Retail Gets Kick In the Shins

by | Jan 29, 2007

According to Reuters, Shins fans lined up last last Monday night to buy the band’s third (and final) record on Sub Pop.

Anchored by the Shins’ “Wincing the Night Away,” indie retailers used the January 23 release date to bring back an old tradition — the midnight sale.

Many stores abandoned the ritual during the past few years, as the era of Internet leaks have all but killed the need for die-hard fans to stand in line on a Monday evening.

But the drawing power of the indie pop act, as well as a heavy marketing push from Sub Pop, persuaded store managers to keep their doors open. Grimey’s owner Dolye Davis says the Nashville store staged its first midnight sale since opening in 1999, and Eric Levin at Criminal Records says he hasn’t opened at midnight since the 2004 release of the Beastie Boys’ “To the 5 Boroughs.”