Music Millennium

File:Marquee at Music Millennium, Northwest Portland store, Feb 2007.jpg

At one time, Music Millennium had three stores: one at the original eastside location, which opened on March 15, 1969,{{cite news |last=Carlin |first=Peter Ames |date=December 24, 2010 |title=Terry Currier and Music Millennium: The growth, and near-death, of a Portland icon |url=http://www.oregonlive.com/carlin/index.ssf/2010/12/terry_currier_and_music_millennium_the_growth_and_near-death_of_a_portland_icon.html |accessdate=August 2, 2012 |newspaper=The Oregonian}} a store in northwest Portland's Northwest District, and a classical music store located next door to the main eastside location called Classical Millennium that opened in 1977.{{cite news|last=Stabler|first=David|title=Classical Millennium, Portland's classical CD mecca, shrinks inventory, cuts staff|date=July 30, 2012|newspaper=The Oregonian| url=http://www.oregonlive.com/performance/index.ssf/2012/07/classical_millennium_portlands.html |accessdate=August 2, 2012}} Terry Currier acquired the business in 1996 from McLeod's estate following Don McLeod's death.

The northwest location was a pioneer in in-store performances, which started in 1989 as part of the business's 20th anniversary celebration. Currier later coined the term "Keep Portland Weird", which has become a rally slogan for the city and its culture. He is currently considered "The Father of Portland's Weird Movement"{{cite news|last=|first=|title=Father of Portland's Weird Movement Says...|url=https://www.koin.com/is-portland-over/keep-portland-weird-slogan-originator-says-city-not-as-weird|accessdate=May 16, 2021|newspaper=KOIN|date=}}

The northwest location closed in September 2007.{{cite news|last=Richmond|first=Paige|title='The death of a friend': Music Millennium NW's Last Night|url=http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-10387-the_death_of_a_friend_music_millennium_nws_last_ni.html|accessdate=August 2, 2012|newspaper=Willamette Week|date=September 2, 2007}} In 2009, Music Millennium was ranked ninth in Spin magazine's list of the fifteen best independent record stores in the country.{{cite news|last1=Everdell|first1=Abigail|last2=Aaron|first2=Charles|title=America's Best Indie Record Stores|accessdate=August 2, 2012|magazine=Spin|date=April 17, 2009|url=http://spin.com/blog/americas-15-best-indie-record-stores|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202020756/http://spin.com/blog/americas-15-best-indie-record-stores |archivedate=February 2, 2010}} A year later, The Oregonian described Music Millennium as an iconic Portland business and a "national leader in the music-selling industry".

During a 1993 feud with Garth Brooks, Currier barbecued the country star's album In Pieces after removing Music Millennium's entire collection of his other CDs, cassettes, and LPs. Dubbed "The Barbecue for Retail Freedom", the event was staged to protest Brooks's stance against used record stores selling his music.{{cite news|last=Ames |first=Peter Ames |title=Terry Currier and Music Millennium: The growth, and near-death, of a Portland icon|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/carlin/2010/12/terry_currier_and_music_millennium_the_growth_and_near-death_of_a_portland_icon.html|accessdate=July 24, 2024|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=}} As of 2017, Music Millennium was still refusing to stock Brooks's albums.{{cite news|last=Singer |first=Matthew |title=How a Portland Record Store's Feud With Garth Brooks Helped Create Record Store Day|url=https://www.wweek.com/music/2017/04/20/how-a-portland-record-stores-feud-with-garth-brooks-helped-create-record-store-day/|accessdate=April 20, 2018|newspaper=Willamette Week|date=}} The store continues to host an annual "Customer Appreciation BBQ" every August and the feud helped inspire the foundation of Record Store Day in 2007.{{cite news|last=Elijah Holley |first=Santi |title=Music Millennium Celebrates 50 Years of Hawking Records, Hosting Shows, and Charbroiling Garth Brooks CDs|url=https://www.portlandmercury.com/music/2019/03/14/26148425/music-millennium-celebrates-50-years-of-hawking-records-hosting-shows-and-charbroiling-garth-brooks-cds|accessdate=July 24, 2024|newspaper=Music Millennium|date=}}

In a lawsuit dismissed in 1999, Music Millennium filed a trademark claim against Millennium Music in Charleston, South Carolina, asking them to change the name of their business. Millennium Music operated two stores in South Carolina and Terry Currier believed it caused too much confusion and was concerned about "unwanted competition".{{Cite web |title=Vol. 40, No. 4, SUMMER 2000 of Jurimetrics on JSTOR |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/i29762663 |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=www.jstor.org |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Yokoyama |first=Dennis |date=2005-06-01 |title=You Can't Always Use the Zippo Code: The Fallacy of a Uniform Theory of Internet Personal Jurisdiction |url=https://via.library.depaul.edu/law-review/vol54/iss4/5 |journal=DePaul Law Review |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=1147 |issn=0011-7188}}{{Cite web |title=Millennium Enterprises v. Millennium Music, LP, 33 F. Supp. 2d 907 (D. Or. 1999) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/33/907/2518997/ |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Binole |first=Gina |date=February 8, 1999 |title=E-commerce precedent set by court |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1999/02/08/story1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010119060800/https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1999/02/08/story1.html |archive-date=January 19, 2001 |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Portland Business Journal |publisher=American City Business Journal}} The court held that simply having an interactive website was not enough to have personal jurisdiction.{{Cite web |date=March 26, 2008 |title=Internet Contacts Insufficient to Confer Personal Jurisdiction |url=https://corporate.findlaw.com/law-library/internet-contacts-insufficient-to-confer-personal-jurisdiction.html |access-date=September 25, 2023 |website=Findlaw |publisher=Thomson Reuters}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Music Millennium}}

• {{Official website|http://www.musicmillennium.com/}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060116215902/http://www.cimsmusic.com/stores/store-profiles/musicmillennium_portland.pdf Store profile] (in PDF format) from the CIMS website
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042320/http://portlandtribune.com/pt/11-features/123194-music-millennium-spins-portlands-family-album "Music Millennium Spins Portland's Family Album"], Portland Tribune, November 15, 2012.
• [http://www.wweek.com/html/q&a091599.html 1999 Interview with owner Terry Currier] from Willamette Week

Category:1969 establishments in Oregon

Category:Companies based in Portland, Oregon

Category:Music retailers of the United States

Category:Privately held companies based in Oregon

Category:Retail companies established in 1969