The music and video retail store industry’s heyday encompassed the 1980s and 90s as compact discs, or CDs, replaced vinyl albums and cassette tapes as the top medium format for music.
The 8-track tape era of the 1970s had ended by the 1980s, as the smaller cassette tapes became more practical for listening to music in cars, on stereo systems, and in portable devices. Cassettes were also easier to store than 8-track tapes, which were much larger in size.
I found that the sound of an 8-track tape recording wasn’t as good as a cassette tape, and neither was as good as vinyl. I only owned two 8-tracks that I could play on my parents’ stereo console: John Lennon Plastic Ono Band’s “Shaved Fish” compilation and “Cat Stevens Greatest Hits.”
The vinyl albums were much better on a good stereo sound system, and still are.
The VHS tape format had dominated motion picture videos in the 1980s and into the 90s, until DVDs entered the market in the late 1990s and demolished the VHS market.
The CD and DVD formats were crushed by digital downloads and streaming services in the new millennium.
Video rental and retail industry disappears
The video rental and retail industry, for the most part, disappeared in the new millennium. Most retail stores closed, Best Buy stopped selling CDs and DVDs, and Walmart and Target’s CD and DVD offerings have shrunk to just a few options.
Video chain giant Blockbuster Video filed for bankruptcy in 2010, after declining from 9,094 stores in 2004 to 1,700. After a sale to the Dish Network in 2011, the chain would continue shrinking and close its last corporate-owned location in January 2014.
The world’s last Blockbuster Video store is still open in Bend, Ore.
Music retail chains close down
The switch to digital and streaming also led to the demise of many music retail chains like iconic Sam Goody, which closed its last two stores in Ohio and Oregon in early 2025, after 75 years in business, AXS-TV reported.
Other music and video retail chains closed in the new millennium as well, including Tower Records and Musicland in 2006. Virgin Megastore closed in 2009, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
FYE evolved into specialty entertainment retailer
The Wherehouse music chain filed for bankruptcy in 2003 and was purchased by Trans World Entertainment and became FYE stores, or “For Your Entertainment.” The chain evolved into a specialty entertainment retailer in 2016, featuring entertainment and pop culture merchandise, including a small amount of music and video.
Sunrise Records purchased Trans World Entertainment’s FYE assets in 2020 and continues operating shops in malls across the country, Billboard reported.
Vinyl albums were much more of an art form than cassette tapes or CDs, with liner notes and elaborate artwork, and many people, including me, never disposed of their collections.
Vinyl albums make a comeback
What’s old is new again, as vinyl albums have made a comeback and can be found at major retail stores again. Barnes & Noble brought vinyl records to their stores 10 years ago in 2015, Goldmine reported.
Target entered the vinyl record market in 2013, Billboard reported, and by 2019, the retailer and Walmart were leading the resurgence of vinyl record sales.
Small, independent music retail chains are still fighting to stay alive, and occasionally need to shut down locations.
Bull Moose closes its North Windham, Maine, location after operating it for 35 years.
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Bull Moose closes 35-year-old location
36-year-old music, video, and game store chain Bull Moose revealed on a Facebook post that it will close its North Windham, Maine, location at the end of January 2026.
The Portland, Maine-based retail chain, which was established in 1989, said issues with the North Windham retail space required it to close the location.
“We’ve made the extremely difficult decision to close our North Windham location at the end of January 2026,” Bull Moose said in the post. “We have worked hard to keep this store going, but the realities of the space make it increasingly difficult to serve our customers and staff the way we believe they deserve.”
The company did not reveal any specifics about the North Windham retail space issues. The store opened in 1991.
Bull Moose will offer North Windham employees the option of transferring to another store location in the chain or receiving a severance package.
“We will work together to ensure the best possible outcome for our folks and our customers through this transition,” the Facebook post said.
The North Windham location will be selling off its remaining inventory with flash sales and other events, the company said.
Once the North Windham location closes, Bull Moose will operate seven locations in Maine and three in New Hampshire.
“To the Windham and Sebago Lakes community: thank you. We’ve been honored to be part of your lives since we first opened in Windham in 1991 and hope to see you at one of our other ten locations, especially your neighboring stores in Lewiston or Scarborough,” the Facebook message said.
More closings:
- Casual Mexican restaurant chain closes more locations
- 79-year-old national trucking company closes down, no bankruptcy
- 65-year-old Home Depot rival shutters business permanently
The closing of the North Windham store comes over five years after Bull Moose last closed a store in downtown Portland, Maine in November 2020.
“There’s no way to sugar coat it,” Bull Moose said in a social media post at the time, MaineBiz reported. “The downtown Portland Bull Moose will close at the end of November (2020). Our lease is up and there is very little foot traffic downtown.”
Bull Moose store locations:
- Bangor, Maine: 683 Hogan Road
- Biddeford, Maine: 403 Mariner Way
- Brunswick, Maine: 151 Maine Street
- Lewiston, Maine: 20 East Avenue
- South Portland, Maine: 219 Waterman Drive
- North Windham, Maine: 771 Roosevelt Trail (closing January 2026)
- Scarborough, Maine: 456 Payne Road
- Waterville, Maine: 80 Elm Plaza
- Keene, N.H.: 401B West Street
- Plaistow, N.H.: 34 Plaistow Road
- Portsmouth, N.H.: 1981 Woodbury Avenue Source
Bull Moose, which is a 100% employee-owned company through an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, buys, sells, and trades audio CDs, vinyl LPs, DVDs, Blu-Ray, and 4K Ultra HD, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 games, and books.
Bull Moose inventory:
- CDs
- Vinyl LPs
- DVDs
- Blu-Ray
- 4K Ultra HD
- Nintendo Switch
- PlayStation 4
- PlayStation 5 games
- Books Source
Related: Another popular beer brand closes forever, no bankruptcy filed
