Remember when there were music stores?

As news of Tower Records bankruptcy spread, music fans lamented the demise of one of the few large music stores. Yet after reading this article on MSNBC it’s not difficult to see why Tower and other music stores can’t make it in the age of digital music. Tower’s “going out of business” sale means current CDs were marked down 10% from $18.99 to $17.09 yet that same album was available for $9.99 on iTunes or about a buck and half on AllofMp3. Add the growing selection of CDs available to Costco, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target that usually cost $5 to $7 less per CD and it’s not hard to see why the old music store has become a relic we’ll tell our kids about. And personally, I’d be pretty bummed out if I drove across town to visit any “going out of business” store and the items were marked down a measly 10%. Big fricking deal.

Whenever I’d visit San Francisco or New York I’d seek out the huge Tower or Virgin Records and browse their selection and explore new kinds of music at the listening stations. I’ll certainly miss being able to do that if all the record stores disappear.