Renting a movie is something most Americans can’t do anymore. Some people wax nostalgic about Friday nights spent wandering the aisles of their local video store, hoping the movie they wanted to rent was available. Those people’s children are now curious what that whole process was like.
And then there are people like Southwest resident Eric Knobel who wants to recoup the physical media that streaming has taken from people.
“I feel like the big promise of streaming has not delivered,” Knobel said. “We're getting less access to more things.”
Films and TV shows are routinely removed from streaming services and subscription prices keep rising. Licensing deals and cost-cutting measures lead to many media disappearing from streaming services.
“I think everyone, no matter their age, sees the limitations of all of our media only available in clouds,” Knobel said.
Knobel, and a growing number of supporters, want to preserve this media to retain access to it.
“There's been a lot of attention, a lot more than I ever suspected,” Knobel said.
The Video Store MPLS, a non-profit video store in Minneapolis, is Knobel’s pitch to save physical movies and TV shows. A project that is already a year and a half in the making, Knobel has already collected 3,000 DVDs and Blu-ray discs plus close to 1,500 more in donations. The VHS collection will be limited to media only available on VHS.
A Kickstarter campaign that started on Aug. 1 will help Knobel decide where the store will be located. Kickstarter campaigns are only funded if the fundraising goal is met and as of August. 6, the campaign has been fully funded.
But Knobel said the more money the store can raise now, the more it can be a "full blown" video store when it opens. Additional funds will pay for additional shaveling, storage, a POS system, and screening equipment for in-store movie nights.
Knobel has been looking at locations across Southwest and South Minneapolis but will not be looking to rent out a space until the month-long fundraiser ends.
“The fundraiser is going to tell us a lot about what interest is truly there and what kind of space we're going to be able to get,” Knobel said.
The Video Store MPLS will be financially supported by monthly memberships. The multi-tier membership structure will allow people to, at a “reasonable low price,” rent a specific amount of media at a time. Rental periods will be one week with no late fees.
People looking to donate their physical media can contact Knobel online.
“The community online, since we've been getting some attention, has told me that there might be a much, much larger audience out there that's ready for this kind of change,” Knobel said.
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