It's a sad day for the musical childhood of many generations. The Associated Press is reporting that the parent company of Columbia House, the organization behind the famous music and DVD clubs of yore, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The move comes after nearly 20 years of declining sales, according to the AP. Filmed Entertainment (Columbia House's parent company) told the wire service that revenue hit a high of $1.4 billion in 1996. In 2014, that figure fell to $17 million (or roughly one percent of its peak, the AP notes). While Chapter 11 protection doesn't necessarily mean Filmed Entertainment intends to go out of business, it's not looking good. Companies like RadioShack and Kodak have done this in recent years to obtain a certain period of time within which to rebuild itself and shield itself from creditors. Kodak at least emerged from its situation.

The service started in 1955 with vinyl records, and Columbia House introduced pop culture fans to many, many film and music entities over the years through its service. It operated on offers like eight CDs for 1¢ (plus shipping!) or an 8-track tape of the month club (relying on a "return or pay to keep" philosophy). But physical media at large has gradually fallen out of favor over the years, and services from Napster to Netflix to iTunes all overlap with what Columbia House intended to do.

The AP notes that the official Columbia House music club ended in 2010. And while Filmed Entertainment has tested both streaming film and music services, it may simply be too far behind the eight-ball now. The wire service reports that Columbia House has no employees at this time and has relied on third parties in recent years. According to forms filed with the US Bankruptcy Court for Southern District of New York and obtained by the AP, only 110,000 people have bought a product from the Columbia House DVD Club within the last year.

(Editor's Note: This author's first Columbia House experience came with the music club in the mid-'90s, when I recieved CDs for the first time from Santa Claus—Weird Al's Bad Hair Day, the Saturday Night Fever OST, and Oasis' What's The Story (Morning Glory)? Ars IT Editor Sean Gallagher vividly recalls his parents not returning Kiss Double Platinum on 8-track in time, thus resulting in a formative musical experience. Feel free to share your own glorious Columbia House triumphs in the comments.)