Tape

It was around 1980 that we first felt the cine mood shift a little. VHS & Beta pre-recorded video tapes were a subject on every-ones lips and we could see the sales of our 8mm films,  especially the features, begin to falter and slow very slightly. By now even our retail shop had a selection of Intervision VHS cassettes for hire or sale and we were finding that the demand for new titles was always increasing. The only thing holding the take over by cassette was the initial cost of a VHS or Beta tape recorder, which was around £700.00, but that would soon change as the demand grew. Derek felt that there was only one solution and so it was that we entered the pre-recorded video tape distribution market. Putting the film on a slow back-burner, and only issuing the occasional 8mm movie, we visited all our London contacts to acquire product. The market, Soho in particular, was buzzing with vast catalogues of film and TV programming, video had revitalised the whole of this somewhat tired corner of London. Films had been dug up after years  in hibernation, some films so bad they had never seen the light of day, were now on offer. Movies often appeared on more that one agents sales lists and would often appear under a number of different titles, and it was also a boom time for public domain titles. But the market was vast and hungry, and  most films, sporting a fancy new title or/and bright new packaging ended up on library shelves all over the UK. It wasn’t unusual to receive a letter telling us that a title in our sales catalogue, belonged to their clients and we should cease any future sales, etc, etc. we often had to do the same, the whole market was chaotic and undisciplined. Derek and I had to visit many new venues looking for what we considered reasonable product: Mifed in  Milan, Film Festivals in Cannes, New York, and LA, where we attended two or three American Film Markets. I would see the same lists and titles offered at all of these sites or venues. Deals were being struck in elevators, taxis and washrooms everywhere, and it was only as time progressed that it became all to obvious that most agents had no master material for much of the product they were selling! We had this problem rear it’s ugly head several times! But I always found ways to sweeten my discontent and it was on one of the first New York trips, that Derek paid for a taxi to The Captain Company, that’s what Famous Monsters magazine called their Mail Order side, in order that I could buy some much needed back issues of FM! He was chuckling to himself all the way back on the flight home…he said it was because he could imagine my newly acquired magazines going around and around on the baggage claim….in shreds.