Columbia House, Iconic Mail-Order Music Club, Will Shut Down
The company that once mailed millions of records and CDs to Americans will stop taking orders after September 15, 2026.
Columbia House, the mail-order company that promised music lovers "12 records or tapes for a penny," is closing for good. A notice on its website says it will stop accepting new orders after September 15, 2026.
The business launched in 1955 and became a fixture of American pop culture, sending customers dozens of albums for a token price in exchange for signing up to buy more music later at regular club prices. Members who didn't return a reply card declining an offer would automatically receive — and be billed for — the next release.
Columbia House evolved with the times, moving from vinyl records to reel-to-reel tape, 8-tracks, cassettes, and eventually CDs and DVDs. At its peak in the 1990s, it counted millions of members and generated $1.4 billion in revenue, boasting in a jingle that it was "big enough to entertain America."
The company dropped music entirely in 2010 to focus on DVD sales. It survived several corporate restructurings and a 2015 bankruptcy, but its remaining mail-order DVD business is now ending as well.
The closure notice was first spotted by the YouTube channel 33 RPM, and NPR confirmed the news through a call to Columbia House's customer service line.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
