It was another sad day for music retailing last week as the very fine Fopp chain of some 80 stores went into the hands of the receivers. While Tesco, one of the biggest music retailers in the UK, also announced it was not making any money out of CD’s, with chief exec, Terry Leahy, predicting that the record business will “disappear in its current form”. So what sort of future does music retailing have in the UK? Rough Trade, one of the most respected independent retailers with two stores in London, think they have the answer. Later this month they will open the doors of a new 5000 square metre store in Brick Lane in the east of London, which as reported in the Sunday Times will include a top-of-the-range PA system and bespoke furniture, all designed by one of Britain’s top architects. So can Rough Trade turn their new store into a destination, via a coffee shop, free wi-fi access and regular free instore gigs? And it’s not just the forward-thinking independent stores trying to change their retail offering. HMV, the UK’s biggest music retailer, are also planning to turn their stores into more experiential destinations, 'with customers of the future sipping smoothies at “refreshment hubs” while using instore computers to play games, surf the internet and download music”'. What both HMV and Rough Trade are trying to do is get the music experience back into the entertainment retail space. Although I’ve spent a good part of the last 35 years hanging out in record stores, it’s sad to report that many music stores have become soulless retail experiences, more akin to the supermarkets who have been instrumental in changing the landscape of music retailing in the UK. But is this attempt to take the model of the ‘Nike Town’-style retail experience too little too late to save our high street music retailers? Or will it be the music specialists, like Rough Trade, who offer customers good quality service, and those all important recommendations, in a more ‘experiential’ environment, the ones that will survive under the continued onslaught from the supermarkets and online retailers? Let's hope so.