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Will Record Stores Resurge Like Bookstores? (Guest Column)

As bookstores make a comeback, will record stores follow? Fred Goldring asks the question in a new guest column.

It seems that even younger readers have come to prefer the tactile experience of holding a physical book and being able to easily navigate through pages, and see an advantage in retaining information and focusing when reading on paper rather than on digital screens. With the introduction of digital file sharing and downloads with Napster in 1999, and streaming music starting with Rhapsody in 2001 and then Spotify in 2009, it seemed that physical records were destined for the wastebin of history (and like so many others, I foolishly gave away or sold for peanuts my vinyl and CD collections). Third spaces refer to “a physical location other than work or home where there’s little to or no financial barrier to entry and where conversation is the primary activity.” As Barnes & Noble stated in its recent press release, “Our stores have become popular social spots.”

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