Scarecrow Video in danger of closing by the end of the year!

[El_Fez]

Scarecrow Video says it needs to raise $1.8M or face possible closure

Here's a bit from the Scarecrow blog

"In 2014, a group of video store clerks came together to form a nonprofit and take over stewardship of one of the most culturally significant video collections. None of us had any background in the nonprofit world, but for a decade we succeeded – largely on the dedication and sacrifice of our devoted staff and an unwavering support base. But in 10 years, many, many things have changed, threatening our ability to continue.

Sadly, all of our valiant efforts to keep things going at Scarecrow have stalled. Rentals and sales revenue, which were a huge part of what has sustained us, especially in those early years, are now 40% less than what they were in 2015. In the same timeframe, our major expenses have increased by 25%. The final tipping point has been a nationwide decrease in private and institutional funding along with delayed after-effects of the pandemic, and thus we find ourselves in a dire situation. Simply put, our fundraising is not keeping pace with our needs; and though we’ve already cut staff hours and reduced expenses, and our supporters have donated what they can in our spring drive, none of it is enough.

We’ve weathered the extraordinary challenges of the pandemic and the rise of streaming video, and we haven’t had to renew the SOS call – Save Our Scarecrow – from 10 years ago. This is it. This is the SOS."

Here, by the way, is just the main room. That's not the many, many, MANY back rooms:

[Show spoiler]

(By the way, they also rent by mail. You're welcome)

[SeanJoyce]

[Red Spectre]

1.8 million dollars to keep a video store open in 2024. Okay

[El_Fez]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Scarecrow isn't just a Blockbuster, it's the largest publicly available film archive in the country. They have something like 140,000 movies some you literally cannot find anywhere else. According to the folks I've talked to, they have around 5500 titles that not even the Library of Congress has a copy of.

So it's more than 'just a video store'.

[Keenan]

Originally Posted by El_Fez

Scarecrow isn't just a Blockbuster, it's the largest publicly available film archive in the country. They have something like 140,000 movies some you literally cannot find anywhere else. According to the folks I've talked to, they have around 5500 titles that not even the Library of Congress has a copy of.

So it's more than 'just a video store'.

Scarecrow is a legit version of some of the pirate file-sharing movie sites. Scarecrow or file-sharing? Pretty easy answer.

[Ruined]

I'm not surprised they are struggling

I've noticed in the past six months especially a dramatic slowdown in people buying physical media movies.

Its weird, because when the covid cash was out there, people were buying huge amounts of movies, likely both due to being stuck at home and the extra cash

But now, with people returned to work, no longer stuck in homes, inflation, and perception of a poor economy, people arent spending as much on movies

[BluBonnet]

I was very fortunate to rent from Scarecrow Video back in the day when George Latsios was still manning the front desk (Sadly he passed away at 44).

Back then, the store was already getting visits from folks like Roger Ebert and Quentin Tarantino. George had the most up-to-date collection in the world, complete with imported Japanese laserdiscs and PAL VHS tapes from Europe - and if you didn't have the right player, he would hook you up.

It will be a shame if the store is forced to close.

[benricci]

It’s a bummer, but the vast majority of the world just doesn’t wanna rent videos anymore. Most people have moved on and it’s surprising that they have lasted this long, to be honest. The bottom line is they simply don’t have a viable business model anymore.

I mean, should we be trying to rally around fax machine manufacturers? Video stores for most people are just an obsolete relic of the past at this point. As much nostalgia as you might have, nothing is really going to change that in any meaningful way.

I’m not sure I see much point in trying to save them just so they can limp along for a few more years until they inevitability close anyway. You are just prolonging the inevitable.

[rdodolak]

Maybe Seattle can help to bail them out.

[Video Ghoul]

It's sad to see them in this position, though not surprising. They definitely face a massive uphill battle that seems unwinnable.

[El_Fez]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

I was very fortunate to rent from Scarecrow Video back in the day when George Latsios was still manning the front desk (Sadly he passed away at 44).

