Tim Mahon wrote:

>In totally unconnected fashion I heard today that several of the
>mid-sized distributors -- who have built their businesses through careful
>management of resources and informed risk-taking -- have sufficiently
>strong relationships with Tower that they have resisted the entreaties
>for a year's credit and have resolved the apparent crisis in much more
>agreeable terms.  Prominent among these is Bayside Entertainment, who
>will apparently be carrying the Naxos brand into all Tower stores.

What you don't know, is that Bayside Entertainment is owned and operated by
Tower.  They are sister organizations.  Bayside does whatever Tower bids.

>I wonder what this means for the continued growth of Internet purchasing
>of music? Will inveterate buyers (of whom I suspect there are many on this
>List) switch more of their habit to online vendors -- and thus perhaps
>reduce the extent of their "impulse" purchasing? And what will happen to
>the new convert to our art form? How will they know what to try if the
>stores carry only a small portion of the available range of recordings? How
>will those of us committed to trying to extend the interest in classical
>music to new listeners react to what may become a wider trend?

I think that the internet might help that rather than hinder.  For example,
Naxos has nearly every cd in their catalogue on their web site available
for a full free listen.  Not bad, and if they can do it with their
extensive catalogue, so can the others.

>On the other hand, there is an opinion that says Tower has instituted a
>perfectly sensible and business-like policy that will keep it in the market
>as a major player for the long term.  What do I know? Precious little --
>otherwise I would own a chain like Tower!!!

Contrary to popular belief, Tower won't go under in a year.  Not with the
kind of money that our Dallas store takes in anyway.  We're the only real
player in town and they line up at the cash register in droves every day.
The 360 pay policy is indeed a risky one.  Who's to say they'll have the
cash to pay the bill in 360 days.  Classical at Tower Dallas makes up 5% of
the store's total sales, yet a huge amount of floor space is dedicated to
it.  From a business point of view, with classical turns at less than one,
it does not make sense to carry a huge inventory.  When customers bitch at
me about large product returns and the necessity to special order, I have
no choice but to reply that if they were buying instead of bitching, we
could carry a larger selection.  Frankly, people don't buy much classical
music.  I spend 6 out of ever 8 hour shift at Tower classical alone and
bored in the basement.  As much as we would want it to be so, a store is
not a museum or a library.  You gotta sell the goods to stay open.  On the
pop floor, the line is 10 deep with each customer dropping in excess of 50
bucks.  It ain't happenin downstairs.  Until it does, there is no choice
but to reduce the stock.

Kevin