Waterstone's has been sold; the Canadian stores were virtually given away; now HMV Live is up for sale. The latest stage in HMV's struggle for survival is a surprise in the sense that chief executive Simon Fox used to present the division as a key component of his plan to reinvent the business. His cheery vision, however, has collided with the reality that HMV is still carrying £164m of debt. The next renegotiation with the banks is only a year away, so it's a time to put safety first. Fox denies he has been ordered to sell by HMV's banks but also admits that "given our high leverage it is an option we have to consider". It amounts to much the same thing.

The 13 venues in HMV Live include the Hammersmith Apollo and the Kentish Town Forum. The division could make about £6m this year, suggesting a price of about £60m (roughly where it was valued in an buy-out of the joint venture partner in January 2010) might be achieved. That would take a sizeable bite out of the debt pile but would still leave HMV in a precarious position. As ever, the survival plan hinges on what happens in the shops.

The only good news on that front is that the rate of decline in sales is moderating. Like-for-like sales in retail were down 11.9% in the half-year, against 15.8% a year ago. Slower decline is still decline, however, and the real measure of what HMV is up against can be seen in the make-up of those sales. The whizzy growth market of technology and headphones still contributes only 14% of HMV's sales. That leaves 44% in DVDs, a quarter in CDs and the bulk of the balance in games – cold winds are blowing through all three markets.

A successful sale of HMV Live would buy more time for the high-street overhaul to have a chance of succeeding. And it's clear the film and music studios, with no enthusiasm for being prisoners of the supermarkets and Amazon, would prefer HMV to hang around. But whether £120-a-pop headphones, and some cheering from the wings, can deliver salvation for HMV is another matter. "Material uncertainties," the stark phrase in Monday's statement, seems about right.