互联网冲击CD市场 老字号无法招架
星报通讯社/多伦多市中心央街Sam the Record Man店，被视为这个城市的文化与音乐地标。市民总爱到那儿探听最新的音乐潮流，跟友侪们聚脚聊天，如果幸运的话，也许能一睹音乐界天皇巨星的风采！
然而，面对唱片零售业的激烈竞争，以及因互联网的关系，令CD销路不断下滑，Sam the Record Man店终于无法招架，宣布今年6月底全面结业。根据加拿大唱片业数据所示，单是2007年首个季度，CD销售量已下降35%。
波比．施尼达文(Bobby Sniderman)在周二发表的新闻公布中表示，该店今次的负责任决定，是确认了唱片业现时的处境，以及技术的不断冲击。
波比是该店现时的东主之一，亦是该个唱片店王国创办人森姆．施尼达文(Sam Sniderman)其中一名儿子。
1961年开业
他在公布中称，这儿有一个人们爱听的故事，但并非业界的现况，而是关乎一个经营了整整70年唱片零售的家族生意，期间这家族为音乐业界、为加国艺术界和整个社区献上全盘心力。Sam the Record Man店是加国最为人熟悉的名字，一个不会随时间烟没的名字。
森姆．施尼达文1937年时在兄长开设的收音机店售卖唱片。央街的Sam the Record Man旗舰店是在1961年开业。经过40多年的努力经营，分布全国的连锁店已有130间。央街的总店面积达4万平方尺。2002年，该店售卖的唱片有40万款。
他亦热心为加国音乐表演者提供协助，包括Joni Mitchell、Gordon Lightfoot、Anne Murray和像Guess Who等的乐队。因为他对加国音乐事业的贡献而获颁加拿大勋章。
该店2001年遇到困难，10月申请破产，12月底关门，后又重开。来自大型音乐店如HMV和折扣店如沃尔玛(Wal-Mart)的激烈竞争以及互联网下载音乐的普遍，令Sam the Record Man店受到严重打击。距离该店不远的A&A唱片店早于90年代结业。
售卖正版光碟店铺不惧翻版
星岛日报/位于多伦多的老字号音乐碟店铺Sam the Record Man宣布今年6月底全面结业，而在美国著名的TOWERS音乐店在同一天宣布结业，反映售卖正版光碟的市场似有式微现象。在华社向以售卖正版光碟的店铺认为，虽然翻版光碟确实会影响正版的销路，但仍拥有一批喜爱正版的顾客支持。
目前在本地售卖正版光碟的店铺并不多，其中开业多年的广播道，其职员表示，市面上售卖翻版光碟的店铺林立，真正出售正版的可说是寥寥可数。除了部分消费者购买翻版外，一些年青人亦会在网上下载音乐及电影，对正版的销售市场造成冲击。该店向来出售正版光碟，也拥有支持的顾客，所以不乏销路。
另一间属于老字号的娱乐城，也是售卖正版音乐、电影电影剧集的店铺。其中当值的职员说，由于主管不在店内，不能代表公司发表意见。
但她个人认为，即使市面上售卖翻版光碟风气盛行，但其质素较差，因此有不少顾客宁可前来购买正版，这样较有保障，销售也是尚好。
销量跌 难敌竞争 逾50年唱片老店月底结业
【明报专讯】在央街夹登打士街多市最热闹地段开设的城中音乐制品名店“Sam the Record Man”，在经营了50多年之后，已经决定，将于下月底关闭，退出历史舞台。事件被多伦多一些英文媒体形容为是“一个时代的终结”。
该店创办人斯尼德曼(Sam Sniderman)的两个儿子Jason和Bobby昨天表示，导致他们做出关店决定的主要因素，包括CD销售的下降趋势；音乐制品业技术日新月异的变化，包括网上下载音乐的技术；和来自其他连锁店的竞争。
该公司发出的新闻稿称，“我们是在正视音乐制品业目前的状态，和技术变化影响之后，才做出这个负责任的决定的”。
新闻稿称，店门虽然即将关闭，但该店的影响则将长留在加拿大的历史上。今后如果有新的机会来临，他们还会考虑东山再起，扩大品牌。
这间音乐制品店是从一间家庭商业起家的。创办人斯尼德曼早于1936年开始在他兄弟的无线电商店里卖唱片。
至1961年，在现在的地方开设了这间音乐制品店。到高峰时，该店在全加拿大拥有130间连锁店，央街的店就成为旗舰商店。
该店因销售加拿大音乐家、歌唱家的作品而闻名，帮助一些本地尚未成名的音乐人销售唱片。斯尼德曼并因此获得过加拿大勋章。许多加拿大最出名音乐名人都来过该店，并留下许多照片。
当听到这间店将关闭的消息时，一些本地传媒人表示，央街上没有了这间音乐制品店，央街就不是原来的央街了。
这间总店占地4万平方尺，门面上部装有巨大的唱片，夜间则霓虹灯闪亮，被当成市中心的地标之一，经常吸引许多游客。2002年，店内拥有40万件各类音乐制品。
在总店关闭之后，这间曾经一度气势恢宏的唱片店，就只剩下2间独立店了。都在安省，分别在Belleville和Sarnia。
该店早在2001年已经破产过一次，但于次年由两兄弟重开。当时两兄弟也曾经有过雄心壮志，但互联网下载和超市也参与售卖音响制品，最终令到该商店无力竞争。
Sam the Record Man finally signs off
Yonge St. store will close for good on June 30, unable to compete with downloads and superstores
May 30, 2007 04:30 AM
Debra Black
Staff Reporter
It was an iconic landmark in Toronto – both culturally and musically. Everybody who was anybody in Toronto went to Sam the Record Man on Yonge St. to get the latest music, hang out and, if you were lucky, maybe catch a glimpse of a burgeoning music star.
But as of the end of June, Sam the Record Man is finally closing its doors – a victim of the vagaries of the retail record business and declining CD sales thanks to the Internet. According to Canadian record industry statistics, sales of CDs have dropped 35 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 alone.
