HMV to close 60 stores (Irish stores affected as well)

FreudianSlippers

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

Exactly. Whilst other tv companies are flogging reality tv because it is cheap, easy to make and pretty much cack, HBO charges a little more so it can invest in quality programming and the audience appreciate that. Look at the best tv programs, they are HBO, look at the boxsets that sell, I would bet HBO is up there at the top. If there were more music/film companies that toook risks like HBO, you may see a better performing industry, but majority don't and they figure people will buy any crap, which is obviously not the case anymore.

These days it's so much cheaper to buy these boxsets through Amazon or online shops though still. HMV and others are doomed as B&M shops.

RobitTV

Shame, down in Waterford no HMV Store, so we usually have to go to cork, But My brother does download stuff alot, But its not the same, I Like going around the Place, and going into tesco, and xtravision, and golden discs looking at dvds and games, it may be dear but i think downloading and buying stuff of the internet, sometimes ruins the whole point of shopping, which is to go out have fun, shop around, and help your local economy, but in waterford the shops are rubbish!, so sometimes its not worth going around.

speedboatchase

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

Exactly. Whilst other tv companies are flogging reality tv because it is cheap, easy to make and pretty much cack, HBO charges a little more so it can invest in quality programming and the audience appreciate that. Look at the best tv programs, they are HBO, look at the boxsets that sell, I would bet HBO is up there at the top. If there were more music/film companies that toook risks like HBO, you may see a better performing industry, but majority don't and they figure people will buy any crap, which is obviously not the case anymore.

Did you see Kick-Ass? Independently funded, very anti-Hollywood movie that took a lot of risks and won great reviews. According to very conflicting reports, it cost somewhere between $30m or $75m, more than likely it was near the latter. Anyways every movie needs to make at least double its production budget theatrically to be on the way to break even and Kick-Ass made $96m worldwide. Not bad, but not amazing either.

It was, however, pirated 11.4m times last year and becomed the second most-pirated movie of 2010, behind Avatar http://www.buzzfeed.com/ashleybaccam/most-pirated-films-of-2010. Pirates are very clued into what's going on and they're a very discerning audience - but their habits have changed and they're not going to pay - that's why Hollywood relies on sequels from audiences it knows will pay to see their product.

Even if you create the most amazing, risk-tasking venture to shake up the industry and win the pirates respect - they'll still just pirate your movie instead of going to see it. That's what happened to Kick-Ass and that's why Hollywood is pushing 3D cinema and sequels so hard

EDIT:

Another example - Green Zone. Cost $100m in production only, nevermind advertising. Only made $96m worldwide and only made $32m in the US, was the 82nd highest grossing movie of 2010. Yet it was the 7th most pirated movie of 2010 - 7.74m downloads!

Run_to_da_hills

GSF wrote: »

If they charged people for browsing, the stores would be profitable.

I pay €25 a month for browsing, thats enough for me.

ScumLord

RobitTV wrote: »

HMV was not the only retailer to suffer in the cold weather. Clothes chain Next said on Tuesday it had lost £22m in store sales because shoppers stayed away when the snow fell in the run-up to Christmas.

This is something that annoys me about these big companies, "we lost £22 million" you didn't lose 22 million you never had that money in the first pace.

amacachi

OisinT wrote: »

You have to remember that HBO is a subscription channel in the US and isn't cheap. So on top of your basic cable package you have to pay $10/month or something like that extra for HBO, another $10 for Showtime etc.

I thought HBO was far more expensive than that. It's all in packages though so anytime I've tried to figure out how much it costs I fail because of not being used to how American TV subscriptions work out.

OisinT wrote: »

These days it's so much cheaper to buy these boxsets through Amazon or online shops though still. HMV and others are doomed as B&M shops.

They need to learn their place more than anything else I think. There's been a few times I've seen them beat Amazon on price but it's rare enough. They should be focussing on video games and the like.

eightyfish

hoomv?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBK-06C-mpQ

The Waltzing Consumer

speedboatchase wrote: »

Did you see Kick-Ass? Independently funded, very anti-Hollywood movie that took a lot of risks and won great reviews. According to very conflicting reports, it cost somewhere between $30m or $75m, more than likely it was near the latter. Anyways every movie needs to make at least double its production budget theatrically to be on the way to break even and Kick-Ass made $96m worldwide. Not bad, but not amazing either.

It was, however, pirated 11.4m times last year and becomed the second most-pirated movie of 2010, behind Avatar http://www.buzzfeed.com/ashleybaccam/most-pirated-films-of-2010. Pirates are very clued into what's going on and they're a very discerning audience - but their habits have changed and they're not going to pay - that's why Hollywood relies on sequels from audiences it knows will pay to see their product.

