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Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records filed for bankruptcy and
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...
. Tower Records was purchased by a separate entity and was not affected by the retail store closings. On November 13, 2020, Tower Records announced that it had returned as an online retailer with plans to open future physical locations.


History


Inception, expansion, and description

In 1960, Russell Solomon opened the first Tower Records store on Broadway, in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
. He named it after his father's drugstore, which shared a building and name with the Tower Theatre, where Solomon first started selling records. The first stand-alone Tower Records store was located at 2514 Watt Ave in Arden Arcade, a suburb of Sacramento. By 1976, Solomon had opened Tower Books, Posters, and Plants at 1600 Broadway, next door to another Sacramento Tower Records location. In 1995, Tower.com opened, making the enterprise one of the first retailers to move online. Seven years after its founding, Tower Records expanded to San Francisco, opening a store in what was originally a grocery store at Bay Street and Columbus Avenue. In 1979, Tower Records in Japan started its business as the Japan Branch of MTS Incorporated. The following year,
Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
Store, the first in Japan opened. The chain eventually expanded internationally to include stores in Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Ireland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina. The Tower Records stores in Japan split off from the main chain and are now independent. Arguably the most famous Tower Records outlet was the purpose built building that company staff general-contracted, with many personally contributing their labor, which opened in 1971 on the north west corner of Sunset Boulevard and Horn Avenue in
West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
. In New York City, Tower Records operated a suite of stores on and near lower Broadway in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. The main store was located at the southeast corner of East 4th Street and Broadway. The Tower Records Annex was in the same building, located at the southwest corner of East 4th and Lafayette Street. The third store, Tower Video, was located on the southeast corner of East 4th and Lafayette Street, and specialized in video and the second floor of this location also sold books. Their location on the
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
, near
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
on 66th Street and Broadway, was a magnet for those working in the field of musical theatre. There was also a location in the basement of Trump Tower, and a small clearance annex on 86th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The Nashville location on West End Avenue (across from
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
) was in a former
Packard Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Th ...
dealership. The old showroom floor in front was devoted to CDs, cassettes and vinyl. The area in the back housed videocassette sales and rentals, PC and console games and music paraphernalia. The strip mall next door contained a separate Tower Books. The location was famous for their late-night Monday events that culminated at midnight on Tuesday when staff started ringing up sales of new releases. Because of the store's proximity to Music Row, country music stars could occasionally be seen performing or shopping there. As part of a 2002 settlement with 41 states over CD price fixing Tower Records, along with retailers Musicland and
Trans World Entertainment Kaspien Holdings, Inc. (formerly Trans World Entertainment) is an American company that provides software and services for ecommerce. Kaspien Holdings operates on Amazon in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Germany ...
, agreed to pay a $3 million fine. It is estimated that between 1995 and 2000 customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million and up to $5 per album. In 2005, the company began using "scan and listen" stations in its stores. These stations allowed customers to listen to audio samples from CDs and to search for particular songs, albums and artists. This model of listening station is still used at the Arizona-based chain Zia Records. In 2006, the company introduced the Tower Insider program. The program was free of charge and allowed a customer to receive a membership card that could be scanned with each purchase, allowing the customer to receive coupons and notification of special deals via e-mail. In addition to
compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...
s and
cassette tape The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ott ...
s, the stores sold DVDs
electronic gadgets
like mp3 players, video games, accessories, and toys, and a few Tower Records locations sold books as well, such as those in Fremont, Brea, Mountain View, and Sacramento, California, as well as stores in
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, Boston, Massachusetts,
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...
, and
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...
.


Tower Pulse! magazine

In 1983, the company began publishing a music magazine, '' Pulse!'', which contained record reviews, interviews, and advertising. Initially, it was given away free in their stores to promote their record sales. After nine years, in 1992, the magazine began national distribution with a cover price of $2.95, but it was canceled when the company discontinued U.S. operations. From 1983 until December 2002 Tower Records published it monthly, 222 issues in all.


