RIP: Virgin

June 18, 2008 on 5:01 pm | In Music, - Jauretsi |

Another Virgin bites the dust.

(Virgin Records, Union Square, NYC)

The Union Square Virgin Records opened 10 years ago to spice up the area. Last year, Virgin’s billionaire honcho Richard Branson began to lease (on the down lo) the 12 existing megastores to Vornado Realty and Related Properties last year until they find a proper replacement. Have you noticed how many banks are popping up all over the place by the way? Creepy. Whoever takes over the monster stores, I think Richard will be happy to move on to his next visionary idea (which will hopefully nurture music), and gets the noose out of his neck while this aspect of the biz crash & burns.

Let’s see where we’re at in this state of the music store game:

Tower Records? Gone.
Sam Goody? Gone.
Beat Street? Gone.
Coconuts? Gone.
FYE? Gone.
HMV? Gone.
Colony (Times Square)? Gone.

Bleecker Bobs? Alive.
House of Oldies? Alive.
The Golden Disc? Alive.
Disco Rama? Alive.
J&R Music World? Alive.

That means the Speciality stores are still hanging on — except for Rocks in Your Head in Soho, which sadly shut its doors in 2006 (I can’t imagine the rent they endured until the very end). It’ll be missed. Truly. New York Times claims that 80 Record stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn have closed down since 2003.

(Virgin, Times Square, NYC)

But back to the big boys. It’s official that the Virgin Megastore in Times Square will be shutting its doors in February 2009. Aside from Union Square and Times Square Virgins, no major decisions have been made on the other spaces but i think I can hear the funeral march regardless…

For all those “suits” that fought the shift, the day has arrived. Time to get EVEN MORE creative with how we push new music.
J