Even if you create the most amazing, risk-tasking venture to shake up the industry and win the pirates respect - they'll still just pirate your movie instead of going to see it. That's what happened to Kick-Ass and that's why Hollywood is pushing 3D cinema and sequels so hard

Well, that is the future with film. Hollywood have to reduce other costs like Actors fees if it wants to be profitable. Kick-Ass only cost around 25 million to make so if it is making 96 Million worldwide, that is pretty good and I would not complain.

3D sucks and yeah the only reason they push it is because you can't download it and watch it right. But still, it sucks and I ain't going to anymore of them. Same goes to sequels, they suck.

Avatar? You better believe it sucked. Bit of a pattern here. Sucky films and technology are sucking and not making money.

Edit: Greenzone? Sucked!

speedboatchase

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

Well, that is the future with film. Hollywood have to reduce other costs like Actors fees if it wants to be profitable. Kick-Ass only cost around 25 million to make so if it is making 96 Million worldwide, that is pretty good and I would not complain.

3D sucks and yeah the only reason they push it is because you can't download it and watch it right. But still, it sucks and I ain't going to anymore of them. Same goes to sequels, they suck.

Avatar? You better believe it sucked. Bit of a pattern here. Sucky films and technology are sucking and not making money.

Not making money? That'd be the Avatar which made $2.8bn and is the highest grossing movie of all time by $1.bn, that Avatar? Movies will get suckier because pirates, who as I said are generally clued up and have good taste, aren't paying to see movies, so movies are being made for everyone else.

c_man

diceyreilly wrote: »

Shameless Season 5 €56 hardly reasonable..

:eek: Jeepers! Leave aside (illegal) torrents, 4od is there in all its glory for free!


I got ripped off enough by them over the years. Was in there for the first time in ages before Christmas to pick up a release of a GAA DVD. Was absolutely shocked at some of the prices they were charging.

The Waltzing Consumer

speedboatchase wrote: »

Not making money? That'd be the Avatar which made $2.8bn and is the highest grossing movie of all time by $1.bn, that Avatar? Movies will get suckier because pirates, who as I said are generally clued up and have good taste, aren't paying to see movies, so movies are being made for everyone else.

Avatar is the exception to the rule. I can't see Piranha 3D or Saw 3d repeating that success, indeed any film. Avatar still sucked by the way.

If pirates are the cause of reduced quality, HBO would not exist then, and there are plenty and plenty of amazing films being created. I say you will find it is the big blockbuster sucky films where actors charge huge fees are the ones that lose money rather than low-budget or quality flicks.

bonerm

ilovesleep wrote: »

Horrific! HMV is my favourite shop ever. NO NO NO NO NO

?

admiralofthefleet

Nodin wrote: »

Evidently the policy of charging the absolute maximum for stuff is no longer sustainable. Other than sales, the only reason to go into their place would be in order to be apalled at the prices.

and to look at posters with diddys on them

thetonynator

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

and to look at posters with diddys on them

I think the internet may have ruined that too . .:P

That_Guy

That's a shame. I don't get the people saying that they're "rip off merchants" because to be honest I find them quite reasonable for their prices especially for games. I've always found them to be cheaper for franchise games such as COD, FIFA etc.

Boxsets are very reasonable too. Picked up the Alien Quadrilogy 2 years ago for €20.

I have seen single season box sets for a crazy amount but if you search hard enough you'll probably get 3 or 4 seasons for around the same price as one season.

Have never had a problem with the staff there. Always willing to help.

One thing that pisses me off though.... Their placing of CD's in wrong genre sections annoys me greatly.

Johnny Volume

ThisRegard wrote: »

To be fair it hasn't been as expensive as it used to be in a few years, it's actually fairly reasonable these days.

Too little, too late.

Max Power1

Hah I bet anyone who got HMV gift vouchers for Xmas will be rushing to spend them now!

Johnny Volume

That_Guy wrote: »

One thing that pisses me off though.... Their placing of CD's in wrong genre sections annoys me greatly.

Seriously, dude?!

Wolfe Tone

KnifeWRENCH wrote: »

Heh, I got a Shameless boxset there a couple of years ago. It was €40 but had all seasons 1-5 on it.
Paying €56 for one season is horrendous but €40 for five seasons ain't bad. Granted it was on sale but I was pretty happy with it.

On topic, this is dreadful news imo. I know people are downloading everything these days but I still love going into a music shop, browsing and buying actual physical CDs/DVDs. It works out a bit more expensive, but downloading just isn't the same.

