When I heard the news this morning that Tower Records was shutting its doors as it declared bankruptcy for the second time in two years, my heart sank. Tower had been a huge part of my music life for many years. The Greenwich Village Tower, on West 4th and Broadway, in particular had been a place to go, not only to buy CD’s, but to discover new bands and even meet new people. Prior to Tower’s opening the Village store in 1983, boutiques like Second Hand Rose and Bleecker Bob’s were my primary sources of music. Then came Tower, with its vastness and diverse collections, and it became my top music source.
Then, I thought about the last time I was actually in a Tower Records store. It was probably about three or four years ago, and then was simply to kill time before meeting a colleague for drinks nearby. I realized that, while I still buy some CDs, I’ve bought them almost exclusively from Amazon for the past 10 years. And today, I’m more likely to download music from eMusic or iTunes than to buy a CD, unless I know that I want the whole thing.
And while Tower once seemed a great place to discover music, that discovery process was mostly serendipitous. No one there knew my tastes, and they certainly didn’t store my listening patterns. Today, I’m much more apt to use Last.fm or the music blogs via Hype Machine to identify new music. While I might have been able to find Lily Allen’s Smile playing at Tower, it’s much easier to browse the blogs, listen to a few samples, then download a track or two.
While someone is likely to buy the Tower name, it’s unlikely that any buyer will retain their brick and mortar stores. And, while part of me wishes they could survive, I also realize that I'll hardly notice it when they're gone.
Posted by: |