'Rapture'/Tom - Investigating the Chain

Considering that the music industry is such a colossal entity, it is no surprise that a chain of organisations and people operate within it to make it what it is. I was particularly interested in the lower sector of this chain by looking at the operation of local record stores and the people who work there. I chose to respond to my summer holiday research task by creating a filmed interview with a lovely man named Tom from my local record store in Whitney, just outside of Oxford. The store has been in Whitney for as long as I can remember. It is a small, character-full music store with a wide variety of genre on display. I was keen to know the way in which the noticeable changes in the music industry over the last decade has affected stores like this and possibly even Tom as an individual. I wanted to know whether it had altered his perspective on the industry and whether the advent of certain technology is proving to be a threat to this personal buying experience, especially considering the well documented administration of music giant HMV.

 

Tom has worked a Rapture for the best part of 10 years so I felt confident that I was talking to someone who really understood the challenges of making a living through the music industry. Something that I found both surprising and reassuring from my chat with Tom is that record shops such as Rapture, despite not being as depended on as they once were, are still able to compete economically and find themselves "busy". Tom hailed the resurgence of the vinyl, a speculation that I completely understand. I believe the fact that todays young generation appear to be obsessed with all that is 'vintage'/'retro' has a large impact on the continuing success of shops like this, with alternative teenagers keen to seek out a sound with musical heritage and historic acclaim. One could argue that this is not for the love of the music or the style of delivery, but actually for that said individual to look 'cool' in front of his piers. However, I believe a record shop owner would take this over closure any day as long as people are buying the music. Furthermore, Tom seems to have a degree of optimism regarding the interest of the youths rightly claiming "If your a fan, your a fan".