This week, the execs at downtown-based independent record store Millennium Music (372 King Street, (843) 722-1000) announced that they’ll close their doors at the corner of King and Calhoun streets for good on Thurs. May 1 and move their operation to another facility in order to concentrate on expanding their online venture, FeedYourPlayer.com. The downtown store has been in business on that busy corner since 2001.“We look forward to a deserving and satisfying ending to Millennium and have great anticipation for the FeedYourPlayer.com journey we are just beginning,” Kent Wagner, managing partner, told the Post and Courier this week (Wagner is pictured here with colleague Clayton Woodson). “It’s been a long thought process. What we’re doing is trying to react to changes and stay ahead of the changes.”For years, Millennium Music has been a City Paper reader favorite for new and used CDs. As the result of massive changes in technology (the rise of iTunes, internet-based file sharing, and digital downloading of music) and the music retailing industry, Millennium crafted a new business model.Eleven years ago, Millennium had three retail locations in Charleston, plus franchises in Wilmington, Raleigh, and Durham, By 2007, they boiled their operations down to one single downtown facility. Two years ago, Millennium started offering a used CD trade for new iPods — and a service that converts entire CD collections to mp3 files. Those deals have since become their most popular services.Customers may trade, buy, and manage their discs and audio files at www.FeedYourPlayer.com.
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