They never have anything I want, selection of classic metal/80s metal is despicable. At least in the Drogheda store.

thetonynator

Just heard on rte now, its not even confirmed that any of their irish ones will be closing.

Antomus Prime

It s a shame that they're closing down but they have been ridiculously expensive!! You see new albums for as much as €25. Thats ridiculous!!! I download stuff alot but i also buy cd's and dvd's too. But not from big chain stores like this anymore because internet stores are much cheaper.

Worts part about it is all the jobs that will be lost

Antomus Prime

MUSSOLINI wrote: »

They never have anything I want, selection of classic metal/80s metal is despicable. At least in the Drogheda store.

Same in the tallaght store, never a decent collection of real music!!!

ThisRegard

I haven't seen a new release anywhere near €25 last time I was browsing, unless it was some form of special edition, and that was only last week, and not in the sale section either.

sitstill

They seem to have stopped giving student discounts lately too which no doubt drove a lot of students to downloading rather than buying in their stores.

Antomus Prime

ThisRegard wrote: »

I haven't seen a new release anywhere near €25 last time I was browsing, unless it was some form of special edition, and that was only last week, and not in the sale section either.

It's rare but i have seen them, far too much money considering you can DL from itunes for around a tenner per album, or even buy them off play.com for around the same

johndoe99

i buy the majority of my DVDs and Blurays off the HMV online, but i have never been in an HMV store.

Is there much of a difference in pricing online to a Store ?

Wolfe Tone

anthonyk.is wrote: »

Same in the tallaght store, never a decent collection of real music!!!

You nearly have to download it!


Although they had a Diamond Head cd the other day, I was shocked.

Dravokivich

Dravokivich wrote: »

Actually tried signing up to netflix over a year ago, was dissapointed we don't have that avail, or a similar service here alright.

An Post do it;

http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent/Personal+Customers/More+from+An+Post/Movies+by+Mail/

ThisRegard

anthonyk.is wrote: »

It's rare but i have seen them, far too much money considering you can DL from itunes for around a tenner per album, or even buy them off play.com for around the same

I picked up two recent releases from the last couple of months for less than a tenner each, one was €7.99 and the other was around that too, can't do much better than that. If you don't rush out to buy an album the day of release and are willing to wait you'll more often than not get it for around a tenner.

L'prof

Nodin wrote: »

Evidently the policy of charging the absolute maximum for stuff is no longer sustainable. Other than sales, the only reason to go into their place would be in order to be apalled at the prices.

Shocking value for BluRays, but I can't say I've found much value in any of the local shops.

Monkey61

speedboatchase wrote: »

(I remember The Strokes second album in Golden Discs for €25

Yes I know I am being a pedant in response to this...but no, no you didn't. There's no need to madly exaggerate.

I worked there for years and remember that being released. IIRC it was never over 18.95.

Golden Discs never charged 25 for an album that wasn't either a double/treble disc, Now compilation type thing and even then you would rarely be pushing 25.

HMV was always pretty pricey for non-sale items. I don't know about recently because I haven't shopped there in years and probably wouldn't again. Sale dvd boxset prices are awesome though.

aidan24326

This isn't really about HMV's prices, customer service or anything else, people just aren't buying CDs in anything like the same numbers. There was a time when that was more or less the only way you could acquire the music you wanted, but not so anymore.

Which has wider implications for the music industry as a whole. The internet killed the CD star methinks. I see a future where bands might have to go down the Radiohead route, make their music available online and if you like it you pay whatever you think it's worth, or whatever you can afford. A kind of honour system.

There will be no other way to do it unless the band in question use an encrypted website where that's the ONLY place you can buy their music, which is expensive and really only feasible for the bigger bands with a decent amount of money behind them.

Dravokivich

Deleted User wrote: »

An Post do it;

http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent/Personal+Customers/More+from+An+Post/Movies+by+Mail/

I'm more interested in a streaming solution as opposed to a "Rental by Post" solution.

Ann22

I never buy new release Dvds anyway..but I buy a lot of sale ones and boxsets for gifts. I'm miss it sorely if it goes. The one in Newry in particular always has great bargains, we rarely come out without buying something..However I buy more often in my local one. The staff in both are really nice and helpful in my experience.

Dave!

Any word on the HMV one? I know someone working there, has a young kid to be looking after :-/

Forest Master

diceyreilly wrote: »

Shameless Season 5 €56 hardly reasonable..

I know they're expensive, but I'm calling bullsh*t on this one.

Dan Dare

I hope this one is saved, the staff are friendly and interested in what they are selling, the CD's are reasonably priced, and God help us all if we end up buying our music in Tesco (and lets not forget Waterstones are owned by the same people as HMV).

speedboatchase

Monkey61 wrote: »

Yes I know I am being a pedant in response to this...but no, no you didn't. There's no need to madly exaggerate.

