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The Miami
Vol. 91, Issue 26 | Jan. 17 - Jan. 20, 2013
com
HURRICANE
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STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI IN CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA, SINCE 1929
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU BOUGHT A PHYSICAL OF 16% 39% 45% ANCOPY ALBUM? I don’t buy CDs
Before the millenium
Last week
Only CDs
HOW OFTEN DID YOU GO TO SPEC’S?
Total voters: 41 Total voters: 45
WHEN WAS 46% 37% 10% 7% I only THE LAST buy I don’t physical buy TIME YOU physical copies of copies, BOUGHT A they’re movies too PHYSICAL expensive I buy COPY OF A physical copies MOVIE OR of books and BOOK? I only movies Total voters: 38
DO YOU HAVE A CD OR VINYL RECORD COLLECTION?
buy all the physical time copies of books
WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR MUSIC? Audio ripping sites
Only vinyl
I went once or twice
I was a frequent customer
iTunes
Both CDs and inyl
What’s vinyl?
I’ve never been to Spec’s
Total voters: 53
Best Buy or other electronic stores
Spotify, Pandora and other streaming services
Total voters: 36
DESIGN BY CARLOS MELLA
CLOSING TIME BY NICKY DIAZ | COPY CHIEF
fter serving its customers for more than 60 years, Spec’s Records & Tapes – one of the few record stores left in South Florida – is closing its doors. For now, the last of the shop’s albums and DVDs line up the aisles along with bright yellow discount signs. However, once the inventory is liquidated, Spec’s will close on Jan. 28. According to an article reported by The Miami Herald, Chase Bank will take the place of the record store and its trademark neonletter sign later this year. Despite a change in ownership in 1998,
A
Spec’s managed to stay afloat when other record stores like Virgin Megastore couldn’t. Martin Spector created the original store – located where Einstein Bros Bagels is now found on U.S. 1 south from campus – in 1948. He then opened the present-day location in 1953. Although much has changed in the music industry since the ‘50s, not much has changed at Spec’s apart from the format of recorded music. The store, however, still sells vinyl. “It’s really sad, any record store closing is sad in my book no matter what kind,” said Lauren Reskin, owner of Sweat Records in Miami. “I definitely was a customer at Spec’s
since I could visit a record store back when I was a little kid.” Margot Winick, vice president of UM media relations, said the record store was a hot spot for UM students on Friday nights during the ‘80s. “It was the place to be,” said Winick, who worked at Spec’s for two years in the mid1980s while she attended UM. “I didn’t even mind taking the Friday night shifts, which ran until 11. My friends would go out, but they’d always cruise by and check out what was going on.” The store would also often host artists who were promoting their albums.
“There were always musicians in the store,” Winick said. “Back in the day, it was a really big deal when musicians would come and play while they were promoting their music.” According to an article reported by The Miami Herald, the Spec’s chain was eventually comprised of 80 stores in Florida and Puerto Rico. Sales exceeded $70 million in 1993. However, changes in the music industry have resulted in the demise of several record stores throughout the last decade – now including Spec’s. SEE SPEC’S, PAGE 5