Tower Records facts for kids
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| Music retailer | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Fate | Defunct, 2006 |
| Founded | 1960 (as retail music chain) 1995 (as online retailer) |
| Headquarters | Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Products | DVDs, compact discs, videos, video games, records, posters, books, collectibles, accessories |
Tower Records was a famous international music store. It sold music, movies, and other fun stuff. It started in Sacramento, California, United States.
From 1960 to 2006, Tower Records had many stores across the U.S. These stores closed down when the company faced financial problems. However, the Tower Records website, Tower.com, was bought by a different company. So, the online store kept going.
On November 13, 2020, Tower Records announced it was back as an online store.
Contents
The Story of Tower Records
How Tower Records Started and Grew
In 1960, a person named Russell Solomon opened the first Tower Records store. It was on Broadway in Sacramento, California. He named it after his father's drugstore. This drugstore was in the same building as the Tower Theatre. Russ Solomon first started selling records from his dad's drugstore.
The first store that was only a Tower Records opened later. It was at 2514 Watt Ave in Arden Arcade, near Sacramento. By 1976, Solomon also opened Tower Books, Posters, and Plants. This store was right next to another Tower Records in Sacramento. In 1995, Tower.com started. This made Tower Records one of the first stores to sell things online.
Seven years after it began, Tower Records grew to San Francisco. It opened a store in an old grocery store building. In 1979, Tower Records Japan started its business. The first store in Japan opened in Sapporo the next year.
The company eventually opened stores all over the world. This included places like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and Mexico. The Tower Records stores in Japan later became their own separate company. One of the most famous stores was on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. It opened in 1971.
In New York City, Tower Records had several stores. The main store was in the East Village. There was also a Tower Records Annex nearby. Another store, Tower Video, sold movies and books. A store near Lincoln Center was popular with people who loved musical theatre.
The Nashville store was in an old car dealership. It had a huge area for CDs and vinyl records. It also sold video games and music items. This store was known for its late-night events. New music releases would go on sale at midnight. Country music stars sometimes visited this store.
Helping Customers Find Music
In 2005, Tower Records started using "scan and listen" stations. These stations let customers listen to parts of songs from CDs. You could also search for specific songs or artists. Some other music stores still use this type of listening station today.
In 2006, the company started the Tower Insider program. It was free to join. Members got a card they could scan when they bought something. This gave them coupons and special deals by email.
Besides CDs and cassette tapes, the stores sold many other items. They had DVDs, MP3 players, video games, and toys. Some Tower Records locations also sold books. These were in places like Brea, California, and New York City.
Pulse! Magazine
In 1983, Tower Records started its own music magazine called Pulse!. It had music reviews, interviews with artists, and ads. At first, it was given away for free in their stores. This helped promote their music sales.
After nine years, in 1992, the magazine started being sold in stores across the country. It cost $2.95. But the magazine stopped when Tower Records closed its U.S. stores. Pulse! was published every month from 1983 until December 2002. They made 222 issues in total.
Why Tower Records Closed
Tower Records faced financial difficulties in 2004. The company had taken on a lot of debt when it grew quickly in the 1990s. Also, more people were buying music from big discount stores. Online music piracy, which is illegally copying music, also hurt sales.
Some people thought it was a natural change. Robert Moog, who invented the Moog synthesizer, said that big stores like Tower Records had also caused smaller local music stores to close.
In 2006, Tower Records again faced serious financial problems. This was to help sell the company before the holiday shopping season.
Selling Off Everything
On October 6, 2006, a company called Great American Group won a bid to buy Tower Records' assets. They started selling off everything the next day. This included "going-out-of-business" sales at all U.S. Tower Records stores. The last stores closed on December 22, 2006. The Tower Records website was sold to a different company.
Some other music stores took over a few former Tower Records locations. For example, Rasputin Music took over stores in Fresno and Stockton, California.
Other Store Locations
Many Tower Records stores closed in December 2006. This included locations in Alexandria, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.. The store in Atlanta, Georgia, also closed.
On Friday, December 22, 2006, the last Tower Records store in New York City closed. This was 40 years after Russ Solomon opened the first store. All other remaining U.S. Tower Records stores closed that day too. The very last store to close was in Mountain View, California.
