You Can't Kill Rock 'N' Roll...

... but you've all helped destroy one of Canada's iconic institutions.

By the time you read this, one of the most important landmarks in Canadian music history will be gone. The legendary Sam The Record Man store on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto is now closed. And it's all your fault.

In closing, Sam's owners Jason and Bobby Sniderman, the sons of Sam, said, "We are making a responsible decision in recognizing the status of the record industry and the increasing impact of technology."

What the between-the-lines of that statement says is, "You kids are thieving bastards and your shitty internet killed an institution."  

And it's true, you are all thieves. But the paradigm shift has happened. It's over and online has won. I don't invest emotional worry in the bands who don't make any money from selling their records anymore, or the record industry people who lost their jobs so much as this new universe means my beloved "albums" are now becoming weird bastardized promo items (complete with alternate versions, extra B-sides, access to videos and ticket giveaways and bonus features if bought through iTunes!!!) and not actual albums anymore.

But online "albums" vs. real albums isn't what this column's about. It's about that iconic red building with the crazy lights designed like vinyl records and how there's really lots of blame to go around for its death.

See, even though you kids and your downloading really messed things up, you're not the only ones at fault. There's a whole heap of other people who helped in the destruction who rarely get called out for their contribution to the end of the traditional music universe. Here are some of the culprits:

Wal-Mart. It's not quite as bad as them destroying the middle class, but these big box stores only care about the top 100, and at that, only as a product or sellable unit, not as actual music. And especially not independent or local music. These places stole casual music fans away from record stores and short-sighted, greedy record labels happily went with them and abandoned their traditional sellers.

Record Prices. Nobody in the record industry believed it when people said they were tired of paying $18.99 or $20.99 or $24.99 for CDs. They had the chance to dramatically reduce prices and didn't (before it was too late, at least). Selling new CDs at $6 each sure sounds a lot better now than not selling any at all.

Radio. Centralized ownership, tightening playlists and "cross-platform" artists and songs have created an ear-polluting morass where the same 30 acts are shoveled at us every four hours. Seriously, U2 and The Guess Who never need to get played on the air ever again. When everyone on earth can create their own more diverse, interesting and genre and era-spanning iPod playlists, listening to conventional radio stations is obsolete. That means the people still listening to the radio aren't getting fed anything good, new or interesting.
 
There are a number of other nagging industry-style things, but those three, when combined with the effects of downloading, helped create this perfect storm where average music fans hear Three Doors Down on a modern rock station, see the record on sale as an $8.99 loss-leader in a Best Buy flyer, then buy it while looking for a big screen TV (if they don't just download it).

While that's all going down, some gal with an Arcade Fire logo drawn on her backpack with a Sharpie is staring at the Sam's indie rack, wondering whether to buy The Parkas or the Choir Practice record. I know this because I've been there. Only, when I was doing it, I was flitting through those shelves looking for these crazy "ska" music bands such as Skaface and King Apparatus (I had no idea what ska was back then). Likewise, when Chalk Circle broke up, I went straight to that Sam's wall to find the album from Chris Tait's new band, Big Faith.

However, the difference between me and the backpacking gal, is that when I was in front of that Sam's wall years ago, there'd be tons of people right there with me hunting for something. Nowadays, that gal would be all on her own.

That's why Sam The Record Man is closed. And that's why it's all your fault.

This is my editorial from the July 2007 issue of Chart Magazine. You can purchase the issue at the Chart Shop.