Mail order record clubs used to be big business. The most famous (or infamous) of them all was Columbia House, which started out in 1955 as a direct to consumer division of Columbia Records, called the Columbia Record Club.

The concept became so popular that, by 1963, records purchased through the service reportedly accounted for 10% of all US recorded music sales and, by 1975, it boasted 3 million members.

While nowhere near the 7m records sold through the Columbia ...