The end of the CD? Virgin closing more Megastores
Filed under: Budgets, Extracurriculars, Shopping
If the obituary hasn't already been written for the compact disc, then it will be soon.
The New York Virgin Megastore in Union Square is closing in late May or early June (a closing sale has already begun) and the Times Square Megastore is closing in April, according to a New York Times story. Across the country, the Virgin Megastore in downtown San Francisco, a three-story store full of music CDs, is closing in April.
Falling CD sales have caused Virgin and other music retailers to close in recent years. Virgin will be left with just three stores -- in Orlando, Denver and Hollywood, according to its Web site.
Virgin Entertainment Group North America started closing most of its stores after it was bought by the real estate companies Vornado and Related in 2007.
Its New York stores were said to be profitable, and were big tourist attractions. The Times Square store is across the street from MTV's Total Request Live, where artists appearing would often go across the street to the Virgin store for another appearance.
I've been in the San Francisco store enough times and have always seen plenty of people inside. It's in a great location downtown that takes up a lot of space.
But with CD sales plunging, maybe these stores could turn into something more popular, like an iTunes store.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-03-2009 @ 2:26AM
Mark said...
I met my wife at the Virgin Megastore in San Francisco 11 years ago. I will always look back on that day with joy. We got married in 2001 and now have a 9 month old son. Virgin may stop selling music there, but we will always dance with a song in our heart! :)
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3-02-2009 @ 2:32PM
Mr. Endo said...
You think they would be able to be more creative with the megastores and convert them to something trendy and profitable, as opposed to just closing them.
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3-03-2009 @ 2:32AM
Dudley Haas said...
I have some CD's that are coming due this month. Uncle Joe taught me long ago that CD's fluckuate, municipals don't. Whatever you put in then you're gonna get for the rest of the damn time!
3-02-2009 @ 2:37PM
Nick P said...
Really won't miss them. With the greed of the music industry we buy virtually nothing from them anymore.
X-M radio does just fine if I need them
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3-02-2009 @ 4:48PM
Bob said...
Greed? You're the greedy one looking for free music. That's the same as stealing you know.
3-02-2009 @ 2:59PM
Jess said...
I'm not going to miss them. I buy my music online.
http://cashforyourwallet.blogspot.com/
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3-02-2009 @ 3:09PM
Jane said...
Is this really a story? Did we report on the death of the record or cassette as well?
In a time when the economy is at it's lowest I think that it is unscrupulous to report on something like this. It is reported as if this is actually death to industry as opposed to evolution of industry.
I am honestly starting to believe that the press is partially responsible for what is happening in our economy, bc it is this kind of story combined with constant speculation that is creating fear and uncertainty in the markets. Shame on you Wallet Pop.
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3-02-2009 @ 3:24PM
pugz said...
how slowly some peoples' minds work. DUH!!!!
3-02-2009 @ 4:36PM
Neil said...
It's different than when LP's went to cassettes, or cassettes went to CD's because the brick, and mortar staore was still needed. Now that music is going digital, it IS kind of a big story as the brick and mortar stores are no longer needed.
3-02-2009 @ 11:57PM
racite said...
Jane you stated. "Is this really a story? Did we report on the death of the record or cassette as well?"
To answer your question. The death of the LP and cassette player was widely reported by media outlets.
You also said "In a time when the economy is at it's lowest I think that it is unscrupulous to report on something like this."
I disagree. The article is newsworthy weather you think so or not. That is the great thing about living in a democracy. Media outlets are able to report on what ever they feel is fit to print. And you have the freedom to read it or not. The world is a big place and yes the economy is big news but it is not the ONLY news. Of course as you said it is all speculation. It has to be. Because no one has a crystal ball to see the future. Who knows? Maybe it IS the death of the industry. The only thing we know for sure is that there will be another industry to replace it. If that industry is more responsive to its customers needs, delivers a better product for a better value, gives artists direct access to their markets and more control of their music then bring it on! its about time.
3-03-2009 @ 12:24AM
TMF said...
Thank you! I'm glad I am not the only one out there that feels this way.
Not only has the quality in writing and fact checking has went considerably down in journalism, I too feel that press is partly responsible for the fear that has been running so rampant today. It is bad enough the press failed to keep people informed for so many years with respect to law makers poor decisions, the public has to also deal with the press' doom and gloom on a daily basis.
With regard to this article, it's one thing to report that Virgin has decided to streamline its overhead in closing some stores, but to tie this article in with the "demise" of the CD is just another example of how ridiculous journalism has become in the U.S.
