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Video channel. Upcoming webinars. But in Bengal, there were two other genres of non-film music which were even more popular than Bengali film music. In the beginning, most of the records were 78 RPM Revolutions Per Minute, denoting the speed at which the disc spun , but that gave playback time of barely three and a half minutes on each side.
In this phase, as the record discs were liberated from short play durations, other audio recordings were made available in addition to songs. The 60s also witnessed the beginnings of a cultural exchange between India and the West. During the decade, the market also flooded with LPs and EPs of Rock albums which were gaining increasing popularity in India.
Big changes were in the offing. By the 70s, while records were still being sold widely, the flexibility and the cost-effectiveness of cassettes were making them popular among the masses. HMV responded to this clarion call by going all-guns blazing into the audio cassettes business. In March , cassette sales had shot up from 50, to 1,40, per month. But something had changed. The s also brought the first generation of compact discs CDs.
The HMV brand name was still alive and kicking, but the cracks were visible. Due to excise duties levied, and owing to cheap pirated cassettes being widely available, a price war started with competing brands which resulted in erosion of the bottom-lines. It was the beginning of the end. In the meanwhile, the HMV brand had a completely different journey in the UK, with it soon expanding into a retail powerhouse, selling music as well as books in its stores, and smoothly transitioning to digital when the time came.
But in India, it was all downhill in the 90s. But nothing seemed to correct the downward spiral. Via Gramco — a wholly owned subsidiary — the company also ventured into film production and distribution business, and released films like Sapnay , Bada Din , Hothat Brishti and a few others.
The history of HMV in pictures With HMV possibly being rescued thanks to Hilco, we take a look back at the golden era of the famous record shop, label, recording studio and factory. Jazz radio Factory workers Factory workers make the cylinders for HMV's gramophones in Dawson, Clark, Hambourg Listening booths As the HMV shops became more and more successful, listening booths were installed so that customers could try before they bought.
Into the seventies This shot from shows shoppers eagerly browsing records in HMV. Nina Kotova Classical music has always been an important part of HMV, as this in-store performance from cellist Nina Kotova showed.
HMV today The recent recession and a changing digital marketplace have seen many physical retailers struggle, and HMV has been no exception. The year after digital music revenues overtook sales of physical formats for the first time in , HMV appointed Deloitte as company administrators and suspended shares. HMV was to live another day, and despite closing its major store on Oxford Street, it returned to its original home at number in October , reinstating its retro signage and welcoming more acts, such as Stormzy and Kylie.
But it was still being hit hard by the expansion of online shopping, the creation of streaming services and the cold hard fact that fewer people were buying physical formats. Just days after the Christmas festivities of , the retailer was poised to go into administration again - with more than stores and 2, staff at risk.
After a bidding war, it was announced that some of the stores will be saved by the Canadian entrepreneur, Doug Putman,. Despite the rescue, fears over the long term future of the famous HMV brand are unlikely to go away. The place where you bought your first CD.
HMV: A tragedy or fresh start? Image source, PA. HMV on brink of second collapse.
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