Bottle’s Music will get a much needed infusion of new stuff later this week, so I thought I’d take a moment to tell you about the biz.
Firstly, I’m just a guy who loves listening to records. I love all sorts of music, but I prefer albums. Real albums, collections of songs or pieces that add up to a unique and coherent experience; Album as Art. So, I started a record store and named it after a fictional character called Bottle the Curmudgeon. There’s a whole big back story, but that’s not important right now.
Lots of things I don’t like about the music industry, but as an human what I really don’t like is going to a crummy marketplace and sifting through thousands of drop-shipper listings. I’d much rather walk into a real record store and sift through the bins to find something intriguing. I want to buy records from a real person, not some random giant corporate vampire. There’s a place and a purpose for huge corporations, but demanding i buy a franchise to sell records isn’t it. I buy stuff I think is cool, and i only sell what I physically have. I don’t have a boss, and I don’t have employees, I do it all myself. When you buy something at bottlesmusic.com, you’re buying it straight from me and i spread that money around as best I can.
Where do I buy my records? 1) from an east coast wholesaler and a west coast wholesaler, both independent distributors/retailers I can personally talk to if necessary. 2) straight from independent labels who have graciously allowed me to buy at wholesale prices. Sometimes I take advantage of their clearance/special sales and price them accordingly. 3) directly from bands/artists who are willing to give me a fair bulk discount. We all have to make money somehow, and i’m not looking to rip anybody off. Long story short, i buy my inventory from real people because I want them to succeed.
Which brings me to my real point. I’m an actual person, and you can talk to me. Facebook, bluesky, email, the website contact form, it all connects to me, and I’m more than happy to make a deal or spend time searching for your shopping list so you don’t have to. I’m not demanding you like records, I’m just asking you to consider buying some cool obscure stuff from a real human rather than generic corporate pop from a generic corporate franchise.
As a person my goal is to buy food and pay my bills and make music happen, as a business my goal is to buy more music from artists and labels. I don’t want to be told what to sell by the major labels and distributors, I want to sell things I like and support. Being a millionaire doesn’t interest me much, helping a cool band or artist get their music recorded and put out their next physical album does.
And by all means, buy from artists and labels directly like i do. Go to their bandcamp page or website, help fund their next album, share what you like with your friends. We’re all in this together, and the billionaires aren’t going to save us.
Cheers.