A building in Sacramento had been a Tower Records store for 40 years. The lot across the street was where Solomon first started selling records in 1941.
The Tower Records building in Boston was very important for the area. It was renovated by Frank Gehry in the late 1980s. This store was later taken over by Virgin Megastore. Today, it is a T.J. Maxx store.
Tower Records Online Returns
An online company called Caiman, Inc., reopened the Tower Records website. This happened on June 1, 2007. They also planned to open physical stores again in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. However, these plans did not move forward.
As of January 2019, Tower Records created an Instagram page. They also launched a new website with an online version of Pulse! magazine.
Tower Records Around the World
Canada
Tower Records had stores in Canada in the mid-1990s. A big store opened in the Toronto Eaton Centre in December 1995. It closed in 2001. Another store opened in North York but closed before the main Toronto store.
Hong Kong
Tower Records opened stores in Hong Kong in the 1990s. There were two stores, one in Times Square and another in Diamond Hill.
Ireland
Tower Records still operates in Ireland today. It is run by a company called Record & Discs Ltd. As of 2020, there are two stores in Dublin. One is on Dawson Street and the other is on O'Connell Street.
Israel
Tower Records Israel opened in 1993. The first stores were in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem. The Tel Aviv store was popular with Israeli pop stars. The last store in Israel closed in November 2015.
Japan
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Tower Records Japan started in 1979. The first store in Japan opened in Sapporo in 1980. In 1981, Tower Records Japan Inc. (TRJ) was created.
In 2002, TRJ became independent from the main international chain. So, when Tower Records in the U.S. closed in 2006, it did not affect TRJ. As of 2014, TRJ has 85 stores across Japan. The Shibuya store in Tokyo is one of the biggest music stores in the world. It has 9 floors!
Tower Records Japan also publishes free magazines like Tower and bounce. They also have their own record label called T-Palette Records. This label focuses on idol performers.
Malaysia
Tower Records Malaysia has a store open at 27-1 JALAN 13/149L BANDAR BARU SERI PETALING 57000 KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA.
Mexico
The first Tower Records store in Mexico opened in the mid-1990s. It was in the Zona Rosa area and had three floors. After the international company faced financial problems, the stores in Mexico were bought by Promotora Musical. There were stores in Mexico City, Puebla, and Monterrey, but they eventually closed.
Philippines
Tower Records opened three stores in the Philippines in the 1990s. The first store opened in Glorietta 3 Ayala Center Makati City in 1998. All these stores have now closed.
Singapore
Tower Records opened stores in Singapore in the 1990s. Singapore had two stores, one at Pacific Plaza and another at Suntec City. Both stores closed in 2006 when Tower Records faced financial problems globally.
South Korea
Tower Records opened stores in South Korea in the 1990s. They had stores in Seoul and Busan. The Seoul store later became part of Synnara Record. The Busan store has closed.
The Seoul store was used as a filming location for a TV drama called Beautiful Days in 2001.
Taiwan
Tower Records opened three large stores in Taipei, Taiwan in the 1990s. These stores were popular places for fashion and music. All the stores closed in December 2003.
Thailand
Tower Records opened stores in Thailand in the 1990s. They brought a new way of selling music CDs to Thailand. There were several stores in Bangkok, including big ones in popular malls. One of the biggest was in the CentralWorld mall. As music sales changed, these stores slowly closed. The remaining ones were sold to another dealer.
United Kingdom
Tower Records in the UK started in London in 1984. The next year, a very large store opened at 1 Piccadilly Circus. Later, more stores opened in places like Birmingham and Glasgow.
However, the company faced tough times in the UK. The London stores in Piccadilly and Kensington were sold to Virgin Group in 2003. Other stores were closed. The Piccadilly store later became Zavvi. It closed on January 14, 2009.
Documentary About Tower Records
All Things Must Pass (2015) is a documentary film. It tells the story of how Tower Records grew and then closed. The film uses old videos and interviews with former staff. It also features famous customers like Bruce Springsteen and Elton John. Another documentary called Art Gods (2013) talks about how the stores created their cool displays.
See also
In Spanish: Tower Records para niños
