Documentary Explores Demise of Small Record Stores
An award-winning documentary co-produced and directed by Alma
College instructional technologist Andrew Bare is airing on public
television stations throughout Michigan.
“Closing Doors: Demise of a Small Record Store” aired on WCMU in Mount
Pleasant Sept. 24 and 29. It also is scheduled to air on other
Michigan PBS stations and is being considered for airing on PBS
stations nationally.
The half-hour documentary focuses primarily on The Sound Depot, an Alma
record store now closed, and New Moon Records, a Mount Pleasant store
that is struggling to survive.
“The
documentary looks at the local impact of both stores while examining
the national phenomenon of record store closings,” says Bare. “The
impact of record company conglomeration, low prices at discount stores
and file sharing via the Internet have put a stranglehold on the
majority of small stores and even many large chains.
“Consumers are now faced with a decision that many probably never even
recognize exists; they must either support the small record stores in
their communities, or prepare for the extinction of an important part
of American culture that many have taken for granted,” he says.
The documentary started as a class project with co-producer Tim O’Brien
when both were graduate students at Michigan State University. It won
“Best of Show” and “People’s Choice” awards at the MSU Digital Media
Arts and Technology annual student showcase and awards event.
“When I was a college student in Mount Pleasant, there were four music
stores in town,” he says. “All four now are gone. There is no place to
go in Mount Pleasant to get a record unless you go to Walmart, Kmart or
Meijer. Local record stores are dwindling everywhere. It is sweeping
Los Angeles and New York. Well over half of the record stores that
existed 10 years ago are now gone.”
Bare and O’Brien did all the research, production and post-production
for the documentary, with Jay Shurtliff helping with graphics.
The documentary has been put on the PBS satellite and made available to every PBS station in the country, says Bare.
“A number of stations have taken an interest, including those in
Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Toledo; and New York,” he says. “To go
from research to this point and seeing it scheduled on PBS stations for
airing is very exciting. To actually see it in TV Guide is pretty amazing.”
In addition to WCMU, PBS stations in Flint, Grand Rapids and Lansing plan to air the documentary later in the year, says Bare.
Posted: Thu, October 11th, 2007 at 4:32PM
