Cash-strapped HMV faces closure

HMV, the iconic British music retailer, is under heavy debt burden and its management has announced that the company is left with no option but go into administration, as talks with creditors failed.

HMV, one of the world's oldest music retailers, confirmed on Tuesday that Deloitte is being called in as its administrator.

With almost no demand for the music discs and tapes, HMV has been struggling in the face of online competition from online music stores like Amazon, and iTunes for several years now.

The company tried alternatives like selling gadgets such as tablets, speakers and headphones in its stores and online in an attempt to generate revenue although its core business remained the disc and the tape.

HMV, which started selling gramophones, sheet music and recordings at its first store on London's Oxford Street in 1921, failed to catch up with the times.

The music industry had undergone drastic changes over the 1990s, which HMV failed to fully acknowledge. It failed to shift to digital recording then, perhaps one of the most significant developments in the music industry.