Columbia House, a mail-order business founded in 1955, removed its notice of closure from its website after announcing it would cease operations in September. The company was once successful, shipping over a billion records and accounting for 15% of all CD sales by 1994, but revenue declined as music consumers turned to online options. Columbia House's parent company filed for bankruptcy in the US in 2015, citing peak revenue of approximately $1.4 billion in 1996. Music enthusiasts are now flocking to social media to remember and joke about their experiences with Columbia House's once-prominent mail-order model.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Columbia House, a mail-order business that started 71 years ago as Columbia Record Club, has removed its notice of closure from its website. Despite announcing plans to cease operations in September 2023, the company took down the closing announcement on Tuesday. The move has sparked confusion and nostalgia among music enthusiasts who had already said goodbye to the nostalgic model of music collection after Columbia House's bankruptcy filing in 2015. The company, which once offered new members up to 12 CDs for a penny, had been planning to close its operations since then, but it was not clear why they removed the notice now. Music enthusiasts first spotted the closing notice this weekend, which stated that "after 9/15/26, The Columbia House will no longer be accepting new orders."
Written for “Columbia House Closing” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 1331 · logged 2026-08-21
Columbia House, which once promised 12 CDs for a penny, removes notice of closure
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which → promise → closure
The mail-order business that once had millions of subscribers said it would cease operations in September
A mail-order club that once offered new members as many as 12 CDs for a penny has announced its closure after 71 years.
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that → have → years
But Columbia House, which ceased music sales and Canadian operations in 2010, removed the closing announcement from its website on Tuesday.
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which → cease → Tuesday
CBC News has reached out to the company for more information about its future.
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News → reach → future
Music enthusiasts first spotted the closing notice this weekend.
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enthusiasts → spot → notice
It said, "after 9/15/26, The Columbia House will no longer be accepting new orders."
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House → say → orders
The company was originally started by Columbia Records in 1955 as Columbia Record Club, aiming to expand music sales to regions where consumers didn't have access to record stores.
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consumers → start → stores
The mail-order business exploded, adding new technology as it evolved, including cassettes and CDs.
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it → explode → cassettes
Eventually, DVDs of films and TV shows were added.
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DVDs → add → films
Early customers were lured in by magazine and newspaper inserts that promised multiple records, tapes or CDs if customers simply mailed in a penny — provided that they also agreed to purchase a minimum number of musical releases every month going forward.
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they → lure → releases
The model was successful: according to a 2011 article from the Boston Phoenix, Columbia House had shipped more than a billion records and accounted for 15 per cent of all CD sales by 1994.
But revenue dipped as music consumers started finding more options online.
uncertain
consumers → accord → options
In 2010, then owned by Direct Brands, Columbia House stopped selling music, shifting its mail-order business to solely DVDs.
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House → own → DVDs
It also closed operations in Canada.
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It → close → Canada
- Video
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- Commotion
Why are more and more people going analog?
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people → flip → analog
Demand for physical media driving up business for Vancouver’s vinyl record industry
If this week's news sparks deja vu, that may be because the parent of Columbia House, then Filmed Entertainment Inc., already filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. in 2015 — but the company has been quietly limping along on DVD sales until now.
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company → drive → sales
The company said in 2015 that its revenue had peaked in 1996 at approximately $1.4 billion US.
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revenue → say → US
The news comes amid a swell of enthusiasm for physical media.
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news → come → media
Data compiled by Music Canada from a report on global music trends found that 2025 was another banner year for vinyl sales, with record stores also reporting an uptick in business.
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stores → compile → business
Although many already said their goodbyes to Columbia House's nostalgic model of music collection amid the flurry of articles around the 2015 bankruptcy filing, this week's news has music appreciators flocking to social media to honour the company that once helped them build their music libraries — and to joke about unpaid fees.
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them → say → fees
"I'm pretty sure that I still owe Columbia House money," one user posted on X on Sunday, alongside an image of an old Columbia House ad offering any 8 CDs or 12 cassettes for one penny.
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user → owe → penny
CBC News has reached out to Columbia House after the notice of closure disappeared from its website but has not yet received a response.
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notice → reach → response
