[78-L] Exciting times at the record store

[Michael Biel]

On 1/15/2011 10:29 PM, David Lennick wrote:
> On 1/15/2011 9:49 PM, Steven C. Barr wrote:
>> From: "David Lennick"<dlennick at sympatico.ca>
>>> This was where the swells bought their records in Toronto in 1945. From a
>>> Royal
>>> Alexandra theatre program.
>>> http://keithwright.ca//RoyalAlex/promenade001.jpg
>>>
>> Nope...WAY too late...! What I am trying to establish is (as close as
>> possible)
>> WHEN record "stores" changed from franchised dealers of specific labels
>> into places that sold ALL labels...?! IIRC I have digital images of ads that
>> offered virtually ALL labels dating from c.1936-7...!
>>
>> I know there was a famous court battle here in Ontario, Canada...the
>> store was a franchised Victor dealer, but was also selling "Two Black
>> Crows" Columbia discs. Victor tried to revoke their franchise on those
>> grounds; however, the courts held they couldn't...!
>>
>> Steven C. Barr
>>
> Wal, sir, I know that the place in St. Mary's, Ontario which closed its record
> bar around 1930 and never returned the unsold stock (where tons of mint stuff
> turned up in 1989, all snapped up by folks like Dave Ross, Earl Mathewson and
> myself) had full runs of Columbia, Apex and Edison, but not one Victor.
>
> dl

Steve -- Go to the Toronto library and look at the ads in the phone book 
microfilms, and in the Business Directories.  Then look thru some random 
Sunday newspapers.

Judging from what I was researching last year, I think franchising fell 
apart in 1930.  Just about every record company changed hands between 
1929 and 1931.  By 1933 when I was looking at journals last year while 
researching album covers, stores didn't identify with only one label.  
Commodore, Liberty Music Shop, Gramophone Shop, Rabsons, NY Band 
Instrument, and  H. Royer Smith are all examples.  American Music Lover 
and HRSmiths "The New Records"   are publications which in the former 
had store ads, and in the latter was a store publication listing 
multiple labels.  One other major category of record outlets were record 
departments in department stores, and they might have broken the 
franchise exclusivity problem first.  When RCA took over Victor, it was 
a re-allignment in radio and electronics appliance stores and 
departments.  The shortlived Grigsby-Gronouw (Majestic) holding of 
Columbia might have pulled the records into refrigerator stores that 
carried Majestic, in addition to radio departments.  All this fell apart 
when ARC seemingly took almost every non-Victor label over.  I don't 
think they ever franchised on an exclusive basis.

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com