Musicland

Musicland was founded in Minneapolis in 1955.?? In 1964, it merged with music distributor JL Marsh followed by merger in 1968 with record label and distributor Pickwick International. In 1977, American Can Company bought Pickwick and a year later, famed New York record store Sam Goody. Musicland opened stores in malls and shopping centers across the country under both the Musicland and Sam Goody nameplates. Great growth came in the early 1990s as music buyers switched from cassette tapes and vinyl to (more expensive) CDs. At it's peak Musicland had over 1,300 stores, but the decline in CD sales, combined with the rise of digital music, led to the store's demise. It was acquired by Best Buy in 2001 and later competitor Trans World Entertainment.