I think these retailers have a lot more influence than we are giving them credit for. They have massive marketing budgets and ways to attract people to their stores. They also sell a lot via websites. It is not by accident that we see the fact that they stock vinyl or not as an indication of its success in the market.

What they are not indicative is of the enthusiast markets, which are many.

I for once found a really nice Oxfam shop that stocks cheap, good quality vinyl (mostly classical) and go to the exchange shops (Notting Hill, Camden Town) often. They do supply much diversity of musical genres in both vinyl and cd.

I guess there are many record mail order shops on the net that are more specialised (and I would love to hear which ones you recommend, like Baudrillard mentioned) but I still enjoy browsing in the physical sense of the word, for a few hours, in the shops.

But there is one thing that I really don't understand. Most people agree on the revival of the vinyl, the great sound it provides particularly with great orchestral works (but not just that). We all know that the classical music market is mostly an enthusiasts market... Why then do we not see HMV in Oxford Street, well known for its classical music cd section, stock classical LPs? Why don't we see new classical music LP releases? I really don't understand!

(sorry about going a bit off topic here...)

Jack