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HMV’s Got Something to Bragg About
From Napster to Morpheus, iTunes to .torrents (not to mention the popularity of indie-kid and kid-at-heart collector’s favorite record shops), CD sales are on the decline. While this isn’t exactly a news-making statement today, it becomes one when the retail giants finally decide to step up and er, face the music.
HMV (His Master’s Voice, inspired by the 1899 Francis Barraud painting of his dog listening to a gramophone) announced yesterday that the new “Store of the Future” concept shop (not to be confused with Future Shop) will replace the store of the past at its 50 Bloor Street West location. Eye Weekly’s Marc Weisblott first let us know that the revamped edition opens June 17th with an 8 a.m. breakfast reception, ribbon-cutting ceremony, the inevitable freebies and giveaways, and oh, did we mention politically-charged performer Billy Bragg is performing? HMV is a UK-based company, which likely explains Bragg’s appearance, but that doesn’t keep us from wishing Wilco were tagging along.
Beyond a store redesign, HMV is implanting futuristic, Jetsons-like features, including gaming stations, multitasking media-focused phones, and a multi iMac-equipped interactive “hub” giving access to a wide variety of “entertainment and social networking sites.” Yep, now you can do your Facebooking from HMV. Reworked in celebration of its 20th year in maple-leaf land, HMV’s most advanced Canadian store offers a selection of video games, DVDs, iPods, phones, and books. Oh, and just announced—they’re still be selling CDs too.
Photo by Kasandra Bracken.