for business in 2010 - a figure offset onlyby the disappearance of a further four, leaving a net gain of 11.

Seismic Records

Location: (Above "Kong") Bedford Street, Leamington Spa,Warwickshire

Established: 2004

Owner: Stuart Smith

Speciality: Drum & bass, but all music lovers welcome

"I never wanted to be that guy from High Fidelity. I always saidif I turned into that, please shoot me," admits Seismic owner StuartSmith.

"But having a record collection is like a window on your soul. Itry not to count my records, but it has certainly reached anembarrassing number - maybe 16,000," he added. There are thousandsmore still for sale in his shop in the gentile surroundings of theGeorgian spa town. Having learned his trade working for five yearsin another shop, Mr Smith set out on his own and considers Seismicto be still very much in its "infancy" with customers travellingfrom all over the Midlands to check out the latest dubstep andbreakbeat releases. "It's the sort of place where, if someone hearsa tune on the radio, they can come and find out what it is and Iwill try and get hold of it for them," he said. "I try to keep thestock as minimal as possible but it's a crate-digger's delight. Weare getting young people in now who are turning their back on MP3.There is nothing like getting a bit of vinyl in your hand," headded.

Bestseller: Netsky

Notes, Music and Coffee

Location: St Martin's Lane, London, below

Established: 2010

Owner: Alan Goulden (music) and Robert Robinson (coffee)

Speciality: Classical, opera, jazz, world

Opened for business just two months ago in a listed building nextdoor to the Coliseum by the owners of classical music store MDC andtwo coffee baristas, the owners believe they have hit on a uniqueformula which can survive the digital onslaught. "We aim to offer anexperience that cannot be replicated on the internet," explainsRobert Robinson. For the customers sipping a cup of scientificallyprepared filter Suke Quto from the Ethiopian Highlands, listening toElla Fitzgerald and taking in the view yesterday it seemed a welcomevision of the record-buying future. "In the six weeks we have beenopened we have been very encouraged by the response we are gettingfrom our customers," said Mr Robinson. His co-founder, Alan Goulden,believes the unique position of the shop, next to the EnglishNational Opera, helps: "What we are trying to say is that good musicis classic whether it's Brahms or Ella Fitzgerald."

Bestseller: Whatever is playing at the Coliseum

Truck Store

Location: Cowley Rd, Oxford

Established: February 2011

Owner: Gary Smith

Speciality: Indie; expertise in all areas

Gary Smith was warned he was taking a risk when he opened hisfirst record store, Rapture, in Witney six years ago. Since then hehas added one in Evesham and next month will launch a third inCowley Road, Oxford, marking a welcome return for independent musicretail to the city three years after the last one closed down. Hehopes the new store will act as a hub for local bands looking toemulate Oxford's last act to achieve greatness - Radiohead. "We willcater for everyone as we always do.

"We are dedicated to customer service so no one should feelintimidated asking for anything, whether it is Susan Boyle orwhatever." Having worked as a buyer for a national chain he issympathetic to the plight of HMV. "It doesn't do anyone any goodwhen HMV struggle but they have broken the golden rule of retail -listening to your customers."

Bestseller: The National, High Violet

BPM

Location: Sadler Gate, Derby

Established: 2010

Owner: Dave Hill

Speciality: Drum & Bass and classic rock

Having closed the original BPM store in 2007 after a 20-yearpresence in the city to concentrate his record selling activitiesonline, Dave Hill decided to reopen last year after witnessing theresurgence in popularity of vinyl. Mr Hill has worked in recordshops since he was 17 and now specialises in mint-condition second-hand albums and seven-inch singles. He said: "I feel very sorry forthe staff at HMV. Our overheads are quite low while they have verybig stores. For us it is one price fits all - so unless it is veryrare an album costs 7.50. The quality of vinyl is better than CD andwe are very fussy about what we buy. It has to be mint condition andwe turn more away than we buy in. It has been fantastic to be backbut it is not like it used to be when we were really, reallythriving. There used to be eight or nine independent record shops inDerby but free downloads and supermarkets killed them."

Bestseller: Beatles, Joy Division, Smiths

The Heavy Sounds

Location: West End Arcade, Nottingham

Established: 2007

Owner: Clint Harris

Speciality: Heavy rock

When metal head Clint Harris moved to Britain from his home inNew Zealand he knew he had to place himself in the recognised globalcapital of heavy rock.

With a career in information technology behind him, he decidedthat he had spent enough time and money in record stores down theyears to set up his own.

"It was something I wanted to do for a long time," he explained."The shop is very small and I suppose it's a bit of a ramshackleoperation.

"There is only one area that I have stock because that is all Iknow. I have a steady stream of regulars, they are very passionateabout the music and they like to come in for a bit of a browse and achat.

"It's somewhere to go and a place where you can meet people."

With a whopping 50 new heavy rock titles being released in theUnited Kingdom each and every month it is obviously vitallyimportant for a shop like this to keep abreast of new releases.

"When you go into a record store, you have a look around andoccasionally you come across something you might well have forgottenabout or something which you never even thought of.

"If you are shopping on the internet you have to know what youare looking for. I suppose most of my customers grew up in thephysical age. Most are in their late 20s and 30s but some are intheir 70s," he said.

Bestseller: Electric Wizard