MEGATUNES MUSIC CCMA AWARD, 2004
RECORD STORE OF THE YEAR
MADE BY CROSSROADS PROMOTIONS | ONTARIO, CANADA
DONATED BY JONI PLEAU | CALGARY, ALBERTA
“Megatunes record store opened the doors of its original location on Calgary’s iconic Uptown 17th Avenue strip in 1988. In the early days, its walls were plastered with black and white photocopies of local punk show posters and framed images of music legends, and it sold mostly cassette tapes. As the ‘90s rolled in, Megatunes shifted to selling CDs, which it continued to do until its closing in 2010. For over twenty years, Megatunes welcomed music lovers of all kinds into its eclectic space, where one could browse the aisles for hours as chummy employees played their favourite albums over the speakers. In the 2000s the Calgary location was renovated to cover the entire ground floor of the Calhoun building at 932 17th Ave, and in 2003, Megatunes opened its second location on Whyte Ave. in Edmonton. Both the Calgary and Edmonton stores were able to host live music and they became popular venues for artists, many of them local. My parents, owners Mike and Joni Pleau, were very proud of Megatunes for gaining national recognition as Record Store of the Year at the 2004 Canadian Country Music Awards. Megatunes was also recognized several times as Canadian Independent Record Store of the Year during Canadian Music Week.”
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“When I started working at my parents’ store at age 18, I was so intimidated by the knowledge of the staff that I, inspired by Lane Kim, music obsessed nerd on TV’s Gilmore Girls, sought out the 1000+ page MOJO Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time to brush up my musical intel. I soon realized, however, that while encyclopedic knowledge of music history can come in handy, it was more important to trust your own ear and let music make its way to you. Only then can you begin to have genuine conversations about the music you love.”
- Reiko Pleau, daughter of Mike and Joni Pleau
