Comment: HMV should celebrate difference to become a destination again

This week’s suggestions that labels like Universal, Warner and Sony will join forces to “save” HMV don’t necessarily bode well for the brand’s long term viability. There is a danger their involvement could perpetuate old model thinking, put formats before fans, and prevent the necessary transformation that needs to take place.

HMV have spent the last few years turning their high street presence into mini identikit versions of an Amazon warehouse. Each one stocks what some believe is the same anodyne guff anyone can buy cheaper online – we’re only likely to go in if we know what we want. There’s a parallel in the world of fast food or fast fashion: restaurant chain Byron Burger sells patties all over London but no two restaurants are the same because no two sites are the same. Topshop has different stock in every store, spanning the range from big volume to boutique. What if HMV Hackney had exclusives that HMV Kings Road didn’t? 

HMV has some iconic retail locations, but there is no reason to meet your mate in the once brilliant Oxford Street store. HMV could stop acting like a supermarket and became a destination again. A place you want to hang out in and experience the passionate, exciting and escapist world of music that shaped young identities and returns spirit to old ones. In-store gigs, record label take-overs, second-hand sellers, boutique concessions. Give His Masters Voice some personality again.

Starbucks match their stores to the locations. They’re places where people hang out and meet others. And while some of HMV’s current stores might be the wrong size, there is still a place for various sizes and shapes of HMV stores up and down the country. 

And even better if they’re staffed by passionate experts, like the wine lovers at Majestic. People that live and breathe the product, where a conversation with someone in store always leads you to walking away with more great discoveries. Amazon proudly claims to never have accidents but we’ve all discovered brilliant bands by accident. HMV can be the place where we celebrate difference and discovery again.

Finally, embrace digital. Not as a competitor to the retail store, but something that compliments it and gives people more of what they want. Just like our music tastes are a mixed bag of obscure artists and guilty pleasures, so too are our listening habits that include Spotify, vinyl, iTunes and good old radio. Digital isn’t just a channel. It’s an easy way to play a more useful role in customers lives, more than just when they come into store to buy something. HMV can lead the way with curated email newsletters, surprising online radio stations, and shared playlists for all the music moments in our life. 

Digital has enabled us to listen to more music than ever before. This is a great thing. HMV can be one of the few brands at the very top of the tree that help us get more into music and become fans. Real fans feel music and will follow it everywhere, and that’s a powerful place from which to build a brand. 

• Chris Moody is Creative Director at Wolff Olins