In 2006, music aficionados mourned the loss of the iconic music retailer, Tower Records. This month, just over fourteen years later, they’ve announced their return as an online shop. On Facebook, they shared a classic photo of one of their many storefronts and stated that they have over 500,000 items for sale at launch.
Resident Advisor reports that the chain was initially going to return as a string of pop-up shops during SXSW, but the COVID-19-induced cancelation led them to their decision to head online. In addition to music sales, the website hosts a schedule for their Tower Records Live! interview series. Each episode is streamed live on their Instagram page and then later posted to their feed for on-demand viewing. In addition to the schedule, the website also features their Pulse! blog which covers a wide range of topics across many genres.
Rebirth of a Giant
In its near five-decade run, Tower Records became one of the world’s biggest music retailers. They state that at their peak, they had close to 200 physical storefronts across the world and brought in over $1 billion per year in sales.
After a long and successful lifespan, Tower Records declared bankruptcy multiple times in the 2000s before closing their doors for good. Before returning to the market, in 2019, they started their Instagram page to promote the aforementioned interview series and share various musical spotlights and facts.
Tower Records’ newly-launched online shop is now live. You can check out their extensive inventory and purchase a variety of music both new and old here.
