Remember in the mid-80s when the first CDs were launched it was a now or never situation for many albums. There were two factories manufacturing the Worlds music in no particular order but in small limited batches. The Top Charts had to be available but also the Classical, Jazz and the rest was going to sell the new expensive audio players.

I’ve listened to albums that I desperately wanted to own only to find they were sold out and never to be available again. Ever.
Have chased an Aurex Jazz Festival record for over 20 years, 1 of 4, in Europe, the US and Japan. No joy. That was before the internet.
As i believe the huge many stories record shops have gone the way of the dodo and the smaller one have almost vanished, i wonder if that music is somewhere and we will be able to listen to it again or simply forgotten and followed the fate of the cassette tape.

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I loved wandering through the Classical record stacks in the 80s at places like Rose Records and then in the 90's for CDs at Tower Records (Tower outlet was my second home!). I finally had enough money to purchase frivously toward the end of the boomtime, so to speak, and grabbed as much as I could, especially of recordings being re-issued for the first time (and probably the last time) on CD. I know I missed much prior to then and I wasn't seeing it re-appear on the shelves; instead I saw brick and mortar record stores shrinking classical sections into nothing and then going out of business. I then watched recording companies disappear. I feel those who appreciate classical music have dwindled in number over the last 20+ years leaving a smaller audience now. Studio recordings of operas, for instance, have basically vanished in the last 20 years as cost prohibited and there is currently a dearth of top notch singers, conductors and orchestras in my opinion.
If new stuff isn't being recorded, I highly doubt remaining recording companies are going to spend time and money putting old stuff from their archives with limited appeal out on CD, which appears to also be dying as a medium, given youth's obession with the'cloud' and 'downloads' and such. A shame, as I think much beautiful music/recordings will indeed be 'lost' to future generations and access to what is there will be more strictly controlled when one does not own a 'hard copy' of it.

I think it is, if it has not already, gone niche,

I have a varied taste,
the Jazz show I listen to on VPM/NPR on the way home will play artists (505/60's blue note is my favorite) and then mention new releases of that work, sometimes on vinyl, sometimes on CD,
but often available as a download,

I don't really miss the days of big record stores in the big malls, since they had a limited selection ,
I do miss the local chains and smaller stores, that always had an excellent selection of what is now called Alternative,

Peaches was the big chain store that always had an excellent selection of every thing,

as did Plan 9,

a few other smaller stores often had a great selection (if you knew the secret handshake) off bootlegs,



locally, there is a place up in the Valley that offers Vinyl pressings, (records) if you are an artist,,,

Blue Sprocket is then name iirc

It seems to me that most music worth listening to is still being released in physical form, and re-releasing things is becoming quite the thing, especially on vinyl. I live a long ways from a record shop at the moment but, when I lived in Alaska, I used to go to a great shop weekly; brick-and-mortars are still around, and you can still find great little treasures, if the shop deals in used stuff. Discogs is a fantastic online resource for records/tapes/CDs from all over the world.

OP, it seems the Aurex Jazz Festival is healthily represented on discogs. Give it a look.

Good tip, thanks.

Now i must find mine since i knew them as a set of four. Taped them all ( my tapes turned to mud long time ago) and managed to buy three of them.
Wonder which one am missing… been so ling

Germany had such great record stored and London was a wet dream in the 80d.

Thanks again.

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