I worked there for years and remember that being released. IIRC it was never over 18.95.

Golden Discs never charged 25 for an album that wasn't either a double/treble disc, Now compilation type thing and even then you would rarely be pushing 25.

HMV was always pretty pricey for non-sale items. I don't know about recently because I haven't shopped there in years and probably wouldn't again. Sale dvd boxset prices are awesome though.

I swear to god man, Golden Discs in Liffey Valley the week it was released. Maybe it was the wrong price sticker but that's what it was

drdeadlift

do they not save for an icy day???

bonerm

Monkey61 wrote: »

Yes I know I am being a pedant in response to this...but no, no you didn't. There's no need to madly exaggerate.

I worked there for years and remember that being released. IIRC it was never over 18.95.

Golden Discs never charged 25 for an album that wasn't either a double/treble disc, Now compilation type thing and even then you would rarely be pushing 25.

I paid IEP£18 for a particular single disk album back in 1997 and I remember it specifically because I thought at the time "Right, I'm never doing that again" :mad: (it was the Virgin Megastore on Aston Quay. )

As such I don't see how a €25 in 2003 (albeit in a different store) would be completely impossible.

AAAAAAAHHH

Nodin wrote: »

Evidently the policy of charging the absolute maximum for stuff is no longer sustainable. Other than sales, the only reason to go into their place would be in order to be apalled at the prices.

Games are usually cheaper there than anywhere else (not including the internet).

Dave!

Dave! wrote: »

Any word on the HMV one? I know someone working there, has a young kid to be looking after :-/

Just realised that post doesn't make sense

Any word on the Grafton Street one?

thetonynator

Dave! wrote: »

Just realised that post doesn't make sense

Any word on the Grafton Street one?

The grafton street one is always incredibly busy (any time i've been there anyway - which isn't often!) and they're fairly cheap as well, so i doubt they'll be closing.

AntiMatter

Dave! wrote: »

Any word on the Grafton Street one?

The campaign to get him released hasn't been successful to date.

RobitTV

The continuing woes of HMV underline one major fact of life. Thanks to recession, technological change and wider social trends, the record shop as a mass-market phenomenon now belongs to a bygone age.

HMV has been struggling to move away from that business model for some time, following a "transformation plan" that began in March 2007.

But as it has diversified into other areas, it has started to lose its distinctiveness.

In other countries, retailers with more focus are selling CDs either as "cultural products" or "technological products". HMV is in danger of forgetting why it wanted to sell CDs at all.

The continuing woes of HMV underline one brutal fact of High Street life: the days of a nationwide store chain devoted entirely to selling music are gone forever.

grizzly

I'm surprised that it lasted this long. I've not bought a music CD in 5 years, since I've digitised my collection it doesn't make sense. Sure it's nice having a physical copy but it's nicer having shelf space and €€€.

mariaalice

This thread is such a coincident!!!...i was in HMV today and was just thinking how is this shop still trading.

Guy:Incognito

The Waltzing Consumer wrote: »

Ah they ain't as bad as Tower Records when it comes to hipsters, HMV is just full of students.

Back on topic. F**k them, they ripped us off for years, and I laughed when I saw it is the same company which owns Waterstones, another company which overcharges and has ripped us off for years. Yeah, yeah, pity about the jobs, but it is an awful company full of annoying security guards following you and unfriendly staff avoiding you. Not exactly a surprise people don't shop there.

Download everything!

Are you sure its not just you? I've never had any trouble gettign helped by staff or been followed by security.

Nolanger

Nodin wrote: »

Other than sales, the only reason to go into their place would be in order to be apalled at the prices.

€27.40 for Mobb Deep's first CD album in HMV, Grafton Street!

Kimono-Girl

Oh not HMV :eek: now where will i buy my iTunes vouchers!

bonerm wrote: »

I paid IEP£18 for a particular single disk album back in 1997 and I remember it specifically because I thought at the time "Right, I'm never doing that again" :mad: (it was the Virgin Megastore on Aston Quay. )

As such I don't see how a €25 in 2003 (albeit in a different store) would be completely impossible.

when i worked there a few years ago golden discs used have only €19.95, €18.95 €20.95...etc stickers, never round figures, i think they used round figures once in their €5 €7 €9 sale, that was the only time i ever saw stickers like that, so €25 sounds wrong, new albums all charted at €19.95 while i was there unless it was one of those 'Now' albums, or a cd/dvd combo one in which case it could have been more....just my opinion on the matter anyways...