FYE – GONE!  Tower Records – GONE!  Virgin – GONE! 

Yesterday was the final day of business for the Virgin Megastore chain in North America.

The sounds of the Velvet Underground echoed in the Virgin Megastore in Union Square on Sunday afternoon, as bargain-hunting passers-by and hard-core music shoppers poked through what few items remained at the last large-scale record store in New York City.

For many shoppers at Union Square on Sunday the loss of a big outlet in one of the most heavily trafficked areas of the city was particularly dispiriting.  More than a place that sold music, it was a social gathering space.  You can’t get that on line.

It was also a location for hundreds of free concerts and just as many “meet & greet” autograph sessions with many of the leading artists of the day.  Those perks of living in the city – GONE!