i miss the richmond va store at willow lawn. i would go in between college classes from 2000-2002 and browse for what seemed like hours. i started my job now in march of 2006 and i worked 11pm-8am. well tower closed i believe at 10pm weeknights and 11pm fri-sat night. i would stop in fri or sat night at 9:30pm and shop until 10:30pm and then head to work about 10 miles from they store. they closed the end of 2006 so i got to do that for about 9 months. i switched to going into the barnes and noble near my work on fri or sat night as they were open until 11pm
We closed at midnight which meant that we would get out of there at 12:30 at the earliest. We had stuff to do---the night wasn't getting any younger. Make up your mind, bring your item(s) to the register and get out.
Yeah, get a nice attitude or else get out of the business of retail. It was the attitude "Bad Penny" no really! . I tossed down my items and walked out. Then I went to Aaron's and got the things I wanted. Oh, I would continue to go in to Tower and look at what was new and available, but I went elsewhere to make the purchase. Always going elsewhere to make the purchases. That is what the general public decided to do as well!
did you ever think you'd be saying this? TOWER RECORDS; only Vinyl and no CDs...LOL. I'm happy for them but I have no interest in the site...
Hope they open a store again someday. Would be great. I spent so much of my formative days there. I was a loner and originally college wasn't much of an experience for me. But all my discoveries at Tower were. That documentary was like reliving my youth over again. As it is. An online catalog works just as good!
It makes me smile hearing all the "I remember back in the 80's, 90's and 2000's" stories. I was lucky enough to live in Sacramento when Russ Solomon opened the mother ship downtown store on Broadway/16th Street in 1952. I was one. In 1960 he opened the "Watt Ave" store in the burbs. It had glassed in listening booths down one side of the store with 45rpm record players in each. We would pool our money and ride our bikes up to the store. Then all jam into a booth and listen as long as they would let us before giving us the buy or boot lecture. With luck we could buy two 45's. Man I am old. At least I can still remember the good times
I can't help but think that it is a mistake on their part. There are a lot of places on the internet where you can buy both. Yes, CD sales are way down, but there are a lot of music lovers that buy both. If you are going to but both are you going to go to Tower Records to buy your LPs and another site to buy CDs? No, it is easier and cheaper on shipping to buy from the same place. I'm not saying they will fail, I just think they are leaving money on the table.
I went to VCU from 94-97 and loved that Tower Records. I even worked (briefly) at The Pine Factory at Willow Lawn! I was more of a Plan 9 guy, but Tower was still awesome.
Seriously. I’d go to browse, and make mental notes of what to look for in the used shops. I could never afford anything there...wasn’t surprised when they went under.
They should sell prerecorded cassettes as well. UK going nuts / ga ga for them. 65.000 sold in the first six months of 2020.
I remember shopping at Tower in the '70s and beyond when vinyl was the main format. Their prices were among the lowest, $4 per LP. I assume they had a volume discount from the record labels. It might be the record labels that decided to stop offering that discount to Tower when CD's became the new format. Either that, or Tower had less negotiating power (if other stores offered discounts).
No idea, but if they weren't finding a way to compete with big box stores and local used CD shops, they were kind of digging their own grave. I mean, even during the height of my CD days, I probably never bought more than 5 or 6 new CD's a year. I could always wait until I found something used. Granted, this was high school and college, so funds were limited, but also I was lucky enough always have a few good used shops close by.
Yes, indeed. I’m surprised by the fact that they’re not selling CDs as their Japan stores sell them in abundance. I mean I think in their main store in Tokyo there’s something like 12 floors divided up by genre and each floor has it’s own designated checkout areas. If I ever get the courage to go to Tokyo, Tower Records will be my first major stop.
they will add CDs when they realize people still want and buy them. Vinyl is not a total mainstream item like the CD no matter how much a vinyl hound wants it to be. ' )
Three things about the long gone Tower Records across from Lenox Square in Atlanta: 1. I saw Elton John shopping there late one night in the early 2000s with his posse. It was a Monday. The store stayed open past midnight so the then-Tuesday new releases could be bought. He was a regular music fan pacing the aisles, but with very expensive glasses and a posse. 2. I bought Dylan's "Love And Theft" there on its Sept. 11, 2001 release day. 3. Attempting to cue up Petty's "Wildflowers" disc at the listening station, I hit the wrong button and got Lyle Lovett instead. I have been a fan ever since.