Contrary to rumors bandied about for quite some time now, it is the Virgin Records Megastore in New York City’s Times Square—the largest of its kind in the world—that will be closing in early ’09, not the downtown Union Square location. (Although the latter’s 10 year lease expires in February of next year.) It's not that the store isn't solvent; it's that the landlord wants to attract a tenant who can afford to pay a whole lot more than the current $300,000 per month rent. (That's 65,000 sq/ft @ $54 sq/ft.) Yeah, good luck with that. By the way, wouldn't it be some lovely karmic retribution if the property remained empty like the one next door has been for the last couple of years, which is also owned by the music store's landlord. Ah, that would be sweet. But in all likelihood a Bank of America—the Starbucks of financial institutions—will move in. Across the street from another branch, of course.
A massive clearance sale is being scheduled for possibly January at the Megastore.
So, it’s settled: record stores are to become extinct. No one needs, wants human interaction or advice. Or quality. “Who cares? Music shops are so passé. I’ll take the crappy-sounding MP3s, thanks.” We obviously use and enjoy the internet as much as the next, but really?
