Yonge St. store will close for good on June 30, unable to compete with downloads and superstores
May 30, 2007 04:30 AM
Debra Black
Staff Reporter
It was an iconic landmark in Toronto – both culturally and musically. Everybody who was anybody in Toronto went to Sam the Record Man on Yonge St. to get the latest music, hang out and, if you were lucky, maybe catch a glimpse of a burgeoning music star.
But as of the end of June, Sam the Record Man is finally closing its doors – a victim of the vagaries of the retail record business and declining CD sales thanks to the Internet. According to Canadian record industry statistics, sales of CDs have dropped 35 per cent in the first quarter of 2007 alone.
"We are making a responsible decision in recognizing the status of the record industry and the increasing impact of technology," said Bobby Sniderman in a news release issued yesterday.
Sniderman is one of the present owners of the store and one of the sons of Sam Sniderman, the man who built the record store dynasty that rivalled many around the world.
"But there is a wonderful story to be told here, not about the current state of the industry, but about a family business that operated for 70 years in record retailing. Throughout that time our family has made significant contributions to the music industry, for Canadian artists and to the community as a whole ...
"This is about more than just bricks and mortar; Sam the Record Man is the most recognizable name in the Canadian music industry, an iconic legacy that will forever endure ..."
Sam Sniderman first began selling records out of his brother's radio shop in 1937. The flagship store on Yonge St. – with its garish neon signs of spinning records – was opened in 1961. Over 40 or so years, Sniderman turned it from a one-shop operation into a successful chain of 130 stores across Canada. The Yonge St. store covered 40,000 square feet. In 2002, it carried 400,000 titles.
Sniderman took pride in his business as baby boomers and music lovers flocked to his Yonge St. music shrine, famous for its Boxing Day lineups and discounts.
"That was the point where I knew every record in the store," he told the Star's Mitch Potter in 2001. "Sometimes I got stumped. But more often than not, you could ask me for the most obscure record on the planet and I would disappear for a few minutes and come back with it in my hands."
Along the way Sniderman also helped Canadian performers, including Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and bands like the Guess Who. His contribution to the music business earned him an Order of Canada.
But the company ran into trouble in 2001, filing for bankruptcy in October and closing its doors in late December. Competition from music superstores such as HMV and discount retailers like Wal-Mart, coupled with Internet downloads, all spelled trouble for the Toronto record retailer. A&A Records two doors away also closed in the 1990s.
At the Boxing Day sale that year, consumers were upset that Sam the Record Man was closing. "I used to come here as a kid to buy 33s for 66 cents," one Hamilton man told the Star. "I would buy early Beach Boys, the Beatles. It has been my life tradition."
The legendary flagship store opened again in January 2002, however, as a new company owned by Sniderman's two sons, Bobby and Jason Sniderman.
Bobby Sniderman wasn't available for comment yesterday.
The two brothers had big plans. But the popularity of the Internet and music superstores proved too much.
Despite valiant efforts, the brothers just couldn't make it work. Sam the Record Man on Yonge St. will close its doors on June 30.
Two franchise operations in Belleville and Sarnia will remain open.
The iPod family of products, as of late 2007.
Many of record store HMV's Canadian locations have started to stock iPod portable music players, in a move to stay relevant.

HMV Canada President Humphrey Kadaner commented "While the majority of purchased music continues to be in physical form, it's clear the listening experience of many Canadians is evolving to also include portable music and for the majority of those consumers the digital player of choice is the iPod. As the country's leading music retailer, it only makes sense that we provide a full music experience for our customers by selling Canada's leading digital music player."

"Many people think the world of CDs and the world of iPod are incompatible and it just isn't true. Not only are they compatible, they are now cohabitating at many HMV stores across the country. The addition of iPod in HMV stores is another step in HMV's evolution from a music retailer to an entertainment retailer."

Now closed down Sam the Record Man in downtown Toronto
In mid-November this year, Canadian chain Music World announced it was closing its stores as of the new year. The franchise has 72 stores across the country, and 648 employees who have been able to keep their jobs during liquidation, which is expected to continue through until Christmas. The store's website now contains nothing but its logo for months.

Previously, the last remaining location of Sam the Record Man closed down, in downtown Toronto. Sam once had 130 stores nationwide, then the record. There is a store in Belleville and Sarnia, once part of the chain, but now simply known as "SAM".

The last American locations of HMV closed in 2004.