This is a piece of the market they could definitely corner! John Lippman, the man who bought recently bought Columbia House out of bankruptcy this month, revealed the plan in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Citing millennials’ enthusiasm for vinyl, he said, “You can see a yearning and an interest to try a new format.”
Although many associate Columbia House with its CD business — revenue peaked in 1996 at about $1.4 billion — the company dates back to the 1950s and has also sold vinyl records, 8-tracks, cassette tapes, and DVDs over the years, often via seemingly impossible deals. But, unable to keep up after sea changes in the music and home-video industries, it filed for bankruptcy in August.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl says were up 52% in the first half of this year, but the format still makes up just 7% of the overall music market.
Sign us up! Would you renew your childhood obsession with Columbia House as an adult vinyl connoisseur?
If I had a ‘dope’ soundsystem and a bankful of spending cash, maybe. As it is, I’m just looking for a good set of headphones that won’t kill my hearing or my ears.