“We are making a responsible decision in recognizing the status of the record industry and the increasing impact of technology,” said Bobby Sniderman in a news release issued yesterday.
Sniderman is one of the present owners of the store and one of the sons of Sam Sniderman, the man who built the record store dynasty that rivalled many around the world.
“But there is a wonderful story to be told here, not about the current state of the industry, but about a family business that operated for 70 years in record retailing. Throughout that time our family has made significant contributions to the music industry, for Canadian artists and to the community as a whole …
“This is about more than just bricks and mortar; Sam the Record Man is the most recognizable name in the Canadian music industry, an iconic legacy that will forever endure …”
Sam Sniderman first began selling records out of his brother’s radio shop in 1937. The flagship store on Yonge St. – with its garish neon signs of spinning records – was opened in 1961. Over 40 or so years, Sniderman turned it from a one-shop operation into a successful chain of 130 stores across Canada. The Yonge St. store covered 40,000 square feet. In 2002, it carried 400,000 titles.
Sniderman took pride in his business as baby boomers and music lovers flocked to his Yonge St. music shrine, famous for its Boxing Day lineups and discounts.
“That was the point where I knew every record in the store,” he told the Star’s Mitch Potter in 2001. “Sometimes I got stumped. But more often than not, you could ask me for the most obscure record on the planet and I would disappear for a few minutes and come back with it in my hands.”
Along the way Sniderman also helped Canadian performers, including Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and bands like the Guess Who. His contribution to the music business earned him an Order of Canada.
But the company ran into trouble in 2001, filing for bankruptcy in October and closing its doors in late December. Competition from music superstores such as HMV and discount retailers like Wal-Mart, coupled with Internet downloads, all spelled trouble for the Toronto record retailer. A&A Records two doors away also closed in the 1990s.
At the Boxing Day sale that year, consumers were upset that Sam the Record Man was closing. “I used to come here as a kid to buy 33s for 66 cents,” one Hamilton man told the Star. “I would buy early Beach Boys, the Beatles. It has been my life tradition.”
The legendary flagship store opened again in January 2002, however, as a new company owned by Sniderman’s two sons, Bobby and Jason Sniderman.
Bobby Sniderman wasn’t available for comment yesterday.
The two brothers had big plans. But the popularity of the Internet and music superstores proved too much.
Despite valiant efforts, the brothers just couldn’t make it work. Sam the Record Man on Yonge St. will close its doors on June 30.
Two franchise operations in Belleville and Sarnia will remain open.
