I was surfing idly (I'm really good at that), when I tripped upon this news on Canoe.ca:
Last week, Canada's second-largest music retailer, Music World Ltd., filed for bankruptcy protection leaving HMV and big-box stores to duke it out for your listening pleasures.
From: Music World faces bankruptcy -- Canoe.ca
The article fails to mention that we have A and B Sound here out west, but I'm not really sure that's a plus or minus for the Canadian music industry. To be honest, I'm only surprised A and B didn't beat Music World to the punch.
I have no real emotion about the potential demise of Music World. Even as a kid they seemed like a distant fourth to A&A Records, Sam the Record Man and HMV. They didn't have the pricing, the imports, the stock, the staff or the superstores to get my attention. The last time I stopped in a Music World was a few weeks back on one of my Cockburn quests. Let's just say it was an act of desperation.
That said, there's something not right about HMV being the only national retailer in Canada. Hopefully this is sign of more grassroots regional chains gaining strength.