The End of Virgin Megastores

So, according to this article, the remaining Virgin Megastores in the US are going away.  There’s part of me that hates to see another music store go away, but on the other hand what did it have to offer other than a splashy looking store?

I think I’ve been to four of them in the US and I never bought anything at one outside of a couple of magazines and a book.  First off their selection wasn’t anything great.  The majority of what they had could be found at a decent music store in any large city.  I think the big different was that they had a lot of each one and some nice looking displays.  Some of the ones I went to had a half ass import section but nothing too exciting.  On top of the mediocre selection everything was priced way to high.  Why would I pay $18 for a CD I could easily get at Amazon for $11 -$13?

Their only saving grace was that they had an interesting book section, but most of the time I would end up writing the title down and ordering it off Amazon when I got home.

I don’t think there’s anything they could have done to make things better.  The article uses the typical boogie man of file sharing to blame for the store going under, but I think its real weakness was that the Internet in general contributed to its downfall.  In the 80s and early 90s I would have loved a store like that, but once everything opened up their store wasn’t anything special.  It’s the same thing with Tower Records.  Back in 1990 I went into the one on the Sunset Strip and was blown away by it.  I had never been to a music store that big with such a great selection.  Less than ten years later there wasn’t anything special about it.  

Unfortunately, I think stores like the Virgin Megastore and Tower Records are just relics of the past.  They no longer fill a need as we move ahead.