The closing of 102 Canadian HMV stores seemed inevitable. With the rise of online outlets like iTunes and torrenting, consumption habits have changed. Many people just pick and choose singles rather than full albums. Even with the other media and merchandise they had, it’s hard to justify the need for brick-and-mortar stores when everything is on Spotify. In 2015 digital music became the main source of music sales, overtaking physical sales. Ironically, 2016 brought a decline to digital song sales within Canada instead of a continuing rise. The year saw only four songs reaching sales of 300,000. If physical CDs and vinyl are supposedly “dead” and digital song sales are declining, how are people consuming media? Why are people still producing physical renditions of albums? The market is there obviously, but HMV doesn’t offer any advantage or angle. We have online vendors, indie and local vinyl shops, or access from the artists directly. Am I sad about #RIPHMV? No. Although it is disappointing whenever a store closes its doors for good, the HMV Canada closures simply remove one option at the end of April.
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