Media Play

In 2001, Musicland was purchased by Best Buy Co. Inc. for $696 million (~$1.14 billion in 2023) as part of its initiative to diversify its retail holdings to reach a larger demographic with its consumer electronics and entertainment products.

They launched a major remerchandising campaign and converted Musicland's On Cue concept of rural stores to the Sam Goody brand, reducing its position in books and moving more into video games and DVD.

As a result, they put the company up for sale and were likely just weeks away from liquidating the entire chain when they found a buyer in Sun Capital Partners of Boca Raton, Florida.

In December 2005, Minnetonka, Minnesota–based Musicland Group, which owned Media Play, announced it would close all 61 stores by the end of January 2006 and refocus on its Sam Goody and Suncoast chains.

The Musicland Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2006, and in February announced the closing[2] of 226 Sam Goody and 115 Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores, and all Media Play locations.