All Things Must Pass The Rise And Fall Of Tower... -

The "Fall" of Tower Records marked the end of the "record store clerk" era—the loss of a physical space where experts and fans collided. While the brand lives on today as an online entity and through its legendary Japanese franchises (which survived due to different market dynamics), the original Tower remains a symbol of a lost era of tactile discovery.

At its height, Tower was a billion-dollar global empire with locations from Tokyo to London. However, this massive expansion carried the seeds of its downfall. To fund this growth, the company took on enormous debt. All Things Must Pass The Rise and Fall of Tower...

In the mid-90s, the industry was booming thanks to the CD—a high-margin product that forced consumers to rebuy their entire libraries. This windfall created a sense of invincibility. Tower’s leadership largely ignored the early warning signs of the digital revolution, dismissing the internet as a niche hobby rather than a fundamental shift in how humans consume media. The Fall: A Perfect Storm The "Fall" of Tower Records marked the end