Tower Records was founded in 1960 by Russ Solomon in Sacramento, California. Tower Records focused on selling music records. They quickly grew expanded across the country and around the world selling not only music records, but they also sold cassette tapes, compact discs, and DVDs. They also sold other merchandise such as posters. They also had a very popular magazine named Pulse!. Tower Records was at the center of popular music culture. They were selling the music of all the new hit bands and singers. They attracted large crowds and grew in popularity. They expanded their stores throughout the United States and around the world. At their height, they had stores in 14 countries around the world.
Tower Records and other record companies once dominated the music market. They had a lucrative business because buying CD's, Cassettes, and records were the only way to consume music. In 1999 the total Music Industry had revenues of 14.6 Billion dollars a year. And from the age of the internet, the current music industry crashed. Music could now be downloaded and exchanged for free through companies like Napster. It completely undermined Tower Records and its competitors.
Then in 2004 the Tower Records parent company MTS inc. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Tower Records had become in massive debt because of their large expansion in the 1990s. Along with their increased debt, they also experience significantly less revenue due to a change in the music industry. Consumers began to consume more of their music online through mp3 files. After the bankruptcy, a group named Great American Group got all the assets of the company. They liquidated all of Tower Records' assets.
Ap. “Tower Records Files For Bankruptcy.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 9 Feb. 2004, www.cbsnews.com/news/tower-records-files-for-bankruptcy/.
Sisario, Ben. “The Power of Tower Records.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/business/media/tower-records-music.html.
I remember Mr. Stewart mentioning Tower Records in class while we were watching Napster, and I'm glad someone made a blog post to report what specifically happened. It's pretty obvious that increasing technology has been responsible for driving out outdated industries, but it's also interesting how they still keep a presence in society. For example, even though records are not widely used like they used it, it's become a trend to be "vintage" and buy record players or vinyls just for the aesthetic. Modern day brands such as Urban Outfitters manufactures new record players and vinyls to match that demand, and vinyl stores such as Amoeba Music still exist, two of their locations being in Berkeley and San Francisco.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. I think a similar thing happened to Rasputin music and block buster. At the turn of the century a lot of new technologies made these stores obsolete. For instance the advent of Netflix did away with block buster and Napster/Online music destroyed any records stores model. Definitely today records are popular again but not on the same level.
ReplyDeleteThis takes us all the way back to Napster and what it showed us about technology within industry. Since Capital Records was once a great might due to its technology it's ironic to think that as soon as a new technology comes along and takes it down much like it did, it starts complaining and filing lawsuits. What is crazy to think about is the question of what technology will take down the music streaming industry as we know it today in the next 50 years?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see a more detailed look at the fall of the CD and record stores since we only got a general overview from the Napster documentary. Like Evelyn mentions, an even more recent parallel is streaming services taking down DVD stores like Blockbuster. Technology is constantly advancing and changing how we as consumers act. I personally appreciate having all my music on my phone, but since I use a streaming service (Spotify) it's interesting to consider the consequences-- if Spotify ever shuts down, or Apple takes it off the app store, I won't have access to my saved music or data anymore, whereas if I had physical copies, I would legally own physical copies of the music and wouldn't have to think about losing it based on a company's actions. It's unlikely that this will happen, but there is definitely a difference between using physical copies of music and modern music streaming technology.
ReplyDeleteWith the progress of science and technology, it seems inevitable to change the old culture.It is undeniable that every reform is changing people's way of life, and many companies will also face bankruptcy because of such changes. For example, more than ten years ago, there was a mobile phone brand named Nokia in China. At that time, everyone used it. However, after the emergence of smart phones (like iPhone), Nokia was completely replaced, which led to the closure of the oldest mobile phone brand in China.
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