MUSIC retailer Music Zone has gone into admistration.

The high-street chain, which has 104 stores including one in the Market Place, Bolton, filed for administration at Manchester County Court. The Bolton branch employs eight staff, as do their stores in Bury and Leigh.

Music Zone - founded in 1984 and based in Stockport - had been struggling against competition from online retailers and the supermarkets.

It was taken over in a management buy-out in March, 2005, and last January took over 43 former stores from the MVC chain, which had itself gone into administration.

Administrator Bill Dawson, from Deloitte's Reorganisation Services division, said: "Music Zone has an excellent store portfolio with a UK-wide footprint covering predominantly prime high street locations. We're currently trading the business while seeking interested parties to acquire Music Zone as a going concern."