A documentary focusing on the legacy of Tower Records, the international retail music chain that dominated for almost five decades before filing for bankruptcy in 2006, earned a standing ovation Tuesday at the South by Southwest festival. “All Things Must Pass” had its world premiere at the ZACH Theatre in Austin, Texas. The documentary explores the rise and fall of Tower Records, which was founded in 1960 by Russell Solomon in Sacramento, CA. The store was named after his father’s drugstore, which shared a building and name with the Tower Theater, where Solomon first started selling records. Eventually, the music retail chain opened 200 stores in 30 countries. Colin Hanks, (son of Tom Hanks) the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor, directed the film, which is his first feature. He spent seven years working on the project and stated that he decided to make it because of his love for music. Hanks launched a Kickstarter campaign back in 2011 and raised $92,000 to help fund the documentary. Tower struggled in the early 2000s, when the Internet and piracy began to change the way the music industry worked. The store was also in competition with other big chains such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart, who undercut Tower’s prices and hurt the chain’s earnings. Though Tower Records shut down in the United States, it still has locations in Ireland, Mexico, and Japan.
