chrisjoseph
03-02-2007, 08:51 AM
THE BEAT GOES ON
The Louisiana Music Factory -- celebrating its 15th anniversary this week -- has weathered Hurricane Katrina and outlasted big-name competitors by sticking to what it does best
Friday, March 02, 2007
By Keith Spera
Music writer
Deacon John Moore didn't hesitate when asked to perform at Saturday's 15th anniversary party for the Louisiana Music Factory.
"I'm doing this to promote the people who are promoting our culture," Moore said. "My job as the president of the Musicians Union is to promote indigenous culture and create employment for musicians, and the Music Factory is here to help promote our culture. When people come for Mardi Gras and Jazzfest, they know to go there for local product."
Even if a customer doesn't notice the proliferation of New Orleans and Louisiana artists, the Louisiana Music Factory, with its comfortable eclecticism, feels like a Big Easy store. Walls are covered with posters, 45-rpm records and other memorabilia. Some display bins are handmade and the genial staff welcomes all comers.
"I didn't want a sterile, chain store look," owner Barry Smith said. "We wanted to make it a little funky and different."
Part of that funkiness derives from free weekly Saturday afternoon concerts. This weekend's 15th anniversary show is especially strong. After a rare acoustic set from Deacon John and harmonica player J.D. Hill at 1 p.m., the bill features blues guitarist Little Freddie King at 2, the New Birth Brass Band at 3, guitarist John Mooney at 4 and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins at 5.
Smith and local music booster Jerry Brock founded the Music Factory in 1992 in the 200 block of North Peters Street.
"We felt there was a need for a store that highlighted local music," said Smith, who bought out Brock in 2001. "But our vision of the volume of business was way, way below what this has grown into.
"It's funny to go back and look at our initial little business plan and estimates of what we thought we could do each day. We quickly found out that with our overhead and the mark-up on CDs, that didn't come close to covering it. We had to do way more than we projected."
Relocating the store from North Peters to 210 Decatur St. was good for business. "Being across from the House of Blues and next to what was Werlein's is a great fit," Smith said. "The foot traffic is better on this block, and we had room to start branching out."
From the get-go, the Music Factory toiled in the shadow of the nearby Tower Records. When a Virgin Megastore opened a block from Tower, the Music Factory took a hit.
"We felt that," Smith said. "We were finally on a growth pattern, then they opened their doors and -- boom -- we totally leveled out. Even though we're more focused (on Louisiana music), you still had the casual tourist who knew the Virgin and Tower names, and they'll wind up buying a Preservation Hall Jazz Band CD there instead of potentially here."
Still, the Music Factory carved out a niche. Then, Hurricane Katrina struck.
"I was willing to come back and give it a try, but early on I was a little pessimistic," Smith said. "I didn't see people coming to visit the city, and I figured what locals were left would be preoccupied with putting their lives back together and rebuilding houses. And I figured musicians were scattered and there wouldn't be a lot of new releases.
"That all turned out to be not true."
Virgin did not reopen after the storm, and Tower closed in December, after the entire chain filed for bankruptcy. Consequently, the Music Factory, the little record store that could, posted its best Christmas season ever.
Still, Smith said, Tower's closing didn't boost business "to the extent one might think, because we don't carry a lot of what Tower was carrying -- big Top 40 releases, rap, a video department. I don't have any interest in getting into that. But we picked up their customers that were interested in jazz, blues and local music."
As CD sales continue to decline nationwide in the face of surging downloads, major record chains are fading away. Independent operators such as the Music Factory and the long-running Jim Russell Records -- whose Magazine Street emporium houses a vast collection of new and used CDs, LPs, cassettes and even 8-track tapes, along with vintage stereo gear and video games -- must meet the demand for pre-recorded music.
With Virgin out of the picture, Smith negotiated unsuccessfully to operate the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival's Record Tent in 2006. He did not pursue the tent for this year's festival.
"We figured we'd be overwhelmed (at the store) as it was. So we decided to focus on the store and beef up the inventory for when French Quarter Fest and Jazzfest come along."
Since acquiring several of Tower's display cases, the Music Factory has reconfigured its layout. Downstairs is devoted almost entirely to New Orleans and Louisiana CDs and DVDs. Old Tower shelves are laden with sheet music by the likes of clarinetist Tim Laughlin, ragtime pioneer Scott Joplin and piano heroes James Booker and Professor Longhair.
New and used vinyl is stocked upstairs, along with used CDs and jazz, blues, reggae, R&B and soul offerings.
The Music Factory is also testing the waters with a limited selection of mainstream rock. Norah Jones' new release sits alongside a Jelly Roll Morton box set and Cajun and zydeco compilations near the cash register. Upstairs, beneath T-shirts featuring locals Washboard Chaz and the Iguanas, are titles by Beck, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd and Tool.
Smith is almost apologetic about his tentative decision to stock such inventory.
"We're experimenting with it," he said. "But we don't want to get carried away, because there's no end to it.
"Locally, we've always tried to keep as full as possible and carry whatever we can find. It's the non-local genres that we're going a little deeper into. But overall, we're sticking to what we've done and what got us to this point."
_________________________
LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY 15TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY
What: A party for the independent French Quarter record store.
Featuring: Deacon John at 1 p.m., followed by Little Freddie King, the New Birth Brass Band, John Mooney
and Kermit Ruffins.
When: Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m.
Where: Louisiana Music Factory,
210 Decatur St., (504) 586-1094.
Admission: Free.
