Reports of indie music store’s death greatly exaggerated

Princeton Record Exchange, one of Princeton, NJ’s best-known independent retail stores, is pleased to announce that we have renewed our lease and plan to stay for “the foreseeable future” in our downtown location at 20 S. Tulane St. Jonathan Lambert, the general manager of the Record Exchange says, “We are very happy to put this period of uncertainty behind us. We look forward to many more years of serving the local community and our far-flung fans”.

Since 1980, Princeton Record Exchange has been buying and selling new and used music and movies. With upwards of 150,000 new and used CDs, DVDs, and records, we are one of the largest independent music stores in the country. Our legions of loyal customers range from locals to visitors from around the world. The store features unique attractions like our “budget” sections of over 20,000 CDs under $5.00, thousands of records for $1.00, and thousands of DVDs for under $5.00. Add to that hundreds of sought-after rarities, an impressive selection of less-common recordings in almost every music genre, and a fine offering of main-stream, art-house, and foreign films on DVD, and it is easy to understand our popularity.

For over a year, rumors have been swirling that the Record Exchange would soon be no more. The prominent “for sale” signs on the 20 S. Tulane building, ongoing downtown Princeton reconstruction, and the decline of traditional music outlets, have all helped fuel speculation that we would be forced to move or close our doors.

Downtown Princeton has been going through major reconstruction for several years now. Much of the work has been completed, but the second stage which involves the areas directly adjacent to us is slated to begin soon. Coincidentally, our building had been up for sale during this period. Many of our customers have been concerned that, when purchased, our building might be torn down to make room for a new, larger building.

To further complicate the Record Exchange’s situation, the music industry as a whole has been experiencing a major upheaval. Around 100 million iPods have been sold word-wide, and downloading music is now the way many people obtain their music. Music industry experts estimate that since 2003 over 30% of all independent music stores and 50% of the major chain stores have closed.

In spite of this paradigm shift, the Record Exchange continues to thrive. Mr. Lambert credits our success to the quality of our stock. “Much of our time is devoted to finding collections of desirable titles for resale. We are proud of the depth of our selection, the quality of our merchandise, and our low prices. Being independent, we also have the ability to quickly adjust to changing market demands.”

In late 2006, our building was purchased. By renewing our lease, the new owner has shown that he intends to keep the building as it is. We are sure that our many customers will applaud that decision for years to come.