RECORD STORE PORTRAIT #3 : BETINO (in english)

If there was a contest of "the coolest record store boss in the world" would be directly Betino finalist! Passionate about music, man with the heart of gold, here is a picture of a store boss not ordinary

-        Hello Betino, please could you introduce you and the store ?

I opened the store in March 1999. It's been almost 13 years. I opened the shop, not by chance because I had already worked 12 years in retail, export and record store.

I started in 1987 at Radio Pygmalion, the shop opposite and rival fnac forum (opposite). They sold 50 cents cheaper. I was an avid record buyer and every day. I spent my days studying to second hand stores and news. I bought lots of news, funk & disco. I had the chance to follow the new movements such as hip hop from the beginning of 1980, electro, funk, electro funk and house music. Then the end of the old school hip hop, new school beginning with RUN DMC.

I attacked a shop in 1987, so I found a lot of stuff, it helped me to broaden my culture. All music except classical. Rather black music but I was also rock and new wave.

I worked a year and a half and then I went to the import of novelty and I met KARAMEL. It became pals and they asked me to come work with them. I worked 10 years at home. We did everything, the distrib, import - export, reissues, compilations ...

This was the beginning of acid jazz : DJ cam, Mighty bob, Big cheese, Pure, beginnings of the French scene, early yellow. In France and abroad.

We opened a record store, which has struggled in the beginning and then I went there and I am busy for two years before closing. At the end of the lease, I had a lot of customers so I told myself that it was continuing with another shop. It was not adventurous, I had  experience,  a stock of records, relationships with distributors around the world, in the middle. I have not mounted my store blind.

- So it was a dream?

Not at first, I did not think at the beginning my goal was to continue to work with Karamel in music.

- Sell discs is what makes you get up in the morning.

Yes I love. I go to the store with a smile, this is my 2nd home. My psychologist, my way of feeling good. After my family, my shop there. I can I smile, I'm happy to be here, chat with people, to sell records. Though it's stressful because linked to a turnover, but I'm glad I did not work in relation only to it.

- You see an evolution since the opening?

Yes, I have progressed in terms of turnover. In 10 years, three-quarters of the clientele has changed. You can not rely on the same customers in the long term. They marry, stop buying records. I sold everything but still must move with the music. Adapt and not get lost in the music that you do not understand. I do not hard rock because I did not find it. In Drum & bass and broken beat, I was on top, I felt it was going down and evolve. Must follow the paths. I always followed the news from hip hop and house. The interest is to always be in the thing, I need it. But when you see a style gets stuck you have to go to something else. I stopped styles like R'n'B it pleased me most was it was less interesting for me. For  Hip hop in  late 90's, we had to choose, I chose the underground, hip hop and jazz not the commercial.

These are my personal taste and feeling of the people I speak music. I'm listening to the people, news, style

Compared to the crisis and the advent of disk mP3, have you seen any changes?

Yes, it has changed. The first big blow the experiences we have, we had to react: September 11th, very important date for  NYC. NY stopped living for several months and that  was the source of all the house, deep house, many  labels, distributors, clubs have closed. There was a fall, I worked a lot with them. Less production, less quality, it was necessary to move on. 2nd shot / 2006: Development of the download. It started to drop the CD and vinyl for DJs. I was not too affected because I was not too much on dance and hip hop. On large volumes because I had already changed in early 2000. Fortunately, I had kept a niche selection was not downloadable. It felt at maxis. Tractor with serato and a lot of DJs have stopped the vinyl EPs. I realized the need to develop other things in hip hop, in compilations, reissues. Buy older sounds. It's a small shop so you can modify your system without disturbing people.

- Are part of the  DIGGING movement?

I did not digged so much , in some secondhand stores, but I wanted also new. I've never been 100% in the old or  in the soundtrack or 45s. I stayed away from that and I kept the back it must have as store. When you  are in a shop every day long, you can not all Saturdays and Sundays to get up at 5am to get hard. I did from time to time before the shop for fun, not to search for the rare but just for fun. I do not have that obsessive side owing by other, without criticism, but a philosophy. I dig when I go to NY, London to Tokyo. I love it. We share three days in New Jersey by car. We all record stores. I have done many times since 2006 but there is a big drop.

How do you see the future?

But not necessarily in pink who will hold people know to manage their company properly care for their customers. Those who manage to adapt to new markets, attract new customers: 14-19 years who buys hip hop, jazz, rock, afro. Not much budget, not looking original but reprints, second pressings. Contrary to popular belief the youth interested in vinyl, but with a more limited budget. For many of solicitation (phone, sneakers). 30 years ago, you had less stress so you spent all your energy in the disks.

In the 80s, it was hard foremost, before girls and other, all for the music. The object of the obsessive collector. I was not in there, today's youth are more backward.

- Vinyl, CD or mp3?

I'm not against it, I am for everything. Whatever. The important thing is to love music. My pleasure: # 1 is vinyl, cd less. But I encode my vinyl and listened to on the computer. It is compilations. I'm glad the vinyl even though I'm more selective. I love music, I want it to make me well that she enquiquine me. I have a passion for music, but also people.

A Record store that's just records or a larger dimension?

Yes it is to have a drink, a coffee, discuss the weather rain, laugh talk music. There is a time for everything. Some come for the music, I respect, it has no worries. But everyone is different. This is a public place where people come to express themselves but buy records. Everyone is different. The human dimension is important as the music I do not only work as a merchant of record, but as a meeting place. We discover something new, we'll talk about it, share it. I had a period where every Tuesday I had the news, there was a line outside the store. It was important for the business, but it agonized me because it was the war for the discs. I did not. People have changed, it is more cool, less competition between DJs that does not displease me.

BETINO, 32 RUE SAINT SEBASTIEN 75011 PARIS    www.betinos.com

ALL TIME FAVORITE TOP 5 :
1...COS 'Postaeolian train robbery' 1974 ( Plus record) BELGIQUE

2...The Kenny Clarke/Fancy Bolland big Band "Manbo de las Brujas"  1968 (Prestige) USA

3....Hector Costita "Divagaçao 6/8"   1981 (Som Da Gente) BRESIL

4....Gloster Williams and Master Control " The message" 1979 (LA Record) USA

5....King Sporty & The Roots Rockers  " Badoo" 1979 (Konduko) USA

TOP 5 NEWS  :
1...K DEF "Back to basics"

2... THE ORIGINAL BLACK SHEEP (OF THE FAMILY) "in the forest"

3....THE RONGETZ FOUNDATION "Brooklyn butterfly session"

4....HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE " choice cuts"

5....JULIEN DYNE "Glimpse"