Back then, the store was already getting visits from folks like Roger Ebert and Quentin Tarantino. George had the most up-to-date collection in the world, complete with imported Japanese laserdiscs and PAL VHS tapes from Europe - and if you didn't have the right player, he would hook you up.

It will be a shame if the store is forced to close.

Yeah, I remember having long, long chats with George back when Scarecrow was still up by Green Lake. We shot the shit about all kinds of flicks back when I was a stupid young man (as opposed to the stupid old man that I am today). He was a really cool dude!

And you can still rent LD players and PAL VCRs from them even today. You need a format, they can totally hook you up!

[FlexMentallo]

I met Lando there when I was living nearby in Seattle. Well over 10 years ago now. Place had a great vibe and it was neat that they had VHS tapes but alas I was mostly watching my own discs by then. Tough business to keep going in the modern era.

[Kenneth M]

YouTube

Reminds me of this

[BudtheChud]

El_Fez,

Thanks for sharing this and trying to get the word out. Much appreciated.

Full disclosure, I've worked at Scarecrow over 20 years. Happy to answer any questions folks might have,

[BluBonnet]

This is nice of him!

[Driver78]

Have to agree with the user who said video stores today are just not viable. At this point they're just a novelty that should be run solely as a weekend hobby. Instead of focusing their energy on fundraising to stay alive, why not just start a label? Scarecrow Video. 1.8 million could buy a lot of licensing rights with enough left over for overhead and other initial expenses. They had a good run but it's just not sustainable.

[pixote]

Originally Posted by Keenan

Scarecrow is a legit version of some of the pirate file-sharing movie sites. Scarecrow or file-sharing? Pretty easy answer.

Scarecrow is only really accessible to people in Seattle so it's not really useful as an archive to the general public in the grand scheme of things. They could always move to North Dakota or somewhere that has rent at a fraction of the cost and still preserve this collection or start working with smaller imprints to offers sources where masters are lost. One user put it best, maybe starting an imprint would be ideal or even their own streaming service for some of the really obscure films which would then allow people around the world to enjoy some of the rarities. According to google, which could be wrong, there are around 4 million people in the greater Seattle area. At a 1.8 Million raise for physical media storage, that's close to $0.50 cents per citizen to be able to keep the archive local.

The other thing to wonder is if they couldn't cut the archive in less than half and focus on the ultra obscure and leave the more common titles to the streaming sites. Just seems like a hell of a lot of money for storage for a non-profit. They are non-profit, this won't be the last raise if they actually pull this off so the 1.8 Million is just a temporary solution

It's also interesting that one of their problems, according to this article, is a decline in donations. Does that suggest they are buying more? I don't see a correlation between donations and revenue for such a large existing collection unless the revenue is being driven by newer titles and not the older/archive titles.

[El_Fez]

Originally Posted by pixote

Scarecrow is only really accessible to people in Seattle so it's not really useful as an archive to the general public in the grand scheme of things

Except that they do rental by mail, so everyone in the general public can use them.

[pleaserecycle]

I've never been to Scarecrow, but I've seen my share of independent video, record, etc. shops close in my lifetime. It's hard to explain the significance of these shops in an era of instant gratification. It's kinda like playing a vinyl record - I won't argue that it's a better experience and it's certainly not a more practical experience, but it's a different experience. It's more intentional. And for shops like Scarecrow, there are social and cultural aspects that can't be streamed. I hope Scarecrow finds a way to continue.

[Video Ghoul]

Originally Posted by El_Fez

Except that they do rental by mail, so everyone in the general public can use them.

I'd argue that a lot of the appeal of a video store is walking the aisles and browsing covers. The Scarecrow site doesn't have cover images on it. A wall of text isn't exactly enticing. I wonder if they'd have had the front and back covers of their movies to add to listings if that would have helped a bit.

Also, with the state of USPS and how they handle packages, I wonder how many people are scared away because they don't want to be on the hook for a lost/damaged movie.