The 70 minute film also interviews members of Timmons' dedicated, knowledgeable and passionate young staff as well as many other indie store owners throughout America. The questions asked here and the ability of the filmmakers to keep the discussion on target compared to the more rambling reminiscences of "Last Shop Standing" help produce answers that are more pointed and a stronger narrative thread. I don't mean to be critical of "Last Shop Standing" because it too is a "must see" for any record lover and collector, but "Brick and Mortar Love" is a more gripping, more focused film that produces a surprising amount of dramatic tension and strong emotions.
But what truly sets this movie apart is its focus on but one store over an extended period of time. We watch ear X-tacy go from a thriving record and CD store in the mid-eighties mold to a struggling one (still in the mid-eighties mold), where despite in-store benefits from some well known musicians and a teary online plea to customers for more business from owner Timmons that produces some short term cash flow benefits, the store is forced to close and move to a smaller location.
Timmons remains optimistic as the night before opening day his loyal customers line up outside the door, yet there are some nasty comments online from the less understanding, more "price is everything" type music buyers who don't understand the value of having a local record store in the community—something they would get after a screening of this movie!
What ultimately happens is something you'll have to discover by watching the movie, which I highly recommend for its truthful story telling and for its ability to put yourself in a store owner's shoes.
The drama here is surprisingly deep and it is real.
Watch the trailer
COMMENTS
Not to have ago personally at Gubarenko but why provide a link to exactly the main culprit in the closure of so many indie stores a giant multinational that goes out of its way to avoid paying taxes to enable it to undercut its competitors.
Why not provide links to a number of bricks & motar stores (or ones with online sales) so that they can survive when the odds are so stacked against their success.
I think it's fine that he posts links. You don't have to click on it. And amazon isn't what killed record stores. I love having local record stores and earxtacy will be sorely missed, but what killed it wasn't new mediums, but the industry's unwillingness to change models. The store that earxtacy was in prior to their last move was huge, with an upstairs, and a ton of space. When I see record stores that continue to thrive they are much smaller affairs. After the move the store was still too big. Why not scale it down much smaller, fire most employees and start from scratch? I'd much have a smaller earxtacy that could grow again than one that closed completely.
Also, the first plea was one thing, but the second in the new location was really desperate. It placed blame solely on the people purchasing instead of on the person running the business. Is it my responsibility your store stays open? Or is it yours to create a model that works in today's economy and music industry?
Amazon has become a search engine for online buyers, which makes it more broad and a lots to choose from.
20four7va
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