News breaks this week that HMV will be closing 60 of their stores, leading to large-scale redundancies. The focus is inevitably stated to be shifting towards online services. Recently, Blockbuster in the US hit financial problems, leading to it filing for bankruptcy.
None of this is especially surprising, given the shifting landscape of DVD/film viewing, renting and buying. I am not qualified to offer any purported insight into the financial intricacies of HMV or Blockbuster, however I would like to proffer some thoughts on how they have reached this inevitable predicament and where we go from here.
Before the advent of DVDs and online sales/rentals of DVDs or videos, our only option was to go into the local high street branch of HMV, Woolworths or WHSmith or visit our local independent video store and buy or rent our chosen film. This was in fact a lot of fun. Although I am showing my age a little, as a sixth-former in the early to mid-nighties, there was little I enjoyed more (when my timetable threw up an afternoon off school) than popping into my local video store and finding something to rent and watch. Likewise, when a birthday or Christmas left me with a few quid to spare, or even better, HMV vouchers, I would travel into London and visit the HMV on Oxford Street to peruse its incomparably wide range of films and buy something suitably violent and entertaining. It was great to work along the aisles, seeking out an obscure gem, hunting an unexpected bargain (Casablanca, remastered special edition on VHS for £5.00!) and generally enjoying the prospect of stumbling upon something great (or picking up another Steven Seagal slap-fest).
It goes without saying that those days are long gone. I have not rented a DVD since June 2010 and only then because I had a Blockbuster voucher. I have not bought a DVD from a shop in as long as I can remember and I cannot name a single independent DVD rental outlet that I know to still be in business. The Blockbuster near where I work has closed and been replaced by a Frankie & Bennys and I suspect that the local HMV will go the same way. It is inevitable that this would happen. VHS tapes were always too fragile and heavy for cheap postal and therefore the rise of DVD coupled with the explosion of online traders renders conventional shops increasingly obsolete. Without the overheads of hefty lease payments for high street shop fronts and large numbers of staff, online traders can drive prices down, needing only to cover the cost of basic warehouse space and a couple of members of staff to process payments and dispatch purchases. For a product like a DVD or Blu-ray, where you don't need to try it on, see if it fits, measure it up or sit on it for a comfort-check, online purchases are perfect and in a culture where competitive pricing is key, the cheapest price gets the sale.
I'm not so naive as to get all misty-eyed and nostalgic at this point. I'm not launching a one-man crusade to save HMV stores and independent DVD rental outlets. I bought numerous DVDs for family and friends before Christmas and found the cheapest online price I could for every one. I have signed up to yet another free trial with an online DVD rental provider and will cancel it before I have to make any payments. I am as cynical and financially-driven as anyone on this subject but I do still wish to offer some contrary perspective.
It is still hugely enjoyable to peruse a DVD shop or rental store. When you suddenly fancy watching a certain film that night and don't want to wait for it to arrive in the post, it is good to be able to pop into HMV or Blockbuster (other suppliers, shops and outlets available) and buy or rent it. I like being able to surprise my kids by coming home with a DVD and some popcorn for a family DVD night, organised on short notice and it just doesn't feel as exciting when you're merely waiting for something family friendly to come through from your online rental wish-list. I miss popping out to the video shop to see whether they had some mindless straight-to-video effort that I hadn't seen and fancied a stab at and I miss the family video nights of my teens, when we would rent four films, mum would get in some pizzas and Coke and we would sit up until the small hours.
As technology has advanced, even the "fancy watching something at the last minute" argument cannot hold up. Streaming of films on demand, downloads on iTunes and similar, BBC iPlayer and the like - they all cater for our impatience or lack of forward planning, filling the gap created by our increasingly impulsive natures.
So, this is not an elegy. I do not wish to revert to the sentimental "good old days". I like being able to buy cheap/free DVDs and my own buying and renting habits show I am as much a part of this recent trend as anyone. As someone who went through a redundancy experience last year, I sympathise with all those whole will lose their jobs in the new upheaval at HMV. It is a grotty situation and I hope all of those affected will be okay in the long run, but it had to happen. The changes in the market are forcing businesses to adapt or perish.
I still miss the experiences of my teen years, but we all have to move on as technological advances transition us into a new era.
