Tower Records
Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store[1] that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records filed for bankruptcy and liquidation. Tower Records was purchased by a separate entity and was not affected by the retail store closings.
This article is about the retail music chain. For the 1960s record label, see Tower Records (record label). For the building also known as Tower Records, see 360 Newbury Street.Company type
Retail
1960 (as retail music chain)
1995 (as online retailer)
Defunct, 2006–2020; Relaunched, 2020
New York City, U.S.
DVDs, compact discs, videos, video games, records, posters, books, collectibles, accessories
International stores[edit]
Argentina[edit]
Tower Records operated nine stores in Argentina in Buenos Aires, Pilar, San Isidro, Puerto Madryn, Córdoba, and La Plata. It opened its first store in 1997 and closed its last in 2006.[30]
Canada[edit]
Tower Records operated in Canada in the mid-1990s with a flagship store at the Toronto Eaton Centre at the corner of Queen and Yonge which opened in December 1995 and closed in 2001. Tower Records opened a second location in Toronto in the late nineties at Empress Walk in North York, also on Yonge Street, but it was closed just prior to the flagship store closing.
Hong Kong[edit]
Tower Records opened stores in Hong Kong in the 1990s. There were two stores, one located on the seventh floor of Times Square at Causeway Bay, the other at Diamond Hill.
Ireland[edit]
Tower Records is operated in Ireland by Record & Discs Ltd. (owned by Press Up Entertainment) under a licensed franchise of MTS Incorporated (USA).[31] As of 2021, two stores still operate in Ireland both located in Dublin, one on Dawson Street and the other on O'Connell Street upstairs in Easons.[32]
Israel[edit]
Tower Records Israel opened in 1993; a joint venture between Tower Records USA (MTS INC of W. Sacramento, CA) and two local businessmen. The Founding Director was Joel Abramson, who had previously managed Tower's flagship Sunset Strip location in Los Angeles. The first three locations were in Tel Aviv (the Opera Tower), Haifa (Hutzot HaMifratz, opened in early 1995) and Jerusalem (1995). The Tel Aviv location, with its beachfront location, was a popular shopping spot for Israeli pop stars like David Broza, Meir Ariel, Aviv Gefen, Riki Gal and others.[33] TRI closed its final location in Ra'anana in November 2015.[34]
Documentaries[edit]
The 2015 documentary All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records by filmmaker Colin Hanks chronicles the rise and fall of Tower Records, using archival footage and exclusive interviews with former staff, especially Russell Solomon and former COO Stan Goman, as well as celebrity customers Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Dave Grohl.[49]
Another documentary called Art Gods (2013) is an oral history of the development of an influential in-store display design ethic at Tower, originating from the Berkeley location.[50]