Remember when you could get seven records or 8-track tapes for a penny or 12 cd’s for that same bargain-basement price?
The original subscription music service, which came decades before we had streaming subscriptions, is going the way of the 8-track.
Columbia House is shutting down after seven decades.
The company confirmed by phone to CNN that it would close soon, with some media outlets citing a now-deleted note on the Columbia House website that said the final-order date was Sept. 15.
AV Club explained how the mail order system worked. A person would buy a dozen CDs for a penny, but then would have to buy several more CDs at regular price with a difficult process, which AV Club called “arcane rituals,” to cancel the membership. It also involved what was called negative-option billing, where the company would send an album or CD unless members said no by a deadline set before shipping. If they didn’t send in the card saying no, they would not only get a possibly unwanted record, but also the bill that came with it, Complex explained.
The company started as Columbia Record Club in 1955 to reach people who did not live near music stores, according to Complex.
At its peak in 1996, it had about $1.4 billion in sales and 16 million members, but thanks to digital music and services such as iTunes and other streaming brands, the company couldn’t license music as easily as larger companies, CNN reported.
It stopped selling music in 2010, according to Complex.
The parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2015. Edge Line Ventures bought Columbia House and currently operates it, selling DVDs. AV Club said only about a dozen titles the company called “New Releases” were available, and they were a couple of years old.
©2026 Cox Media Group
