I don't know who has heard, but in Chicago, Virgin Megastore (a store I used to work in for 4 years) is closing it's doors finally, after years of poor sales; this action follows close to the demise of rival Tower Records. Coconuts, Sam goody, and other retailers seem to have been picked off one by one in the last decade. Now a major Canadian retailer is no longer:
http://chartattack.com/damn/2007/05/3010.cfm
Is this the end of the large brick and mortar stores as we know them? Have downloading or major-label practices brought this on? What effect will this have on smaller specialty record stores?