What Happened to Tower Records?

Name: What Happened to Tower Records?
Uploaded: 2026-02-24
Duration: 12 min 43 s
Channel: Arthur Lee
Description: What Happened to Tower Records?

The Detail That Changes Everything

Tower Records had 214 stores in 15 countries and one billion dollars in revenue before Napster killed it

Historical Context

This story spans 1960-2006 and is centered in Sacramento, California. Understanding the broader historical context is essential to grasping why events unfolded as they did.

Key Figures

The central figures in this story include Russ Solomon, and Stan Goman. Each played a distinct role in the events documented in this episode.

Themes Explored

This episode examines interconnected themes including music retail, digital disruption, Napster, cultural loss, record stores. These themes recur across multiple episodes in our documentary collection, revealing patterns that connect seemingly unrelated stories.

Watch the Full Documentary

This companion article provides context and background for the full documentary. For the complete story with narration, original music, and archival imagery, watch the episode above or on YouTube.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tower Records was founded by Russ Solomon in 1960 in his father's Sacramento drugstore and grew into the world's largest independent music retailer with two hundred and fourteen stores across fifteen countries and over one billion dollars in annual revenue. The flagship store on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles became a cultural landmark where musicians from Elton John to the Beastie Boys would shop and make appearances. The collapse began when Napster launched in 1999 and digital music piracy devastated CD sales industry-wide. Tower Records filed for bankruptcy in 2004, attempted a restructuring, then filed again in 2006 and liquidated all remaining stores. The chain that had been the place where music fans discovered new artists was destroyed by the digital revolution in under seven years.

Tower Records collapsed because the digital music revolution destroyed the physical music retail model. When Napster launched in 1999, it gave millions of users free access to music that Tower was selling for fifteen to eighteen dollars per CD. The music industry's CD sales fell by over fifty percent between 2000 and 2006. Tower Records, with two hundred and fourteen stores and massive lease obligations, could not survive the revenue collapse. The company had also overexpanded internationally and taken on significant debt to fuel growth during the CD boom of the 1990s. Founder Russ Solomon's reluctance to cut costs or close underperforming locations accelerated the decline. By the time digital music stores like iTunes offered a legal alternative, Tower was already too deep in debt to survive.

Sources & Further Reading

As an Amazon Associate, Arthur Lee's Adventures earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

Arthur's Pick

How Music Got Free (audiobook)

Free with Audible trial. How digital piracy destroyed the music industry and stores like Tower.

How Music Got Free by Stephen Witt

The riveting true story of how the MP3 killed CDs and everything Tower stood for.

The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen

Why dominant companies fail when technology shifts. The Tower Records story in a nutshell.