Presenting the second of a new feature in which Classic co-founder, DJ, producer and all-round musical good guy Luke Solomon speaks to some of the best and least known record shops, both digital and in the real world.
Here, Luke chats with Honest Jon’s employee and son of the current owner, Ben Scholefield.
First of all, can you give us a little background info about Honest Jon’s, and tell us about how you got your job in a record store.
Honest Jon’s was started in 1974 by Jon Clare and Dave Ryner who quickly turned the shop into west London's premier destination for Jazz, Reggae, Soul & Blues. Almost 20 years later, in 1992, my Dad (Alan Scholefield) and Mark Ainley bought the shop from Jon to continue its legacy. I started working at the shop on Saturdays in the year 2000 to pay my parents back for some turntables they had got me.
Was it a means to furthering a DJ career or career in music?
Working at Honest Jon’s was a means to starting my career as a DJ and in music in general. It allowed me to contribute to the turntables I had nagged my parents to buy me as well as kick-starting my record collection and learning so much from the people who come in the shop and the people I've worked with. On top of the music I've also made some incredible connections with people I've met working at the counter.
What are your thoughts on digital music versus physical?
Nothing will ever beat music presented in a physical medium, specifically vinyl, on a sonic level but what digital files lack in sound quality they make up for in convenience. Both have a place if used correctly.
Do you buy digital music as a consumer? If so where?
I buy stuff I can't get anywhere else on Bandcamp and iTunes.
Do you shop outside of your store?
Yeah I shop all over the place. All over the London shops, record fairs and always when I'm abroad.
What have you had to do to survive the competition and battle the decline in physical consumption with the advent of digital?
Embracing the internet and using it to sell records rather than fighting it is what has allowed us to stay alive while other shops close. At Honest Jon’s we've always stayed true to what we do best which is Jazz, Reggae & Soul but genre's like Techno & Hip Hop help us stay current. A lot of the young kids getting into Techno want to have it on vinyl and a lot of the music is only on vinyl.
Have you had to diversify?
Over the years we've vastly expanded our African and World Music sections and this has become just as synonymous with the store as the aforementioned genres. Giving people a variety of good music is one of our strong points and is definitely something that has kept people coming back to us.
Do you think that giving yourself an identity as a place to come and buy certain more specific kinds of music is still very relevant? Is this something that is missing from digital consumerism?
Our identity is relevant to us and to our customers but maybe it’s not so relevant to people outside of the record shop bubble. The reason a lot of shops have had to shut down is because they lacked identity or their identity was too concentrated on one genre/idea and so failed to move with the times. At the same time the way people consume music online does have echoes of physical sub-cultures in the blogs and other various ways people congregate around a specific musical movement.
Have you ever contemplated adding a digital arm to your shop?
We do sell digital files of the music on our label but we aren't going to start selling third party music digitally any time soon.
Are Discogs and the second-hand market an area that you have added to your business as a way of generating revenue?
Yeah, and it also allows us to shift records of value that wouldn't necessarily sell in the Honest Jon’s shop or website.
Finally, how do you see the future of record store? Is there more optimism than there was? The press constantly promotes the rise of vinyl, but we are still talking small numbers compared to the hay days in dance music particularly. Have you noticed a renewed interest?
There are a whole new slew of young kids who are into records for the first time and a bunch of old folks who are realising there are actually a few of us record stores still alive. Things seem to have stabilised for those shops that are still around.
Luke Solomon’s Unfinished Business Volume 1 is out 08 June (vinyl sampler and digital) on Classic Music Company - order the vinyl from Juno and the album from iTunes
