Record Store Day: TLOBF meets New Noise presenter Jon Hillcock

As the sun sets on our Record Store Day Week coverage, I talk to ex NME/XFM radio DJ and New Noise presenter Jon Hillcock about alternative music, Record Store Day and the risk independent record stores run of pricing their passionate fans out of the market.

How important are independent record stores to you?

Very. I mean if they disappeared it would be a real shame, PureGroove closing certainly was a shame, there are certainly less independent stores there used to be in London.

But yeah I buy records all the time, I bought this Braids EP in Phonica the other week, the new Cold Cave album after that and I’ve got a stack of stuff that I just bought from Rough Trade. There is no greater feeling than walking down the street with a heavy plastic bag full of new records and knowing that they’re all yours. I find it really exciting.

What record stores do you normally shop in?

Sounds of The Universe is brilliant, it’s exciting and yet I’m slightly scared of going in there. It’s intimidating but in a good way because those guys know so much about the music I sell but I like that it’s a bit scary, and educational. Other than that, Phonica, Rough Trade West – I always used to go to the Rough Trade when they had one in Covent Garden.

So what it is that encourages you to buy music at independent record stores?

I know they’ll stock things I can’t get anywhere else, I love getting in there and buying stuff that has just arrived that morning, and because as much as I look at websites I like building relationships with the people who work there, you know, getting to know the people behind the counter is important. I like being recommended something, I mean the guys in Phonica know my taste really well, even if they do secretly laugh at it as I walk out of the shop, I think that’s great. Going to places like HMV well they’re the most uninspiring places to shop ever.

And if we’re talking about why do I shop at indie stores as opposed to major retailers well the answer is quite simply, there are no major retailers anymore. Our Price, Virgin, Sam Goody and Andy’s have all gone…and HMV, well they don’t really sell music anymore do they?

Largely what keeps me going back to places like Phonica, Sounds of The Universe and Rough Trade is the belief, maybe a naive belief, that the people who run the shop really, really love music and because that shop exists for the right reasons.

I also like it when they have a local bands section. That is when a shop assistant can really come into his own as far as recommendations go.

Do you think independent record stores are at risk of pricing themselves out of the market?

Well after 10 years of consistently buying records I’m beginning to feel a bit burnt by the whole thing. I shop independent shops all the time and I guess maybe that is why high prices sticks in my throat more – you have this loyalty and you still feel like the store is just ripping you off. I mean who are they praying on, who do they expect to pay upwards of £7 for a single – the collectors, the Ebay crowd, the hardcore fans or just the rich kids, you know? Pricing the most passionate people out of the market is really dangerous.

I mean the last thing I want to do is slag off indie shops because I do love them but I this , I bought this for £17.99. So on the one hand they’re saying like ‘come and support us’ but on the other they’re saying ‘we’re ripping you off.’ It’s like in any industry; in any sector I feel like the people who get fleeced the most are the most passionate. I know they’re a business and they’ve got to make money to survive but I don’t think that is justification for abusing you’re loyalty. I went in to buy Love Inks new single earlier because I played it the other week on my show and I like to buy stuff that I’ve supported somewhere along the way. But it costs like £7 for a two track 7” that is out on a tiny label. If I like a band I want to be able to go and buy their music, I’m much less included to do so when it costs £7 as opposed to like £2.99. If I get to the point where I think I can’t afford to do this, and I’m a really passionate music fan addicted to buying records, then surely it’s all going to end in disaster.

Do you not feel like there is something bigger about independent stores that your supporting when you buy a record there?

No, not really. I go in independent stores because they have what I normally can’t get elsewhere and sometimes I just feel like they know that, and they are mugging people off.

I think one of the most important things about independent stores is the trust. I mean the prices seem seriously hiked, like someone somewhere is making a lot of money out of it. I’ve asked before at the counter, you know why are records so expensive and they say “well you know it’s imported from America and they’re limited so the costs are really high, we have to mark them up to make any profit at all.” And then I’ll ask the label and they’ll say “well we price it up and ship it out, after that it’s out of our hands.” And I just don’t like the fact that I don’t really know where my money is going…the distributors, the publishers? I guess the safest way to do that is to buy a record at the merch stand of a show but I always forget to bring enough cash with me to do that!

Having said all this though, I do still love indie record stores, I shop in them all the time but I just have all these questions I want answered I WANT ANSWERS LAUREN!

What is it about the physical format that is important to you as opposed to downloading?

I feel like when I buy something I maybe pay more attention to it, I listen to it as a whole thing and I listen to it more than once and I think stores are more conducive to buying records on a whim, they afford you the opportunity to have a look around and discover what you like. Actually that is something that high prices damages, you are less likely to make impulse buys. When you’re a kid and you first buy music, you listen to it a lot. I remember buying albums and not liking them but then because you spent money on it you would listen again and again, then actually they became you’re absolute favourite albums because you knew them inside and out. I mean how often do you get to do that nowadays with downloads?

