Many concertgoers look forward to when a regional band comes to town as an opportunity to buy the group’s latest CD.

But little do they know, local and regional releases are available in Ames’ very own music stores.

In fact, virtually every CD retailer in town has at least a couple of local CDs in stock to help support local bands and allow their devoted fans to purchase the latest material.

Both Musicland and Peeples Music include an entire section of local music in their store displays. And the recently-opened Dharma Records plans to add a local section soon.

The largest selection of our-town-tunes can be found at Peeples. The Ames location of the regional chain boasts around 50 different bands on independent Midwestern labels.

Manager Charlie Stewart estimates that there are 15 to 20 purely local CDs currently in stock in his store.

Despite the variety and availability of local material, a disadvantage to buying at a store as opposed to a live show is that prices are usually marked up.

Customers at Dharma and Peeples will pay about a dollar or two more than if they wait to buy the CD at a concert. Musicland marks up its prices too, but Assistant Manager Warren Olson declined to reveal the amount of the markup.

After the band sells the CD to the store, the store increases the price accordingly to insure profits.

Disc Go Round manager Scott Andresen said he wouldn’t take profits at all for the sale of a local CD if the company’s policy would allow it.

Like Andresen, the managers at Ames stores invite local bands to sell their work in stores, and they make it easy for them to do so.

“It’s not that hard, actually,” Dharma Records owner Justin Means said. “[We] do a consignment.”

Bands can bring in three or 30 CDs to sell, he said, there is no minimum or maximum.

There is also no strict criteria for sound quality.

Although bands hope to get the best recording that their bank accounts allow, there have been releases of demo-quality sound that stores have stocked anyway.

While vinyl hasn’t been the predominant recording medium of choice for local bands, some selections can be found at both Peeples and Dharma.

In addition to Ames music retail stores allowing just about any local or regional work to be sold in their premises, many of the outlets also help promote bands.

A lot of the music stores hang posters and display stickers, demos, singles and other goodies without charging the band.

Musicland has held in-store signings in the past, and Dharma features a stage and sound system, allowing for release parties with live performances of the featured bands.

Ames music stores share a commitment to provide a win-win situation for both creators of local music and the people who buy it.