Remember when buying CDs was a pastime for music fans? Not anymore...

We all know music downloading has exploded in recent years, while traditional album sales have been dropping. In fact, according to numbers from Nielsen SoundScan, total album sales were down 13 per cent last year, continuing a trend of the past decade.

Well now, there's another sign of the changing music industry. The retail giant HMV is in financial trouble. And the British company says it's considering selling off its Canadian division to pay down debt...

At one time, Sam The Record Man was Canada's largest music retailer with 140 locations across the country. But with the growth of digital sales, Sam the Record Man was forced into bankruptcy in 2001, although its flagship store on Yonge St. in Toronto stayed in business until 2007.

Here's more about the founder Sam Sniderman and an old CBC radio clip with Sam from 1971.

HMV Closing?