Category: Live Music Blog- Virgin Megastore is Closing in Times Square.
With the Virgin Megastore in Times Square closing it is indicative of the times in the music business. With record labels going under and CD sales plummeting, it comes as no surprise that they will shut in the first quarter of 2009. In this particular instance, it appears to be more real estate related than lack of sales in the store. The owner of the building feels that with a higher end tenant the building will see more profitability.
Even though Virgin is the highest volume music store in the US with annual sales topping 55 million, it is ultimately a sinking ship. The music business has become primarily digital with artists being able to market and sell directly to the customer. On top of that, itunes has created a price point of .99 cents. The days of buying a crappy CD with one or two songs you like is in the past.
It will be interesting to see where the business goes from here and who will hang on and who will be able to adapt their business model. I personally like to be able to physically enter a store and touch and feel and look at different CD’s. Obviously, I am in the minority and this leaves Virgin with only 5 stores. They are deciding what to do with them, but I think they will all be gone in the next year or two.
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