Looverhead CD store

Small music stores are crippled by overhead problems - paying for a large consumer-friendly space and keeping inventory of a bunch of CDs. They are outcompeted by the Walmarts and big chains who have economies of scale, and on-line retailers who can keep their stocks in very low-rent areas.

The Looverhead (short for low-overhead) is a tiny storefront. It contains a computer, color printer and a few listening booths. The beauty of the Looverhead concept: CDs are burned only as needed. Looverhead has agreements with many record labels. If a customer wants a disc, it is legally downloaded from the music company site and burned on the spot. The printer is used to print up the liner notes etc. The customer walks away with a legal disc, on the spot.

Use of space is minimized, and Looverhead franchises can be placed anywhere there is customer traffic - even in little kiosks. One might argue that this service could be provided directly from the music company. However I think there are many more people who listen to CDs than there are people with the tech savvy to connect, pay, burn etc. In addition, as a central broker for many companies, customers can avoid negotiating multiple different websites.