business
The end of a music era. Columbia House mail-order club is going out of business
Summary by The Midland Editorial Desk Debra Worley , as published by KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS)
· August 20, 2026
· 1 min read
Photo: KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS) · view original
Story provenance No corrections
Summary created by The Midland Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Byline on source page Debra Worley, as published by KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS) Original story Read at the source Source published Aug 20, 2026 Indexed here Aug 20, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
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Key points After closing its CD business in 2008, Columbia House shifted to selling DVDs. It started in 1955 selling vinyl albums and became well-known in the 1980s and 1990s for its cassette and CD sales.
Columbia House, a mail-order club, is closing for good. The club was known for its offers of cheap music, such as a dozen CDs for a penny each, with the commitment to buy more at full price later. It started in 1955 selling vinyl albums and became well-known in the 1980s and 1990s for its cassette and CD sales.
The company brought in over $1 billion a year at its peak, as people built their music libraries. After closing its CD business in 2008, Columbia House shifted to selling DVDs.
A notice on the company's website announced that it will no longer accept new orders, marking the end of the music era for Columbia House.
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KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS) reported and published this story. The Midland selected it, summarised the key facts above, and links to the original. We did not report this story and we added no reporting of our own to it.
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As published by KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS) . The Midland selects stories from publishers’ feeds, summarises them, and links back to the publisher that reported them. We add no reporting of our own. We attribute every source, link to the original report, and follow a documented editorial standards policy. To understand how stories are selected and reviewed, read our about page .
For the complete original report, visit KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS) . Have a tip or correction? Contact the editor .
Category: business Published: August 20, 2026 Source: KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS) Reading time: 1 min
Frequently asked about this story
What is this story about? Columbia House, a mail-order club, is closing for good. The club was known for its offers of cheap music, such as a dozen CDs for a penny each, with the commitment to buy more at full price later. It…
When was this published? This article was first published on August 20, 2026 by KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS) and curated for The Midland readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Debra Worley at KOSA CBS7 / First Alert 7 (Permian Basin CBS). To learn more about how The Midland selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
Where can I find related coverage? See more business coverage from The Midland, or browse our daily briefing and topic hubs .
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