HMV

There’s an HMV near where I work. In the 90s, this chain sold CDs. (You may remember it from the rip n’ return days, when a liberal exchange policy meant you could buy, rip and return CDs at the original price). Over the course of this decade, it gradually transformed into a DVD outlet, with CDs now relegated to a hits strip at the front and some meager racks at the back.

In the past few years, video games have made an incursion, taking a great deal of the front area. Blu-Ray has of course made an appearance, and even iPod accessories.

In short, the store is a microcosm of the modern entertainment media landscape.

I went in there last week. A whole boatload of DVDs are selling at $6, including many good ones. Racks of old games for $20. A security guard yawns by the door. The place is a ghost town.

Again, microcosm.