John J Kregarman wrote:

>I sent a copy of Donald Staz's note to a friend who is quite familiar with
>the ways of record stores.  His reply follows:

>>Being a buyer for classical, and a musician, and a music lover,
>>is very difficult - one becomes obsessed with the idea that it is ALL
>>important (it IS) to the point that one feels protective of the stock,
>>overlooking the basic fact that record retail is BUSINESS and that if
>>it hasn't sold in 9 months to a year, then no one is interested.

For me, this statement is at the heart of the problem.  True, if it hasn't
sold in 9 months, no one is interested...at the moment.  But, in my
experience, that isn't the whole story.  Yes, it takes money to maintain
stock that doesn't sell and perhaps that is at the heart of it all, but I
sincerely believe that classical music recordings need to have a longer
shelf life to be discovered.

Karl