The Louisiana Music Factory -- celebrating its 15th anniversary this week -- has weathered Hurricane Katrina and outlasted big-name competitors by sticking to what it does best
Friday, March 02, 2007
By Keith Spera
Music writer
Deacon John Moore didn't hesitate when asked to perform at Saturday's 15th anniversary party for the Louisiana Music Factory.
"I'm doing this to promote the people who are promoting our culture," Moore said. "My job as the president of the Musicians Union is to promote indigenous culture and create employment for musicians, and the Music Factory is here to help promote our culture. When people come for Mardi Gras and Jazzfest, they know to go there for local product."
Even if a customer doesn't notice the proliferation of New Orleans and Louisiana artists, the Louisiana Music Factory, with its comfortable eclecticism, feels like a Big Easy store. Walls are covered with posters, 45-rpm records and other memorabilia. Some display bins are handmade and the genial staff welcomes all comers.
"I didn't want a sterile, chain store look," owner Barry Smith said. "We wanted to make it a little funky and different."
Part of that funkiness derives from free weekly Saturday afternoon concerts. This weekend's 15th anniversary show is especially strong. After a rare acoustic set from Deacon John and harmonica player J.D. Hill at 1 p.m., the bill features blues guitarist Little Freddie King at 2, the New Birth Brass Band at 3, guitarist John Mooney at 4 and trumpeter Kermit Ruffins at 5.
Smith and local music booster Jerry Brock founded the Music Factory in 1992 in the 200 block of North Peters Street.
"We felt there was a need for a store that highlighted local music," said Smith, who bought out Brock in 2001. "But our vision of the volume of business was way, way below what this has grown into.
"It's funny to go back and look at our initial little business plan and estimates of what we thought we could do each day. We quickly found out that with our overhead and the mark-up on CDs, that didn't come close to covering it. We had to do way more than we projected."
Relocating the store from North Peters to 210 Decatur St. was good for business. "Being across from the House of Blues and next to what was Werlein's is a great fit," Smith said. "The foot traffic is better on this block, and we had room to start branching out."
From the get-go, the Music Factory toiled in the shadow of the nearby Tower Records. When a Virgin Megastore opened a block from Tower, the Music Factory took a hit.
"We felt that," Smith said. "We were finally on a growth pattern, then they opened their doors and -- boom -- we totally leveled out. Even though we're more focused (on Louisiana music), you still had the casual tourist who knew the Virgin and Tower names, and they'll wind up buying a Preservation Hall Jazz Band CD there instead of potentially here."
Still, the Music Factory carved out a niche. Then, Hurricane Katrina struck.
"I was willing to come back and give it a try, but early on I was a little pessimistic," Smith said. "I didn't see people coming to visit the city, and I figured what locals were left would be preoccupied with putting their lives back together and rebuilding houses. And I figured musicians were scattered and there wouldn't be a lot of new releases.
"That all turned out to be not true."
Virgin did not reopen after the storm, and Tower closed in December, after the entire chain filed for bankruptcy. Consequently, the Music Factory, the little record store that could, posted its best Christmas season ever.
Still, Smith said, Tower's closing didn't boost business "to the extent one might think, because we don't carry a lot of what Tower was carrying -- big Top 40 releases, rap, a video department. I don't have any interest in getting into that. But we picked up their customers that were interested in jazz, blues and local music."
As CD sales continue to decline nationwide in the face of surging downloads, major record chains are fading away. Independent operators such as the Music Factory and the long-running Jim Russell Records -- whose Magazine Street emporium houses a vast collection of new and used CDs, LPs, cassettes and even 8-track tapes, along with vintage stereo gear and video games -- must meet the demand for pre-recorded music.
With Virgin out of the picture, Smith negotiated unsuccessfully to operate the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival's Record Tent in 2006. He did not pursue the tent for this year's festival.
"We figured we'd be overwhelmed (at the store) as it was. So we decided to focus on the store and beef up the inventory for when French Quarter Fest and Jazzfest come along."
Since acquiring several of Tower's display cases, the Music Factory has reconfigured its layout. Downstairs is devoted almost entirely to New Orleans and Louisiana CDs and DVDs. Old Tower shelves are laden with sheet music by the likes of clarinetist Tim Laughlin, ragtime pioneer Scott Joplin and piano heroes James Booker and Professor Longhair.
New and used vinyl is stocked upstairs, along with used CDs and jazz, blues, reggae, R&B and soul offerings.
The Music Factory is also testing the waters with a limited selection of mainstream rock. Norah Jones' new release sits alongside a Jelly Roll Morton box set and Cajun and zydeco compilations near the cash register. Upstairs, beneath T-shirts featuring locals Washboard Chaz and the Iguanas, are titles by Beck, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd and Tool.
Smith is almost apologetic about his tentative decision to stock such inventory.
"We're experimenting with it," he said. "But we don't want to get carried away, because there's no end to it.
"Locally, we've always tried to keep as full as possible and carry whatever we can find. It's the non-local genres that we're going a little deeper into. But overall, we're sticking to what we've done and what got us to this point."
_________________________
LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY 15TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY
What: A party for the independent French Quarter record store.
Featuring: Deacon John at 1 p.m., followed by Little Freddie King, the New Birth Brass Band, John Mooney
and Kermit Ruffins.
When: Saturday, 1 to 6 p.m.
Where: Louisiana Music Factory,
210 Decatur St., (504) 586-1094.
Admission: Free.