The Biggest CD Sale Ever
By Matt Unangst
The famous Virgin Megastore in Times Square, the largest record store in the world, is going out of business and like stores half its size, is holding a going out of business sale, starting this Thursday. The store was no doubt suffering reduced sales over the past years with the rise of digital sources of music, but the current state of the economy probably pushed things over the edge and made the store no longer viable. The sale may give music fans a last chance to find some albums that are not easily found elsewhere.
Despite its fame, the store had only been open since 1996, so it’s not like we’re losing an icon of music sales in America. With the rise of digital media, big record stores like Virgin will have trouble competing because buying music online is so much easier. It’s also cheaper for the kind of top 40 music that most record stores are set up to sell – people don’t want to buy the whole album from a one hit wonder for ten bucks when they can have the one good song on the album for a dollar. The record stores that survive will be the ones that offer things not as easily found online – entire good albums, obscure music, and a knowledgeable staff. Something will replace Virgin Megastore in Times Square, which is still one of the top retail locations, if not number one, in the world.
Source: PRNewsWire
