Heavy Metal in Ostend, Belgium

Yves Deckmyn is a nearly fifty year old born habitant of Ostend and started Compact Center in 1988. In 2010 his shop plays an important role in Ostend. His personal hobby’s are music, movies and reding thrillers. His degree in economics comes in handy when you run a shop which is opened every day from 10 until 12 and from 14 until 19h30 with the exception of Sundays and Mondays. I fired away some questions on which he replied.

June 11th 1988.

The purpose was to sell and rent cd’s. I was also pleased the concept turned out to be successful from the beginning.

I run the shop together with my wife Ingrid. Doing this alone is not possible.

You need to have music in your heart and still be moved by a good record or even a good song for that matter. Furthermore a lot of idealism is certainly necessary.

Despite the negative situation, the offer in music has never been greater. It”s truly a real treat for every music lover. There are so many great young bands around.

Anyone who doesn’t like to spend money on music has many opportunities to get it for free. Furthermore someone who walks in your shop really is interested in music

I think it is necessary for each store to make a profit. Those who can’t match that condition will have to close in the end.

I think the market always controls itself. Some store owners may disrupt selling prices temporarily but sooner or later they will have to pay the price.

In the past we had over a thousand retailers in Belgium. Most record companies and labels choose the side of the larger outlets with the result of fewer retail shops. This led to shops who often specialize in one genre.

I have never ruled out a particular genre. I always tried to offer music as divers as possible and we strive to present new releases on the day of release.

I usually play new music from the pop or rock genre. It is still important to me to be able to talk to your customers without having to turn down the volume every two seconds.

I like all kinds of music but I prefer good voices.

Classical music is not represented in my shop because each classical work has some twenty or more versions and you can’t have them all.

Since 1988 there have been huge shifts in what is called commercial music. Nowadays you can have a band like Eels scoring a number one hit but that can also be the case for a band like AC/DC.

I don’t have the exact statistics but the following artists are certainly in it. Joe Bonamassa, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Immortal, Arch Enemy, Disturbed, Dream Theater and Megadeth. For the pop rock genres we have Alberta Cross, Mumford and sons, Paolo Nutini, Muse and Robert Plant and Allison Kraus.

For starters the bands I like myself. It’s easy to recommend a band if you are into it yourself. For many bands it is important to have the new release in store as well as the back catalog. Examples of such bands are Iron Maiden, Rammstein, AC/DC, Joe Satriani and Saxon as well as The Doors, Bob Marley and Joe Bonamassa.

Only tickets for local performances and all tickets for VZW De Zwerver out of sympathy. Larger venues are usually not interested in a sales point in Ostend.

We only sell cd and dvd. The market is already so extensive that taking on more items would limit your options of selling. We do order movie dvd’s and blue ray.

I read many cd reviews and rely on my experience.

We sell cd’s from local bands with no additional charge or at prices bands sell themselves at live gigs.

No.

I have interaction with my clients, magazines, the internet and all product information from record companies.

Our location is not the most commercial one so my customers are people really interested in music but then spread over all ages and genres.

I hope many of them visit us for the offer and service we have.

Yes because of our location at the coast in Summer and during the Christmas Season.

Of course. Christmas is the most important one, it is still a classic to buy a CD.

Especially those who reserve money just to buy music. People who rather have the cd at home instead of the file on the computer. People who still like to go out and see a movie instead of watching tv and people who really buy a book instead of going to the library.

I don’t care if they spend a lot of money or not. I like loyalty towards my shop. For those customers I will go that extra mile.

Every customer gets a savings card and receives a reduction as such. It is an honest system and customers who buy more have a greater discount.

I still think that the best way to advertise is people talking about your business.

Diversity is a strong point in our shop. If you order some item we will do our upmost to deliver. Besides everone is welcomed in the most friendly way.

Sometimes people decide not to buy anything for a while. Often this depends on financial or personal circumstances and that’s something as a shopowner you can’t really do much about.

Some people only buy music for occasions like birthdays, Christmas and Valentine. This is simply called budget awareness. On the other hand the collectors are more fanatic than ever.

Hard to say but I wouldn’t write of CD.

Of course there is some auto pilot involved. I can’t see myself doing something different in the near future but maybe this is a question you should ask me again in five yaers or so.

Reading, music or a movie. It’s always one of those three.

Listening music ten hours a day is supposed to be vacation. Ten hours a day in my shop working, buying and selling, accounting, ordering...that is still something else.

When I first started I had no idea. In this business everything is so unpredictable so I won’t plan ahead.

Sometimes something comes falling from the sky which can alter your life for the better or for worse so we see in time.

think you questionned quite extensively.

Read more: music articles