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Tower Records liquidating

Holy cr*p! :eek:

Though I'm not that surprised as I could not see exactly how Tower could compete with the prices that they usually have on some records and DVDs.

Thanks for the heads up. Now I'm off to see about buying some records.
 
I like Tower but it is really rediculous to think that they would be able to compete with other stoers when they overcharge by as much as $10 a CD over others! It was quite common i would find the CD i wanted to be over $18 and i can find it in many other places for about half that :(
 
They couldn't compete with Best Buy and other stores because the other stores can sell the CDs for cheaper because they sell other big-ticket items like computers, fridges, and other various crap that allows them to make money off of that but still CDs for cheap. Tower could never do that since they were subject to the price the labels set, and they couldn't sell anything for any cheaper than that or else they would lose money. They lost money either way because people wouldn't pay 17.99 for a CD.
 
Warbrain said:
They couldn't compete with Best Buy and other stores because the other stores can sell the CDs for cheaper because they sell other big-ticket items like computers, fridges, and other various crap that allows them to make money off of that but still CDs for cheap.
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Tower started to suffer on the CD sales side when the likes of Best Buy, Costco and Wal-Mart could offer CD's at substantially lower prices than what Tower charges for a new CD thanks to massive bulk buying power. Tower also suffered on the book sales side when the likes of Barnes & Noble, Borders Books and Costco could offer books at lower prices than Tower charges for a new book with that same bulk buying power.

Another thing that seriously hurt Tower was the rise of online retailers like Amazon.com and Buy.com, who could offer a huge selection of books, CD's and DVD's that even Tower couldn't match.

But probably the final straw was the rise of legal music downloads for the Apple iPod using the iTunes Music Store, especially when you could get a full album at US$9.99 per album as opposed to US$14 to US$17 per album-length CD buying from Tower.

I'm going to miss Tower Records--they are truly a Sacramento, CA area institution. :(
 
What's gonna happen to Tower Records in Picadilly Circus in London, UK?

Maybe in the US, they're a downmarket shop, I don't know, but the Picadilly Circus one is quite posh - it's their UK flagshship store.

I;m deaf and don't listen to music, but I used to spend many hours in their basement reading their cool selection of magazines. They had one of the best international ranges in London - lots of art mags, japanese stuff, and self-published stuff, and the staff didnt care if you spent all day reading their stuff.

Not been inside for years, but I still walk past it every now and then.
 
RedTomato said:
What's gonna happen to Tower Records in Picadilly Circus in London, UK?
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Pretty sure that's owned by Virgin now. Or HMV... but probably Virgin.

Always thought it was a bit of a dump to be honest. It's looking pretty tatty these days on the ground floor particularly the general 'pop' racks.
 
I stopped by Tower today in NYC and it was a little too crazy so I didn't bother going in. I can't stand crazy crowds.

There were lots of "going out of business" signs. I might go back when it's the final days. There isn't anything I was looking for anyway.

It is sad to see them go. I spent many late night hours there with my friend in my high school years shopping for CD's. With CBGB's closing down this year, and other stores in the city that I used to visit which are gone, I'm starting to feel really old...
 
Foxglove9 said:
I stopped by Tower today in NYC and it was a little too crazy so I didn't bother going in. I can't stand crazy crowds...
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So why visit NYC at all, then? :D
 
I just got back from Tower - it was a joke!

Only 10% off, so after paying tax, you really aren't saving anything off of the marked price. Plus, CD's that iTunes is selling for $9.99 are about $20. So in the end, you paying an extra $10... some sale. :rolleyes:
 
Aeolius said:
So why visit NYC at all, then? :D
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Funny, I was thinking the same thing :p

If you want to know. I met up with an online friend for the first time, and we just wandered around the village for a few hours. :)
 
liketom said:
was napster partner with tower in japan ??

;)
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Yes, and still are. I saw a train advertisement just this past week - the sides of the Yamanote Line (a major JR lines that services the ring suburds around Tokyo - it is a loop line that takes about 1.5 hours to go around)

It wil be interesting to see where this goes in Japan. Tower has always had competition to rental CD's and downloads aren't that successful here because of the rental CD's -- although some reports do say downloading via mobile phone is becoming more popular though some reports say not...
 
OnceUGoMac said:
Time to visit the store on Wabash in the Loop.
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Yep- or even better, the one on Clark, just south of Fullerton. Oh I'm sad, but I have to say I've been shopping the local used record stores more often.