Bankruptcy

Tower Records entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the first time in 2004. Factors cited were the heavy debt incurred during its aggressive expansion in the 1990s, growing competition from mass discounters and Internet piracy. Mismanagement, managerial incompetence, and crippling restrictions from the first bankruptcy deal also contributed to Tower's demise. Some observers took a pragmatic view. As Robert Moog, inventor of the
Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
, has stated: "I'm sorry if Tower Records' and Blockbuster's sales plummet. On the other hand, it wasn't that long ago that those megastore chains drove a lot of neighborhood record stores out of business." In February 2004, the debt was estimated to be between $80 million and $100 million, and assets totaled just over $100 million. On August 20, 2006, Tower Records filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time, in order to facilitate a purchase of the company prior to the holiday shopping season.


Liquidation

On October 6, 2006, Great American Group won an auction of the company's assets and commenced liquidation proceedings the following day. This included going-out-of-business sales at all U.S. Tower Records locations, the last of which closed on December 22, 2006. The Tower Records website was sold separately. The managers of f.y.e., a music store chain based in shopping malls, had negotiated a deal to acquire the two historic Tower locations in the latter's home base of Sacramento. f.y.e. later backed out, stating that the "leases aren't what we thought they were". f.y.e. did acquire the lease of the West End Avenue store in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...
, which eventually closed in 2011. f.y.e. also took over Tower Records in Torrance, which continued to operate until early 2016. Rasputin Music, a new and used music and video store based in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...
, expanded in the
Central Valley of California The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California. It is wide and runs approximately from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast of the state. It cov ...
by acquiring the leases for the former Tower Records stores in Fresno and Stockton.


Other stores

The Landmark Plaza Tower Records Store in
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...
was permanently closed on December 18, 2006, and the
Tysons Corner, Virginia Tysons, also known as Tysons Corner, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, developed from the corner of Chain Bridge Road ( SR 123) and the Leesburg Pike ( SR 7). Located in Northern Virginia between th ...
, store permanently closed on December 21, 2006. The noted 24-year-old store in Washington, D.C. (
Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom is one of the oldest late 18th- and 19th-century neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., located west of the White House and downtown Washington, in the Northwest quadrant. It is bounded roughly by 17th Street NW to the east, Rock C ...
) closed down the next day, as did the store in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, Georgia. On Friday, December 22, 2006 – 40 years after Solomon had opened the first Tower Records store in Sacramento – the last Tower Records store in New York City, located at 1961 Broadway, one block north of
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
, on
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's West Side, closed permanently along with all of the other remaining Tower Records stores in the United States. The final Tower Records store (in the
Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00 ...
) to be closed was the one in Mountain View, which closed at 5:00 p.m. One building in Sacramento had been a Tower Records store for 40 years, and the lot across the street had been the location where Solomon began selling records in 1941. R5 Records closed on June 4, 2010, and was sold to rival Dimple Records, which reopened the store in mid-July 2010. The Tower Records building in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, located at the intersection of
Newbury Street Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east–west, from the Boston Public Garden to Brookline Avenue. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entra ...
and Massachusetts Avenue, was instrumental in the conversion of the former street's commercial value. The eight-story building, renovated by
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...
in the late 80s, is prominently visible from the eastbound Massachusetts Turnpike. The store (which occupied the first five stories) featured gold stars of Boston artists (including Gang Starr, New Kids on the Block, and
Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...
) embedded in the front landing. Virgin Megastore took over the store from 2002 to 2007. The space was later a
Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
store and, after being vacant for some time, in 2016 was opened as a
T.J. Maxx TJ Maxx (stylized as T•J•maxx) is an American department store chain, selling at prices generally lower than other major similar stores. It has more than 1,000 stores in the United States, making it one of the largest clothing retailers in ...
store.Goodison, Donna
"T.J. Maxx coming to long-vacant Newbury Street spot in Back Bay"
''Boston Herald'', Wednesday, July 1, 2015


