SAVE OUR RECORD SHOPS: Drift Records, Totnes
As part of our Save Our Record Shops feature, and with National Record Store Day coming up later this month, we’ve collected some info on some of the best record stores in the region…
Drift Records, 91 High Street, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5PB
01803 866828 // www.driftrecords.co.uk
How long has your shop been open?
We have been in business for over ten years on this site. We took over the then World Video and Music seven years ago, and joined forces with the ‘Drift Records’ label (started by our son), renaming ourselves The Drift Record Shop around three years ago now.
Do you specialise in any particular kind of music?
We hold an eclectic mix, reflecting the tastes of our very varied clientele, but I suppose you could say we aim for the best of the new music around, and also the best of what is happening musically across the world. So that could be world, folk, americana, blues, dance, electronica, reggae, dub, whatever we are hearing and enjoying basically. But like all good record shops, we can get in anything that is available, and regularly do for our customers.
What has been the most memorable thing that has happened in the shop over the years?
Wow! Well it is hard to pinpoint one event. Running a record shop (and amazing DVD rental library) is great fun, with plenty of opportunity for ‘memorable moments’. I think it would probably have to be when Le Reno Amps played a live set in the shop, as part of their South West tour. To understand how memorable and ‘up front and personal’ that was you have to know that we are an absolutely tiny shop. So the whole audience felt like they were having a private performance.
How have the changes in the music industry (downloading etc) affected your shop?
The changes in the music industry have inevitably had some effect. Many retailers see downloading as a negative things, from the point of view of selling albums. At Drift we have noticed that our customers have often listened online first, even downloaded a track or two, and have then come in to buy the album from us. If you love the album the discerning music collector still wants to own the physical property. The majority of artists understand that and really take great care to produce an album that is desirable and collectable from the point of view of the music and the physical object. The physical album releases are increasingly including some pretty nifty extras. Like the Sufjan Stevens The B.Q.E. CD that had the Viewmaster picture disc with it, and the vinyl LP which included a comic book. With ease of access to information across the internet, I think it has stretched the expectations of the music listener and helped them to stay informed, which has to be a good thing. Here at the shop we would not be without the internet these days, whereas seven years ago we did all our ordering and gleaned most of our information through company reps. These days we keep in contact with all our suppliers on line, and have plans to launch The Drift Record Shop online store shortly.
Where do you see things going in the next four or five years? Will you still be open as a shop?
Looking back four or five years it is staggering how dramatically the supply structure for music (and DVD) retailers has changed. So many BIG distributors have packed up and gone, or restructured beyond recognition. We are small, so can make rapid changes where necessary, which we believe has helped us stay abreast of things within the music, and retail industry, and within the current economic climate as a whole. We continue to grow and evolve, so as long as we are still really enjoying what we do, and we are (!), then we will still be here in five years time – with a good measure of luck.