And honestly, I don't see the traditional retail CD store lasting much longer. I mean, I'm about to turn 40 and I LOVE downloading music. I've been able to find rare things on iTunes that I have trouble finding in stores. If I'm doing this, I can only imagine that younger people are too- and more often.

I think the future for retail music will be strictly vinyl, how ironic is that?
 
RedTomato said:
What's gonna happen to Tower Records in Picadilly Circus in London, UK?

Maybe in the US, they're a downmarket shop, I don't know, but the Picadilly Circus one is quite posh - it's their UK flagshship store.
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Like BV said, it was bought up by Virgin who let it run nominally as Tower for a while, but then moved in a while back and closed its competing branch next to the Criterion. No more Tower Records in the UK.

It was pretty much overpriced even compared with HMV, Our Price (as was) and Virgin even then, so not that much missed, and I agree with BV that it looked pretty tatty compared with the competition.
 
Went to the U-District one in Seattle Saturday morning and did not notice any reduced prices.

EricNau said:
Only 10% off, so after paying tax, you really aren't saving anything off of the marked price.
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Heard about the 10% off this morning. Not a great bargain at all :(
 
Blue Velvet said:
Pretty sure that's owned by Virgin now. Or HMV... but probably Virgin.
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Yeah Virgin have bought it... unarguably one of the prime locations in the whole of the West End.

Back before the Amazon's and before internet shopping really took off, Tower Records were one of the few places you could get imports at a 'reasonable' price, though I use the term 'reasonable' loosely as they were still horrifically expensive, but cheaper than many of the indies.

Massively influential though, before them record shops were just that, Tower Records really did force the somewhat staid sterling stores to up their game.
 
Tower died when they got rid of the independent record buyers that worked in every store and moved buying and distribution up to the corporate offices. All the cool imports and indie releases started disappearing and prices started going up, up, up.

Each Tower Records branch in the Bay Area had their particular strengths and weaknesses. Loved the Mountain View and San Francisco Columbus and Bay branches, but never found much in San Mateo for whatever reason. Ever since Amoeba came on the scene, however, Tower has been irrelevant.

Still sad to see them go: they did get an awful lot of my money for an awful long time.
 
leekohler said:
Yep- or even better, the one on Clark, just south of Fullerton.
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I was banned at that one after the accident.:p I'll check that one out assuming it isn't closed by the time my train gets there.
 
joepunk said:
Went to the U-District one in Seattle Saturday morning and did not notice any reduced prices.



Heard about the 10% off this morning. Not a great bargain at all :(
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I don't believer there are even any discounts at my Cherry Hill store, but i'm going to wait until they advertise huge discounts as the closing draws nearer and will risk the availability of whatever i am thinking about getting (Strangers With Candy DVDs and some CDs :) )
 
OnceUGoMac said:
Time to visit the store on Wabash in the Loop.
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Great store. I work at DePaul in the building at Wabash and Jackson, so it's going to be quite easy to go there whenever I please.

Jon'sLightBulbs said:
What did the Lincoln Park store look like? Was there anything left? I'm itching to pick up some (a lot of) Thievery Company and Jurassic 5 albums.
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I went to the one in Schaumburg on Saturday and they were busy. It was only 10-30% off, though, but it'll pick up in a few weeks.

leekohler said:
Yep- or even better, the one on Clark, just south of Fullerton. Oh I'm sad, but I have to say I've been shopping the local used record stores more often.

And honestly, I don't see the traditional retail CD store lasting much longer. I mean, I'm about to turn 40 and I LOVE downloading music. I've been able to find rare things on iTunes that I have trouble finding in stores. If I'm doing this, I can only imagine that younger people are too- and more often.

I think the future for retail music will be strictly vinyl, how ironic is that?
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I'm going to hit up that store when I get the chance to be in Lincoln Park.
 
weckart said:
Like BV said, it was bought up by Virgin who let it run nominally as Tower for a while, but then moved in a while back and closed its competing branch next to the Criterion. No more Tower Records in the UK.

It was pretty much overpriced even compared with HMV, Our Price (as was) and Virgin even then, so not that much missed, and I agree with BV that it looked pretty tatty compared with the competition.
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Tower used to be superb for getting hold of those rare bands and hard to find albums. I am a big fan of the group the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, that HMV and Virgin don't touch. Tower Records? No problem.

Sad, particularly when the London store went which was just absolutely top notch.
 
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