Record giant goes bust

Record giant goes bust

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norman lebrecht

August 11, 2015

It’s farewell to Columbia House, the main source of new classical records for millions of Americans outside the big cities for the past sixty years.

The owners, Filmed Entertainment Inc., have filed for chapter 11 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

Death by digital means of distribution is the apparent cause.

Sic transit…

columbia house

Comments

  • AZ Cowboy says:

    Good. After decades of mistreating their customers, misleading advertising and other gimmicks they’re gone. I got suckered in once. They didn’t sell you the real records, but lower quality pressings. If you got a warped or unplayable one, good luck getting it replaced. And once the initial purchase (25 records for $10!!!) the prices were double what you’d pay in a store. And the selection was poor.

  • Michael W.Sullivan says:

    He’s right Amazon, Presto, Archive. They are the place to shop!

  • Alvaro Mendizabal says:

    Norman, you do know we are in the 21st century right?? How about lamenting the sharp reduction of horse barns and horse riders since the invention of the Automobile?

    Ahh….the good old days….

  • Freddy says:

    Wow, sad – I remember as a kid during the early 80s getting all excited to buy “6 records for a penny”…..

  • Hank says:

    I’m surprised it took this long. I don’t know anyone who’s used them since the early 90s.

  • Perry T says:

    Columbia House quit me long ago, passing me along to BMG for my classical interests, so this newsflash finds me shocked to learn they were still around! Complaints about their inventory are right on target, though “cheaper pressings” seems to be a charge you could hurl at vinyl rather than CDs. Presto, Archive, and – crossing my fingers that they’ll return soon – Berkshire are my go-tos these days.

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