The mere suggestion of replacing a store which sells CD with an "iTunes" store just goes to show how the standards of good journalism and writing have significantly slipped. Virgin's decision in closing some stores have absolutely nothing to do with CD's poor sales. The writer even contridicts himself in stating the the NYC Virgin Mega Store is doing well and the San Francisco store, which "takes up a lot of space" also has people in the stores. It all comes down to a business decision in saving money in rents, insurance coverage, and the continuing trend of people continuing to purchase on-line as opposed to going to stores.
3-02-2009 @ 3:27PM
Steve said...
The problem isn't the death of the cd due to digital downloads completely. Part of the problem is the cost of cd's these days, they have grown more and more expensive and Virgin like it's former competition Tower, always sold their items at the SRP, unless it happened to be on sale because it was new or part of some promotional plan.
But never was anything across the board 10% off list, and the online stores took advantage of it. Why buy a cd for $18.99 when you may be able to go to Amazon or some other online store and buy it for $15.99.
I can understand a small pop and pop type store selling their items for list because their buy price isn't the same as that of a major retailer and if Virgin were an indy store, I'd support them, but they aren't and if they couldn't anticipate lose of sells due to online merchants who offer better pricing and digital downloads then they are just a dinosaur stuck in the mud.
Now, I do feel bad for the employees in all of these situations because I know some of them have worked in some of the NYC locations since day 1.
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3-02-2009 @ 3:25PM
Dan said...
There are artists very few and far between that make music for the music, there mostly all out for the money... With the Digital age now.. just watch cd's and dvd's now and eventually ITunes and other online music stores will fall... mark my words... The whole industry will collapse in on its self... and hopefully we will be rid of all this b.s. music we have out there now... and artists that are doing it for the sake of the music will flourish..
Musicians make their money from touring and maybe 10% off of Cd sales the other 90% goes to these record producers and industry people... so I say out with the crap and back to real music....
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3-03-2009 @ 1:00PM
Bob said...
Economists don't know anything. There is so much doom and gloom being reported all the time by the media. You wonder how the economy will ever get going again. Keep reporting all this crap and the economy will never get better. It's not just your web site, but every single one out there throwing up a sea of negativity, all the time every day. Believe it or not people actually would like to see someone reporting good news instead of all this garbage. There are just as many good things going on in this country right now as there are bad, maybe more, they just never get mentioned. If you want to find your own niche report some really great news once in a while. People will come back time and time again to see what's happening, and you might actually start a trend.
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3-02-2009 @ 5:15PM
dommale said...
you will get the true sound of an lp. digital music sucks
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3-02-2009 @ 8:48PM
Annie Mott said...
Pier 1 is a big old junk store that should shut down.
Every thing I've bought fell apart.
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3-02-2009 @ 6:49PM
Lily said...
XM radio is NOT free - where is the greed in paying a monthly fee to hear music and other programming on the radio????
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3-02-2009 @ 7:47PM
Lisa said...
Bob you do realize that you PAY for XM radio.
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3-02-2009 @ 7:45PM
saintangelsin said...
The real answer as to why Virgin and most corporate record stores are going out of business is because they rip people off. 18 to 20 bucks for a CD is pathetic. 10-15 dollars for a single disc is reasonable. Anything above and it better be for a special edition album or a double disc album.
There are a lot of independent record stores that are still doing decent business. It's because they're great to their clients, they love and know music, they usually charge reasonable prices and it builds community (as in a way for music fans to connect).
As for the death of the CD, I don't find that likely at all. I refuse to buy MP3s, because why pay money for something that I can't even hold or get signed by a band? (This sort of feeling is probably why people feel it's okay to pirate music, which it is not. MP3s are easy to take, whereas walking into a store and grabbing something physical is just shoplifting.) I know for a fact, I'm not the only one out there who feels this way about MP3s. With that in mind, the market for LPs and CDs won't be gone anytime soon. What will be gone are corporate stores that charge way too much. Also, what will be gone are senseless out-of-touch major record labels.
Finally for the people who seem to strangely think having satellite radio is a good idea for a way to get music need to think again. The shares of XM/Sirius are extremely low. I have a feeling that the company will go under by the end of the year. It's called people don't want to pay for radio. It's funny because 10 years ago, everyone said that satellite was going to be the death of FM, obviously it has proven different. Another thing, Ipods aren't going to kill radio either. Studies have proven that people like listening to music with a dj hosting, because it provides a connection.
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3-02-2009 @ 7:54PM
pr said...
another east coast thing going down, the entire east coast needs to slide into the atlantic, they are stupid for living there, or they do not know any better. out west we have the best , open space and smart people
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