Virgin Megastores in U.S.: Lights Out This Summer

The first American store opened its doors on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood in December 1992, but it closed early last year when its lease expired.

Music sales have declined nationwide in seven of the last eight years, largely because of illegal file-sharing over the Internet and the tendency to buy individual songs rather than full albums through Apple Inc.'s (AAPL Quote) iTunes and other stores.

The Virgin Megastores had often opened with the kind of stunts that made Branson famous.

Parachutists descended on a Salt Lake City store opening in 1992. Branson came dressed as the Mad Hatter of Boston when that branch debuted in 2002. And he arrived looking like Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose for the megastore that splashed into Hollywood in 2005.

The stores also served as a way to break new artists or relaunch established ones. Mariah Carey walked the platinum carpet in Hollywood for the 2005 rerelease of "The Emancipation of Mimi" and singers from Avril Lavigne, Clay Aiken, and Faith Hill have launched albums with signings at various locations with fans sometimes lining up overnight.

"People can go online to buy music, but there won't be any replacement for the events that we held," Wright said. "Times Square was particularly famous for that."

There remain about 150 Virgin Megastores in the rest of the world, in France, Australia, Japan, and the Middle East. All are owned by local companies with licensing agreements that lead back to Branson.

The company is planning a Times Square send-off in the last week of March.