Although small stores often carry material not stocked by their larger competitors, their main source of income remains with the sale of mainstream material. For instance, Schoolkids' may have stocked rare and otherwise unavailable records, but popular artists like the Dave Matthews Band and Mariah Carey are what kept it in business. But since mainstream material is also readily available at chain stores, many consumers are less likely to shop at the independent shops. In time, the loss of customers takes its toll on the smaller stores. In Ann Arbor, this type of situation has occurred on several occasions in recent years.
The problem with this scenario is that it reduces the number of options available to consumers. Since the large chain stores attract all customers, they have the ability to control the products that make up the market. But the selection of rare items suffers because they fail to ring up large sales, putting them in even more of a niche market. These rare recordings often have value the goes unrecognized by the general public. When smaller stores go out of business, these important records are not as easily available to the community. At the present rate, the market will continue being dictated by the suppliers - the more hard-to-find material will become increasingly difficult to obtain.
Unfortunately, independent stores' loss of business to national chains is a reality of free enterprise. But the trend toward chains pushing independent stores out of the market limits the variety of products available to consumers in other ways. For example, independent stores like Schoolkids' (which once supported its own record label) are more likely to support lesser-known artists; for instance, Schoolkids carried albums by many groups whose CDs were usually not available in big stores. If smaller stores continue to go out of business, local artists may find it more difficult to make a name for themselves.
The closing of independent stores because of competition from large chains is an alarming trend. While chains have the right to seek business, it is unfortunate that their success should come at the expense of independently owned establishments. A larger number of stores allows consumers to have more variety at their disposal and can help local artists sell their works. Because of this pattern, the community should make an effort to support independent businesses.