Online return

On-line merchant Caiman, Inc., reopened the website from
Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...
, on June 1, 2007. This company also announced plans to reopen the stores themselves—opening stores in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco within the next nine months, however this never came to fruition. They hired former Tower buyer Kevin Hawkins to assist with the re-opening (Hawkins, along with former Tower employee George Scarlett, then left Caiman). In 2009, Richard Flynn was hired as President. The website remained based in Montreal, but the relaunch of the brand never moved forward. As of November 2020, Tower Records re-opened their online store with a new website, once again selling vinyl records among other merchandise, which also features an online version of ''Pulse'' that is updated regularly.


Tower Labs

In October 2022, Tower Labs was opened in Brooklyn, New York, marking the first physical iteration of the brand since 2006. “The intention of Tower Labs is for artists and bands to host personal gatherings with their community, similar to a backstage experience,” says Tower Records’ new president, Danny Zeijdel. “In an increasingly digital world, it is imperative for artists to have a physical space where they can connect and create.” Tower Labs is a creative space, as the brand continues to explore the potential reopening of a flagship retail location.


International stores


Argentina

Tower Records operated nine stores in Argentina in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Pilar, San Isidro, Puerto Madryn, Córdoba, and
La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
. It opened its first store in 1997 and closed its last in 2006.


Canada

Tower Records operated in Canada in the mid-1990s with a flagship store at the Toronto Eaton Centre at the corner of Queen and Yonge which opened in December 1995 and closed in 2001. Tower Records opened a second location in Toronto in the late nineties at Empress Walk in North York, also on Yonge Street, but it was closed just prior to the flagship store closing.


Hong Kong

Tower Records opened stores in Hong Kong in the 1990s. There were two stores, one located on the seventh floor of Times Square at
Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is an area and a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern and the Wan Chai districts. It is a major shopping, leisure and cultural centre in Hong Kong, with a number of major shopping centres. Th ...
, the other at
Diamond Hill Diamond Hill is a hill in the east of Kowloon, Hong Kong. The name also refers to the area on or adjacent to the hill. It is surrounded by Ngau Chi Wan, San Po Kong, Wong Tai Sin and Tsz Wan Shan. Its northeast is limited by the ridge. It is ...
.


Ireland

Tower Records is operated in Ireland by Record & Discs Ltd. (owned by
Press Up Entertainment Press Up Entertainment is a cinema, hotel, pub, retail and restaurant operator based in Dublin, Ireland. Ownership is shared between Paddy McKillen, Jr., son of Paddy McKillen, and Matt Ryan. Their properties include the Clarence Hotel, the ...
) under a licensed franchise of MTS Incorporated (USA). , two stores still operate in Ireland both located in Dublin, one on
Dawson Street Dawson Street (; ) is a street on the southern side of central Dublin, running from St Stephen's Green to the walls of Trinity College Dublin. It is the site of the residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, the Mansion House. Location Dawson Stre ...
and the other on
O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections bisected by Hen ...
upstairs in
Easons Eason Retail PLC, known as Easons or Eason, is an Irish retail company best known for selling books, stationery, cards, gifts, newspapers and magazines. Headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, it is the largest supplier of books, magazines and ne ...
.


Israel

Tower Records Israel opened in 1993; a joint venture between Tower Records USA (MTS INC of W. Sacramento, CA) and two local businessmen. The Founding Director was Joel Abramson, who had previously managed Tower's flagship Sunset Strip location in Los Angeles. The first three locations were in Tel Aviv (the Opera Tower), Haifa (Hutzot HaMifratz, opened in early 1995) and Jerusalem (1995). The Tel Aviv location, with its beachfront location, was a popular shopping spot for Israeli pop stars like David Broza, Meir Ariel, Aviv Gefen, Riki Gal and others. TRI closed its final location in Ra'anana in November 2015.


