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The rise of independent record stores
Agus proudly displays his collection at his Warung Musik store in Blok M Square shopping center in South Jakarta
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Agus proudly displays his collection at his Warung Musik store in Blok M Square shopping center in South Jakarta.
Jakarta has a string of new record stores notable for their different approach. Let's hope they'll be here for the long run.
The music business is shrinking ' but it's not dead. People still look for great records to feed their insatiable appetite for good music, as evidenced by the rise of a number of independent record stores across different platforms.
Laidback Blues Records recently launched a small store in Pasar Santa market in South Jakarta. The store, specializing in vinyl, began when Samson Pho, one of the owners, opened a business in Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta.
'We were joking around at that time about Lebak Bulus and later converted it to Laidback Blues. That's where the story begins,' Samson said.
Laidback Blues Records is there to serve anyone looking for good records, whether new or secondhand.
Samson said that originally, he wanted to bring down the costs of his vinyl-buying habit.
'In order to do that, I needed to order vinyls in large numbers to lower the shipping costs. Some were for me, but I thought 'why don't I just sell the rest to other people?' And the rest is history. I have my own store now.'
A string of record stores, initiated by Warung Musik store, has also sprung up at the Blok M Square shopping center.
Warung Musik's owner, Agus, said his story started when he realized that he had to go to many stores, from small ones selling secondhand records to big ones like Aquarius and Disc Tarra, to satisfy his craving for records.
'I decided to start my own record store in the basement of Blok M Square. Now, there are 16 similar stores there, making it a new district for music collectors,' he said.
Another music store owner, Nuki Nugroho, picked up what he had left behind. He used to have a small buy-and-trade record business with a few old friends, but it came to an end.
Recently, he came up with the idea of starting it all over again, and High Fidelity Records was reborn.
'I started to look into my old record collections and found some interesting titles. I then set up an Instagram account and start selling them,' he said.
These three stores sell records at very competitive prices.
'I usually order the records from Europe and Japan. Those two places are still quite reasonable for shipment costs, so my prices can be reasonable too,' Samson explained.
Nuki never hesitates to travel to find records, anywhere, anytime. 'I travel within Java, outside Java, even abroad,' he said.
His extensive travels mean he has an exceptionally varied record collection. High Fidelity Records sells vinyl, CDs and even cassettes. It has also opened a bricks-and-mortar store ' outside the Instagram platform ' at Pasar Santa, the same location as Laidback Blues.
Nuki said the shop would allow customers to see the collection, and it could also serve as a meeting point for people in the scene.
'In the long term, we'd like to run our own recording label, releasing good local bands,' Nuki says.
While Nuki and his High Fidelity Records have just opened the shop, Warung Musik and Laidback Blues Records are doing well with their businesses in their own spots.
'It's a profitable business. If not, I would've closed it straight away and changed direction or applied for a job somewhere,' Agus says.
He said that after being in the business for four years, things were looking good, as more and more people come to Blok M Square for its 16 record stores.
'Sometimes, I hunt on eBay or other online markets,' adds Agus.
Record stores may be a heaven for music lovers but the price tags can be hellish.
'If someone comes to me and says that my prices are far too expensive, I don't say anything,' said Samson.
'If you love a record, if you fall deeply in love with it, you'll want it in your possession and you will buy it.'
But for those who crave a certain record but simply don't have the money, Samson said he may keep that record for them. 'They will buy it when they have the money. This is the way I like to do business; I don't want it to be too money-oriented.'
Nuki argued that the word 'expensive' shouldn't feature in conversations about hobbies and collecting. 'It all depends on perspective. If it's rare then it's going to be more expensive, that's standard. Satisfaction is priceless,' he said.
The new stores' arrival feels like a breath of fresh air; the massive downsizing of record stores in the city is nothing new.
Jakartans saw the legendary music store Aquarius close its doors after decades of doing business. The branch in Pondok Indah closed in 2010 and the second and final branch located on Jl. Mahakam shut down earlier this year.
The other old-school chain, Duta Suara Music, has also been struggling, with the branch in Sabang, Central Jakarta, now only dedicating its ground floor to records and the level above as a movie corner. In its heyday, all four floors were filled with records. They even had two stores in the area ' one of them specializing in movies.
The music industry has been struggling. Buying physical records in large quantities has experienced a sharp downfall in popularity with the existence of digital download or streaming retailers, such as iTunes, Deezer and Guvera.
Jakarta also reserves space for secondhand record sellers, with several districts dedicated to such stores.
Secondhand record sellers on Jl. Surabaya have been around since the time of governor Ali Sadikin, who opened the block in the mid 1970s, while a few stores also exist in the Jatinegara area, luring in customers searching for rare and old records or even secondhand bargains.
These new record stores are definitely making themselves heard ' offering new alternatives for those hunting bargain, rare or even regular records.
Agus said the biggest mistake made by big stores was not understanding the market, prices and tastes. 'I want to be realistic, taking the process step-by-step. Of course, I want to be big one day,' says Agus.
' Photos by JP/Jerry Adiguna
