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Soundscapes to close after 22 years

Toronto record store Soundscapes will close this spring after 22 years in
business.

"The last 20 years have seen a golden age in access to the world's recorded
music history both in physical media and online," a statement on the shop's
website reads. "We were happy to be a part of sharing our knowledge of some of
that great music with you. We hope you enjoyed most of what we sold &
recommended to you over the years and hope you will continue to seek out the
music that matters."

Soundscapes staffer Phil Liberbaum tells NOW a lot of "soul searching and
number crunching" went into the decision to close.

"Ever since the pandemic hit we were on shakier ground," he says, explaining
that the shift in music formats from physical media to streaming led to steady
decline in business over the past 10 years.

The store's biggest sellers nowadays are legacy artists, Liberbaum says, and
steep prices for vinyl albums mean the pool of shoppers tends to be limited to
older, collector types.

"More and more the price of vinyl albums had become really high," he says,
adding the number of albums getting the reissue treatment has slowed. The
market trends coupled with high rent, high property taxes and the lack of
concert ticket sales due to cancelled live shows meant "the pandemic
eventually sealed the deal."

Through it all, Soundscapes has maintained a loyal group of customers, but the
last two lockdowns were particularly hard on the store, which Liberbaum calls
"a labour of love."

"We had a significant number of loyal customers who came in during the
reopening in June after the first lockdown," he says. "But it wasn't enough."

Located at 572 College in Little Italy, Soundscapes is having a sale ahead of
the closing date, which will be "sometime in May."

Opened in 1999 by former accountant Greg Davis, Soundscapes became a hub for
the city's indie music scene, hosting in-store performances, selling concert
tickets, stocking independently released local albums on consignment, and
hanging artfully designed gig posters in the window display.

Davis carefully curated all aspects of the store, including notes from staff
on their picks, as well as excerpts from reviews in music magazines on the new
release wall. The store also stayed open late, meaning it wasn't unusual to
see people quietly browsing around 11 pm as partiers filtered in to the bars
and restaurants along that strip of College.

And given the cozy, library-like environment Soundscapes cultivated, it's not
surprising the store had teamed with the Toronto Public Library on a local
music program. It has also been a reliable place to pick up the latest music
magazines and books from around the world.

"It's not just a record store - it became a community hub, an institution,"
says Liberbaum. "People come to browse, to shop, to chat about music, to chat
about life. It's a wonderful place to sell music to people who are passionate
about music. We've grown older with them as well - at least those who haven't
moved out of the city."

Liberbaum is the last full-time staffer aside from Davis. Soundscapes has one
other part-time staffer.

[By Kevin Ritchie, Apr 3, 2021]

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