The Decline of the CD Store

The Rocky Mountain News reports:

They're dropping like flies.

Musicland, the parent company of several music retailing chains, has filed for bankruptcy. Its MediaPlay stores were shuttered last month. Earlier this week, its Sam Goody chain announced the closure of seven CD stores across Colorado and more than 340 similar stores across the nation.

West Coast indie legends such as Rhino Records and Aron's recently have shut down. In Denver, Cheapo Discs has closed two stores.

Ironically, all this bad news follows reports that music sales in 2005 topped a billion units for the first time. But that figure counts every downloaded song with the same weight as a physical CD sale. So despite the record number of units, music industry revenues and CD sales are down.

Anyone interested in the music industry should read this article.An Amazon or an Apple Store can always carry a larger selection than the local bricks and mortar store.