Casa Del Disco, Corso Mazzini, 38, Faenza, Italy

How many times have you read an article about the future of record stores where someone is quoted as saying something like: ‘I can’t remember the last time I set foot in a record shop’.

Nowadays, even if you craved the hands on experience of browsing through discs you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere still open.  What was once taken for granted as a feature of any High Street has all but disappeared.

Online shopping and the download culture sounded the death knell for megastores. Tower Records ceased trading in 2006, Virgin Megastore / Zavvi group closed in 2009, HMV closures were announced earlier this year.  However large these stores were, they just couldn’t  hope to compete with the vast range and diversity on offer in cyberspace.

So, are all record stores doomed and if so, does it matter?
My answer to each of these questions would be – ‘No – not yet’ and ‘Yes – most definitely’.

Of course, in London the chances of an independent record store surviving  should be higher than in smaller cities since music addicts would still visit a shop like Rough Trade  as a kind of pilgrimage; a piece of living history. Stephen Godfroy, the shop’s director says : “Rough Trade will continue to evolve public and trade perception of a ‘record store’ into something relevant and rewarding for any community, breaking rules and expectation along the way. To that end, the future for independent record stores is very bright”

Does this optimism extend to smaller and  less fashionable locations?

In the Italian city of Faenza near where I live in Emilia-Romagna,  there is a record store with a history of a wholly different nature to that of Rough Trade. It’s called Casa del Disco  (The house of discs) and it has been open since 1954.

Three years ago it was on the brink of closure; the owner retired and she was all set to sell up. Her daughter had other ideas. Livia had inherited a passion for music dating back to her grandfather who was a violinist and seller of early sheet music. She decided to take over the shop and, in so doing, rejected those who argued that this was tantamount to commercial suicide. She has proved these naysayers wrong and, while you wouldn’t go as far as to say business is flourishing , it is ticking over very nicely and she remains positive and enthusiastic about the shop’s future.

One way you might imagine that smaller record stores might survive is to specialise more and offer a personalised survive as an alternative to the anonymous experience of surfing.

I wanted to use Casa Del Disco as a kind of case study to see if this theory stands up  and so I conducted an impromptu interview with Livia.

There was no real need to ask her about the philosophy behind the store as ‘a manifesto’ is posted near the entrance. In this she shows that she is not blind, or even opposed, to the trends in music consumption. What she does object to is those people who speak of this being “the age of the download” as if this concept automatically cancels out all the other ways to own and enjoy music.

The manifesto ends by saying “ Alongside those who binge on downloads, there are some who love music and enjoy it with discernment, who have respect for the artists and the sacrifices they make to create the sounds they enjoy. There is room for everyone in this day and age, even for us humble record stores”.

The 'multi-niche'

She tells me that the store’s business plan was based on a form of niche-marketing, but that she took this idea one stage further into what she calls a ‘multi-niche’. As you step into the store, you get a clear idea of what she means by this. Although it is a relatively small, single fronted shop unit every inch of the space is utilised without it feeling cluttered. The store sells chart records, soundtracks, classical albums, kids music, vinyl LPs (new and second-hand) and still there is space for T-shirts, books, DVDs, bags and even guitars. Despite this wide range of merchandise there is no mistaking the musical tastes of Livia and her knowledgeable assistant Serena.

Post-punk , avant rock and electronica are prominently displayed and in the book section you will find erudite works of  rock criticism (in English and Italian)  rubbing spines with titles like Michael Nyman’s Experimental Music and John Cage’s Silence.

I asked if she sells music she doesn’t particularly like. “Of course, but if someone asks me if I would recommend it I say no” she replies pragmatically.

What she, and Serena, pride themselves on is being able to give honest advice without patronising the customer. They are as at home pointing a stressed mom in the direction of  some relaxing ambient music as they are satisfying an Indie kid’s quest for the latest by The Foo Fighters or Kings of Leon. They boast that their customers come from all walks of life with ages ranging from 14 to 90.

"Support your local heroes"

When I ask what their current best sellers are,  Livia is quick to qualify what counts as a ‘best-seller’. Shifting 10 CDs by one artist would put them into this category. This exclusive club currently  includes Vinicio Capossela (Italy’s answer to Tom Waits), Ben Harper, Antony & The Johnsons and Josh T. Pearson.

When I confess I’m not familiar with the last of these names, Livia shows me his recent album – Last of the Country.  She says his voice is a little like Jeff Buckley.  Serena puts the record on for me to hear;  coincidentally, she had earlier played me Buckley’s breathtaking cover of Dylan’s, ‘Mama you’ve been on my mind’ (available on the legacy edition of Grace).  By the side of that,  Josh T.Pearson sounds a bit tame; but then that is true of 90% of the competition,

Whatever the merits of this particular artist, it occurred to me that this was the type of discussion you might be able to eavesdrop on in an online chat room and I reflected how superior this real life conversation was to the virtual equivalent.

Casa Del Disco offers a valuable service for the community and in its modest way offers a blueprint for how record stores can, and should, survive. It’s a place where people can come together to buy, learn, and talk about music.

I ask Livia what she would say to anyone thinking of opening a store of their own. “If your passion drives you, do it” she replies without hesitation, “As long as you don’t expect to get rich”.

Related links:

Record Stores: Be an “Institution” or Perish (Wired.Com)
Are record stores dead? (Professor pop.Com)
How music-buying habits have changed  (BBC.Co.Uk)
Record Shops: Necessity or Nostalgia? (The Other Side Mag.co.uk)
Article on Casa del Disco (Grazie.it  - In Italian)