David Taber
Manager laughs in the face of market trends
CENTRE ST.—A new music store, the Mud Dog Media Company, opened last week at the former CD Spins storefront at 668 Centre St.
The owners of Mud Dog Media purchased the CD Spins chain in 2006, Mud Dog manager Nic Roberstson told the Gazette.
Last summer, a flood forced the closure of the JP store. In the interim Mud Dog, a regional chain headquartered in Wakefield Mass., was born, Robertson said.
In addition to music, the store will sell clothing and feature a full skateboarding supply shop, Robertson said.
Noting that with the advent of music downloading, retail CD sales have plummeted in the last few years, Robertson admitted that trying to sell CD’s is likely a “one-way ticket to hell.”
But the Mud Dog team is passionate about what they are doing, he said.
And the store will attempt to create a niche for itself by focusing on local artists. “We are going to have a huge local music section with listening stations. Our clothes are going to be designed by local artists, and we are going to get local artists to custom design our skateboard decks,” he said.
Those efforts were mostly still in the works when the Gazette visited the store last week. The store had only been open for two days, Robertson said.
“I think we will do OK. We will be providing a good service,” he said.
The store will be selling music by local artists on a consignment basis, and Robertson said people are welcome to “swing by and show me your stuff.”
He will probably be at the store “1,000 hours a week,” he said.