Japan

In 1979, Tower Records in Japan started its business as the Japan Branch of MTS Incorporated. The following year,
Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...
Store, the first in Japan opened. In 1981, Japanese subsidiary Tower Records Japan Inc. (TRJ) was established. In October 2002, TRJ went independent from the international chain by
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena o ...
. The bankruptcy of Tower Records in the U.S. in 2006 did not affect TRJ as it had been completely independent (as of 2015, NTT DoCoMo and Seven & I Holdings are the main stakeholders). As of October 1, 2014, TRJ maintains 85 directly operated store locations throughout Japan, including 10 Tower Mini Stores, and the
Shibuya Shibuya (渋谷 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...
Store in Tokyo (moved to the current location in March 1995) which is said to be one of the biggest music retail outlets in the world, occupying selling space of 5,000 m² (9 floors). TRJ also publishes free magazines ''Tower'', ''bounce'', and ''intoxicate'' directly and through its subsidiary NMNL. In 2014, Tower Records launched the music review website ''Mikiki'', which also posts content from the previously mentioned magazines. In addition to being the leading CD retailer in Japan, TRJ was the majority stakeholder in Napster Japan, a joint venture between TRJ and Napster LLC. On March 1, 2010, Napster Japan and TRJ announced that Napster Japan would terminate all of its services on May 31, 2010 due to the difficulty in covering the costs for maintaining the required systems to continue the services. Tower Records Japan has a subsidiary record label called
T-Palette Records T-Palette Records is a Japanese record label, specializing in idols. It is a subsidiary of the Japanese franchise of Tower Records. History The record label was launched in June 2011. The first artist of the new label, Vanilla Beans, was re ...
, which specializes in idol performers.


Mexico

The first Tower Records store in Mexico opened in the mid-1990s in the Zona Rosa area featuring 3 floors and a live DJ. After international bankruptcy, the stores were acquired by Promotora Musical, a retail company owned by
Grupo Carso Grupo Carso is a Mexican global conglomerate company owned by Carlos Slim. It was formed in 1990 after the merger of Corporación Industrial Carso and Grupo Inbursa. The name Carso stands for Carlos Slim and Soumaya Domit de Slim, his late wife. ...
, the same owner of Mixup record stores. There were Tower Records stores in Mexico City (Gran Sur, Altavista and Mundo E), and Monterrey (Paseo San Pedro). , but eventually closed. The store in Puebla (Las Animas) currently operates.


Philippines

Tower Records opened three stores in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
in the 1990s. The first branch was located in Glorietta 3 Ayala Center Makati City which opened in 1998. The second store was in Alabang Town Center Muntinlupa City which opened in 1999. The third store was in Robinson's Place Manila, all of which are in the National Capital Region. As of 2018, all these branches have closed. In 2020, Tower Records Philippines has been re-launched and re-opened because of Filipino girl group Baby Blue a sub-unit of idol girl group MNL48


Singapore

Tower Records opened stores in Singapore in the 1990s. Singapore had two Tower Records outlets, one at Pacific Plaza that opened in 1993 and the other at Suntec City. Tower Records Pacific Plaza moved out in 2001 and the latter closed its doors in 2006 when Tower Records filed for bankruptcy globally and eventually folded.


