Got the following email from Thad McIlroy of The Future of Publishing:
I thought you might get a kick out of this: http://thefutureofpublishing.com/2011/11/music-business-teach-the-book-business/
I took a Salon.com article on the death of record stores and substituted “bookstores” throughout: It’s scary that it reads so convincingly.
Best regards,
Thad
Here’s the beginning:
As book sales plummet and famed shops close, brave entrepreneurs are trying to reinvent the model. Is it too late?
On Wednesday night, hundreds of people passed through the doors of Other Books, one of New York City’s last bookstores. Yes, there was free booze. But the young, plugged-in crowd came to celebrate, not necessarily to buy.
“The World’s First Perfect Zine,” a new print publication from the author of a well-known blog devoted to reviews of book reviews, was holding a release party. Along with a contribution by the novelist Tao Lin, the zine includes writing by sci-fi authors Vampire Weekend, Das Racist and JJ, among others.
Every time someone tells me B&N stores will never close, I remind them about the giant Virgin Megastore that used to be on Union Square South. If you’ve ever been in there, you remember the long line of people spending money, gone forever.