HMV: The Irish Music Community reacts

As we learn that the High Court have appointed David Carson of Deloitte as the receiver of HMV Ireland, reaction has come flooding in on what all this means for the industry.

Aside from job losses, the effect on Irish artists can't be underplayed.

Last night, Julie Feeney voiced her concerns, tweeting:

"Feel selfish to say it but really worried about HMV and losing income I was really counting on from album sales. Very scared. What a jungle."

Solo star, Voice Of Ireland judge and former Blizzards man Bressie has just written his own blog post on the issue, in which he concludes:

"HMV closing is just an inevitable side effect of a potentially bigger issue in terms of the music industry with many people sadly losing their jobs. It’s like global warming; a lot of folk won’t believe it exists until our seas flood our homes and the sun burns our crops, in the same (but obviously entirely less important) way people don’t really believe the music industry will ever go under. It’s now clearly evident that the industry is on its knees and this was happening long before the recession ever lifted its filthy bollixy head.
The question is, do we care?"

The Riptide Movement are one up-and-coming local act that have benefited from a strong relationship with HMV in the past. Lead singer Mal Tuohy offered Hot Press the band's take on things:

"We're sad to see HMV go into administration, both as customers and as artists. It is always nice to float around a record shop for a few hours on a Saturday or Sunday. You can't beat music in a physical format – you get to appreciate the artwork, read about the work that goes into an album, the musicians that played on it, the producers...
"It's sad to see so many people's jobs in jeopardy. HMV were always good to us and stocked our CDs when we had no distributor. Gary Roche in HMV Grafton St. is a legend and really played a big part in helping our band grow. By prominently pushing our CDs on the shop floor, he helped us on our way to two top 20 albums in the Irish charts. The same can be said for Fergal in Liffey Valley – good shop managers who knew their business well."

He did strike a slightly more positive note, however:

"I guess it's a sign of the times, it confirms the demand for physical music is waning as the digital age grows stronger by the day. It has its pros and cons but I like to think the power is reverting back to the artist... You always hear the music industry is dying. It's not dying, it's changing. And like life itself, it will always find a way to survive. It's a moving train, and sadly sometimes the best of us get left behind."

DIY label Out On A Limb offered their independent perspective:

"Our titles used to be stocked in there via our then distributor. Since we've moved to a more vinyl-orientated label, we've just been dealing more directly with the independent stores. In the earlier days of the label, it was always nice popping into a HMV and seeing the releases stocked there, sometimes amongst some dubious titles! We'd still have some back catalogue in the stores. I met Albert who co-founded the label (who know works in Plugd in Cork) when I started going to college in Limerick and he worked in HMV."

Up North, Belfast's Melted Music argue a similar point, suggesting that, whilst their thoughts go out to HMV staff, they've found it hard to relate to such a big chain:

Label boss: Matt Agnew: "We’ve always sold our music via independent record shops. I believe that theirs more customer loyalty to an indie as local music fans felt that it’s their sense of duty to keep their local shop open. You’ll likely find a cheaper option online and therefore you need loyal customers to keep coming in.
"It’s hard to identify with a big chain like HMV, they all looked the same and didn’t really pay attention to home grown music. Obviously, I don’t want to see people lose jobs but if HMV is to close, one positive is that maybe it means more trade for independents."