South Korea

Tower Records opened stores in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
in the 1990s, with stores in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
and
Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...
. The Seoul branch became part of Synnara Record (now Media Synnara) and is now part of M2U Record, while the Busan branch has closed. The Seoul branch was used as one of the main filming locations for
Seoul Broadcasting System Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) () is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting System (서울방송). Its f ...
's 2001 drama '' Beautiful Days'', starring Lee Byung-hun,
Choi Ji-woo Choi Ji-woo (born Choi Mi-hyang on June 11, 1975) is a South Korean actress. Considered one of South Korea's most beautiful women, she has received critical acclaim for her work in a wide range of melodramas, most notably '' Beautiful Days'' (2 ...
,
Ryu Si-won Ryu Si-won (; born 6 October 1972) is a South Korean actor and singer. After he made his debut in the KBS drama ''Feeling'' in 1994, Ryu pursued a singing career. He was convicted of stalking his wife (now ex wife) in 2013. Early life Ryu was ...
, Shin Min-a,
Lee Jung-hyun Lee Jung-hyun (born February 7, 1980), also known by her occasional stage name Ava, is a South Korean pop singer and actress. She was first recognized for her acting abilities with award-winning role in her first film and has been solidified as ...
and Lee Yoo-jin.


Taiwan

Tower Records opened three megastores in
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
in the 1990s. All stores were located in popular areas of Taipei, and became centers of fashion and music during their existence. The stores closed in December 2003.


Thailand

Tower Records opened stores in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
in the 1990s, introducing comprehensive music CD stocking into Thailand for the first time with revolutionary effects on the retail music business. There were several stores in Bangkok, including three megastores inside popular malls. One of the biggest megastores was located on the top floor of CentralWorld mall in central
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
. In the 2000s as business declined due to piracy and the downloading revolution, the stores were progressively closed and the remaining ones were eventually sold to another dealer.


United Kingdom

Tower Records in the UK was originally a London-based concern, with a first store in
Kensington High Street Kensington High Street is the main shopping street in Kensington, London, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Kensington High Street is the continuation of Kensington Road and part ...
in 1984 being followed the next year by a flagship outlet at 1 Piccadilly Circus and later two more smaller outlets at Whiteleys in
Bayswater Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, an ...
, and Kingston. However, by the start of the 1990s the chain had grown to encompass a number of other stores, with large entertainment stores also selling movies, books, magazines and games in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
and
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
, as well as a number of smaller stores that had been purchased from rival American retailer
Sam Goody Sam Goody was a music and entertainment retailer in the United States and United Kingdom, operated by The Musicland Group, Inc. It was purchased by Best Buy in 2000, sold to Sun Capital Partners in 2003, and filed for bankruptcy in 2006, clos ...
when it had left the UK marketplace (an example of this express format was in Weston-super-Mare). However, with tough trading conditions in the UK market, as well as the company's trouble in the States, the firm followed Sam Goody in retreating from the UK market. The London stores in
Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...
and
Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...
were sold to Virgin Group in 2003, who for a while traded under the Tower brand at the former site until the store could be fully refurbished, while the other stores were closed. The store was subsequently renamed Zavvi in September 2007 after a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena o ...
of the Virgin Megastores. Zavvi entered administration in late 2008 and administrators closed the Piccadilly store on Wednesday, January 14, 2009. the site is occuplied by a non-music retailer.


Documentaries

The 2015 documentary '' All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records'' by filmmaker Colin Hanks chronicles the rise and fall of Tower Records, using archival footage and exclusive interviews with former staff, especially Russell Solomon and former COO Stan Goman, as well as celebrity customers
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
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Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
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. Another documentary called ''Art Gods'' (2013) is an oral history of the development of an influential in-store display design ethic at Tower, originating from the Berkeley location.


References


External links


Towerrecords.com

The Tower Records Project
– ''an archives project and campaign to archive Tower Records history.''
Tower Records Mexico: Locations

Tower Records Dublin Ireland: About Us

Tower Records Japan

Tower.com
– ''purchased the name in U.S.'' -now redirects to their current website. * {{Authority control Music retailers of the United States Music retailers of the United Kingdom Online music stores of the United States Retail companies based in California Bookshops of the United Kingdom Companies based in Sacramento, California Landmarks in Los Angeles American companies established in 1960 Retail companies established in 1960 Retail companies disestablished in 2006 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006 1960 establishments in California 2006 disestablishments in California Defunct retail companies of the United States