But then online music and downloading means we have a lot of stuff to listen to, and having too much to listen to is a nice problem to have. Music doesn’t always have to be about owning something but I find owning records really exciting.

Do you think Record Store Day is an important day?

Absolutely and I think this year was bigger than ever. Almost too big maybe, I do worry that people might start to become cynical about it. I mean if you’ve got people sitting there at Major labels trying to push bands to do something for the day, like “could you just do us a quick B-side” or “what was the shitty remix we had lying around a while back, yeah can we just put that onto a 7” for Record Store Day?!” But right now, it doesn’t really feel like that, it feels more driven by the bands and the stores than the labels.

What do you think about the fact that a large quantity of stuff ends up on eBay and other related sites?

The laissez-faire aspect of eBay means that anything desirable or of value will appear online eventually. You can’t make your way down the queue of people outside and ask their intentions, or get them to sign a “no Ebay” clause at the till. At least the highly desirable items are limited to one per person, and you need to physically be there on the day to buy them. In this way it’s better than the high-tech multi-buy approaches used to buy and up sell tickets online. There’s not really a great deal more anyone can do about it.

Some people love, enthuse and collect art for art’s sake, some collect for financial incentive. Sadly it’s the way of our world. The most crucial point is that the art itself is created with the best intention.

So what did you get up to on Saturday?

Having been unable to join the hardcore in the queues at 5am or whatever I finally made it to Soho at about 10.30/11am. I’d seen lots of queue discussion on Twitter from about 7am, which had given me that niggly, anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. Someone, somewhere was about to get their hands on the Hormoaning or Let’s Shake Hands 7″s. This person was quite clearly a complete bastard.

If I’d had the time (and funds) a perfect day would have been spent record shopping along the Central Line, travelling from Rough Trade East early doors to the West End at lunchtime across to Rough Trade West in time for Pete and the Pirates playing live in the afternoon. As it was, I had to pick one, and it would be the West End. I opted for Soho for a few reasons: One, I figured Rough Trade East would be bonkers busy and pretty much empty by the time I got there; two, I buy plenty of stuff in there most weeks anyway; and three, a trip to Soho would mean three shops rather than one, so I wouldn’t be putting in my Record Store Day eggs into one big basket.

My first stop is Sister Ray but the queue is fucking massive so I decide I’ll come back later. My second stop brings with it Sounds of The Universe. Last year I had a vague idea of what I wanted to buy in my head, but not actually on paper. This year I knew I should make a list of potential wants: Jimi Hendrix, Arthur Russell, Floating Points, Gold Panda and Panda Bear. The nice man in the shop laughed at most of my requests. They were gone within the first hour he said. In fact the Floating Points 10″ hadn’t even turned up, but they did have the Gold Panda EP. If I managed to get hold of nothing else today, at least I have this. These remixes are fucking amazing.

My third stop bought me to Phonica, where I wanted to get Arctic Monkeys, Nirvana, Metronomy, Sonic Youth, Wild Beasts and The White Stripes’ releases amongst others. Phonica was busier than Sounds of The Universe, with lots of eager people milling around. Record shops feel a bit weird on Record Store Day. There’s a glance, that you share with other customers which seems to simultaneously reflect both a brilliant unifying bond (‘we all love records! yeah!’), and also a horrified, jealous, almost Machiavellian desperation (‘what have you got? I WANT THAT! YOU BASTARD, I FUCKING WANTED THAT! ARGH’). I was pretty chuffed to bag Floating Points and Wild Beasts.

Finally, after a bit of lunch I lined up outside Sister Ray.

After about half an hour in the queue, (next to a very friendly goth/Industrial enthusiast from Bromley named Aaron) I spoke to store manager Phil who was handing out lists for people to peruse. He was pleased with how things were going, but did greet me with a cry of ‘WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS?’. I felt a bit rubbish. Finally I was in. This year the staff kept everything behind the counter, rather than putting things in the rack. A great move as last year there were a few things I was after which were available according to the empty sleeves on the shelves and racks, but not by the time you got to the till.

Anyway, when you reach the counter you reel off your list while the assistant nips off to grab everything. It feels not unlike ordering drinks in a pub, only these drinks merely get you drunk in a metaphorical sense, and the only hangover is only a financial one. I managed to get hold of Roy Orbison, Metronomy, Deftones and Hello Pink Mist compilation LP.

So all in all, no Nirvana, White Stripes or Arthur Russell, but to be honest that was never going to happen. I actually got more than I expected and got to share the buzz of another brilliant Record Store Day 2011, in spite of being so short on time.

New Noise – 14.04.11 by jonhillcock

Follow Jon Hillcock’s adventures in New Noise via his blog, or alternatively, subscribe to his weekly New Noise podcast via iTunes.

Photograph by Paul Bridgewater.