EDITORIAL：The day the music die
May 31, 2007 04:30 AM
The landmark Sam The Record Man store on Yonge St. was more than just a place to buy the latest music. For decades, music-loving kids in the Toronto area went there to buy vinyl LPs and, later, tapes and CDs. The old building, with its garish signs of spinning records, was known for its vast selection and helpful staff who could steer customers through the narrow aisles to find almost any musical request.
But after 70 years, the family business is closing for good on June 30, the victim of declining CD sales, thanks mainly to the Internet.
Sam Sniderman, who began selling records out of his brother’s radio shop in 1937 and opened the flagship store in 1961, was more than just a record seller. He was a passionate promoter of Canadian music, giving many homegrown artists such as Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell and the Guess Who the shelf space that helped launch their careers.
Sam The Record Man has been a fixture on Yonge St., both musically and culturally. Music lovers everywhere will mourn its passing.
Your Sam the Record Man memories
May 31, 2007 11:12 AM
We asked you to tell us your Sam the Record Man memories. Here’s what you had to say.
I’ve been going to Sam’s for nearly 45 years. My most memorable experience was lining up to buy the Beatles’ White Album on the first day it went on sale. A Sam’s employee was just taking the albums out of box and writing the price on the cover with a magic marker. Probably half my CD collection comes from Sam’s. I’ll be sorry to see it go.
Thomas Linderoos, Toronto
Sam’s will be missed. No other retailer besides the web had such a wide selection of artists and back catalog. I miss the Montreal store very much and would go to the Yonge St. store every time I came to visit Toronto. A knowledgeable staff and wide selection are now going to be even more difficult to find.
Kevin McCoy, Montreal
The legacy that Sam the Record Man has built should be honoured by the City of Toronto. It should be named a Historical Landmark and perhaps it could become the home of the Canadian Record and Music Hall of Fame.
Patrick Rutledge, Toronto
I remember going to Sam’s to find a record that I couldn’t find anywhere unless I ordered it from Europe. I was lucky enough that Sam himself was in the store that day. I asked a clerk and he then asked Sam, and low and behold, Sam came through with a copy. I even got it at regular price rather than import all because Sam and I had something in common: love of music. You will be missed.
Laurence Habel, Vancouver
Sam the Record Man on Yonge St. is as important to this city as the CN Tower. I will always remember taking the subway from Scarborough and spending hours in the store. I’d search every inch of the store buying music, compiling a wish list and talking to the staff about music. I will truly miss Sam the Record Man and will always look back at those excursions with a smile.
Troy St. Denis, Oshawa
I remember coming to visit my brother in hospital and going to Sam’s to buy him 45s from the CHUM Top 100. He developed quite a collection.
Elvina Barclay, Etobicoke
I remember visiting Toronto and buying records at Sam’s. It is a shame that this landmark could not survive. I would think a civic-minded individual or company would purchase the building and reopen it as a restaurant or music club, keeping the Sam’s name as part of Toronto landscape.
Mark Pardue, Fergus, Ont.
I still buy a lot of music from Sam’s, since they are more knowledgeable and carry more esoteric stock in music then the Big Box/Wal-Mart stores will ever sell. In the article it says that CD sales are down. Could it be that a lot of great artists get little or no radio play so people can’t hear them? So why would you buy a CD from an artist you haven’t heard before?
Alan Whitley, Toronto
When I immigrated to Canada in the early 80s from Vietnam, I knew nothing about English music. My sister’s boyfriend took me to Sam the Record Man. I was overwhelmed with the selections. I ended up making my first ever purchase of English music, a single LP of U2’s “With or Without You” at Sam the Record Man. I still have it at home.
Jett Chow, Toronto
Thanks to Sam’s and my father, my grounding in fine music started young and has continued undiminished for almost 70 years. I hope the thieving downloaders are happy with their handiwork.
Larry Solway, Toronto
Almost 30 years ago, I walked into the store looking for what I figured was an impossible find: a recording of the Christmas children’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitor for my Dad. Sam managed to floor me; I had looked by myself for half an hour before going to him and within 5 minutes he was back with a copy of the original recording from the CBS annual Christmas broadcast from 1951. So instead of sitting around a TV, we sat around the record player and had wonderful memories of Christmas’s long, long ago.
Judy Kennedy, Campbell River, B.C.
