Recent changes...

After discussing the possibility of partnering up with a co-student Ben Hale, we decided to work together on the project. I have been looking to BBC Radio 6 and BBC Radio 2 for their feature length documentaries on music.

So far we have a fully recorded interview with James Morrison experienced independent musician and a short written interview with Tom Buchart, that I will re-record due to bad sound quality.

Interview with Tom Buchart of SounditOut!

R.Welsh:  The Sound It Out! Documentary directed by Jeanie Finlay has received national and even international credibility having been aired on BBC Four, screened at Cambridge, Norwich, Sweden and even Australia how did you react to such exposure?

Tom Buchart:  Honestly it blew us away, she made a little documentary we were expecting to sell in the shop, then the film was chosen to premier in Austin Texas at the South West Film Festival that was March 2011 and ever since then it has snowballed. We were also shown in cinemas in Sweden in Canada and Germany, we've even had e-mails from people in China who have seen it, because its been bootlegged onto the internet

R.Welsh: Independent record stores tend to be the more honest and genuine distributors would you agree?


Tom Buchart: I would agree if we sell an album we stock its because we believe it to be good, we wouldn't want to mislead people

R.Welsh: How did you react to the HMV's failure and the possibility of them being liquidated in the future?

Tom Buchart: The HMV scandal? believe it or not we're actually quite upset by it! so is Stuart who works in the shop. The first time I ever heard a Pixies record it was in HMV, I bought my copy of Loveless by My Bloody Valentine from HMV the year it was released, which is one of my favourite records. It used to be all about the music but over the past decade it has become more concentrated and its now dictated by the charts and sales that exist only in the top 40. I think its due to extensive administration and bad marketing, the big wigs were telling them how to play music in every retail store in the country, you are doomed if you're just going to play pop-music! And pop-music as a genre isn't worth anything over time. For example you could buy a Will Young album for 10 pounds this year but a year on it will sell for 90 pence. Its all about instant downloadable gratification. We are very old school in our approach but some of our records feature free MP3 downloads. Our customers vary from all ages, from 8 to 80, its great seeing Dads bring their kids into the shop.

R.Welsh: Do you think the internet is hampering music or bettering it?

Tom Buchart: I'd say its a case of both, you can now send mixes over the internet to all your friends as opposed to making tapes like I used to years ago. People are getting sick of the mp3 culture, its not happening in big cities but I believe it is happening in the North East. People would rather purchase records from a local independent record store because its a physical thing, you're holding a product and listening to it, its a package, something you physically own. The internet is making it easier for people to share music, you can perform online, stream DJ sets and live performances through SoundCloud, technology has moved the music industry in so many ways, and its seeming as if it is for the better.