Save Mother's Music in Moorhead

Hey, peeps! So this is really difficult. Since COVID, our store has never fully recovered. Generous folks helped us get caught up with our bills after the shutdowns, but shopping behaviors changed. A bigger emphasis has been placed on streaming & ordering online. New record & CD prices spiked while profit margins decreased. Increased competition on many fronts. And we’ve been in limbo for several years now.

Unless we can raise $5,000+ dollars in 2 weeks, after 54 years, we’ll likely permanently close on July 1st. Our rent went up 20% about a year and a half ago too. Other expenses like insurance & utilities have gone up as well.

I’ve basically been running this store for free for the past 3 years. And I’m okay with that. Barely turning a profit & when we do, that money goes to past due bills. Why? Because I’ve been here for 25 years & it’s my dad’s legacy too.

Mother’s is the second oldest record store in the 5+ state region & is way more important than money or any single person. It’s an institution in FM. If possible, I’ll continue running the store for free. I pay my personal bills through alternate means.

I‘d feel extra bad about this, but virtually every business owner I know in Moorhead is struggling too. People on the North Dakota side of the river just don’t have as many reasons to shop in Moorhead as they did in the past. Many of these issues are self-inflicted by past city leadership (the current leadership is showing a lot more promise).

So we’re looking for help raising the money to save our store. Be it donations of cash or records or CDs. Stopping in & spending a few bucks. Taking inspiration from Empire Records, it would be cool if we could get some bands in here to help draw some people. I’m open to any suggestions & any help would be greatly appreciated.

Our new business model is showing a lot of promise. Focusing on used media & smoking accessories has helped, but it hasn’t helped enough to get us caught up on rent. And if this new model doesn’t pan out, we’ll likely move to downtown Fargo if we can survive until the fall. We have a special location in mind. But time is of the essence.

I appreciate all your love & support over the years. And if you could share this post, it would be greatly appreciated as well. This has been my dream job…even when I’m doing it for free! ✌️

-Brady, owner