MP3 KILLED THE CD MUSIC CLUB
The following letter has been edited for purposes of brevity:

Dear Benny,

We're contacting you to let you know that the Columbia House Music Club is officially closing its doors. Because you are such a valued customer, we are taking this opportunity to introduce you to BMG Music Service, where you can enjoy benefits similar to your Columbia House Music Club membership and more.

As a member of BMG Music Service, any remaining Columbia House Music Club purchase commitments that you might have will be waived. Plus, your Bonus Points will not be lost—they will be converted into BMG's Music Points. And to get you started, BMG will also give each Columbia House member enough additional Music Points for a FREE CD (a shipping and handling charge will be added to each selection).

If you have any questions regarding the upcoming changes to your membership, please visit the Columbia House Music Club Help Section or contact customer service by replying to this email. Please note that the last day to order from Columbia House Music Club's catalog and website will be August 22nd, 2005.

Thank you again for being a valued member of Columbia House Music Club, and as a music lover, we know you'll enjoy being a part of the BMG Music Service family.

Sincerely,
Your friends at Columbia House

WOW! It truly is the end of an era folks. Columbia House Music Club is closing. This news totally floored me upon reading it. Granted it's not totally shocking news, I myself haven't purchased much from them in the past few years, so I can only imagine other people really haven't spent too much time shopping there either. But man oh man, Columbia House Music Club is closing. This is crazy. I remember when I first joined the club, back in 1991, when I got my first CD player, the summer before I started 8th grade. They were great for stocking up on classic back catalog stuff. They supplied me with classics from Talking Heads, The Ramone's and other classic punk records, Depeche Mode and other classic 80's groups, RUN DMC and other great old school hip hop albums; they also supplied me with tons of crap, some of which I won't mention here, less I lose any indie cred I might have. But man oh man, Columbia House Music Club is closing. Lets everyone pause their iPods, or any other MP3 Player you own, and observe a moment of silence for the passing of the Columbia House Music Club. This is a sad day.