“Buy It, Burn It, Return It.” For a small chain of record stores in northern New Jersey, this… “Buy It, Burn It, Return It.” For a small chain of record stores in northern New Jersey, this new policy is proving the most potent method of keeping customers. Not surprisingly, the Recording Industry Association of America isn’t happy. Given the dismal state of the music business, though, the RIAA should be wary of condemning any strategy that gets customers to buy music.

Scotti’s Record Shops, the business in question, is a family-run chain that opened in 1956. Faced with competition for customers, not only from big-box stores such as Wal-Mart but from Internet programs both legal and not, they implemented the strategy earlier in the year. So far, it’s been a resounding success.

As the name might suggest, the policy is fairly straightforward. Customers buy CDs, both new and used, and take the music home where they can burn a copy if they choose. They then have 10 days to bring the discs back for 70 percent store credit – which can, of course, go to buying more CDs and repeating the process.

The Scotti family says they consulted with lawyers before beginning this new program, which they believe to respect copyright and rental laws. Nevertheless, they have entered into talks with the RIAA.

Since the rise of Napster, the recording industry has been fighting a losing battle. For each illegal downloader they sue, another thousand are happily pulling files off the Internet. This isn’t a war the RIAA can win – business models such as Scotti’s’ offer one of the only valid compromises. At least someone is still buying new music; in fact, Scotti’s reported that customers are more likely to try out new sounds when they know the discs are returnable.

The RIAA may hope that every customer who wants a particular album will go out and buy their own copy, but a quick glance at reality shows that this is not going to happen. The sale of used CDs is not new or rare. “Buy It, Burn It, Return It” is merely a catalyst, expediting the transition from new to used and broadening record stores’ catalogue of resalable music.

Record stores are critical to the music industry; for each one that goes out of business, the RIAA loses a showcase for their merchandise. Record shops offer customers a chance to browse around and be exposed to new artists. Not only this, but they allow for impulse buys – those unplanned purchases which constitute significant parts of many retailers’ revenues – which do not happen the same way online.

In addition, independent stores often can take the artistic risks that larger stores do not risk. Scotti’s, unlike Wal-Mart, sells the original Willie Nelson album Countryman, which has the image of a marijuana leaf on the cover. Record stores are important outposts for creativity.

“Buy It, Burn It, Return It” is allowing Scotti’s to stay afloat and continue selling records. The RIAA should not be so quick to bite the hand that is trying to feed it.