James Zahn, Editor of Kik Axe Music, shared a harrowing account of his attempt to purchase music at Best Buy. He starts his story of by acknowledging that the sad state of the record industry is nothing new. However, due to a recent incident of his at Best Buy, he felt it was worth discussing the experience that fans, like himself, are having when they try to buy music. He questioned, 'should I really have to beg to money on music in a retail store?'

Last Tuesday, Zahn went to Best Buy to get the Christmas Comes Alive! album by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Before he left, he searched their site and confirmed that the store carried it. They did. He drives to Best Buy, goes in, and is astonished by their impoverished music section—it's just two isles long.

He grabs the first album on his list and starts searching for the holiday album.

There was no Holiday Music section set up yet. So he checked in every other imaginable place. Was the album file incorrectly? It didn't appear to be so.

Next, he found a person that worked there. They couldn't find it.

Another employee helps out. Grabs the SKU number displayed on his phone and enters it into the store computer. There are three copies of the album hidden somewhere. The employee rechecks all of the places that Zahn had. No luck.

All of the employees are calling over their walkies and asking for extra help. Then, a third employee comes along. He went through the same motions as the others, but still couldn't find the album. He'd also never even heard of Brian Setzer.

At last, a fourth employee joined the cause and resorted to checking in the back.

Moments later, he emerged. He handed Zahn the holiday album and apologized for the complications in finding it. How long did this whole ordeal take? 45 min.

Reflecting on his attempt to purchase an album at Best Buy, he challenges again, "Why should someone have to BEG to spend money in a store?"

To which further concludes, "Buying music has never been more difficult."

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As more and more retailers stashed their music space and they're overseen by people who typically know nothing about it, will the experience of buying music continue to decline? How much harder will it become to legally buy music from a store and how many fans won't wait that long to get an album?

Also, have you ever begged to spend money on music at a retail outlet?