Listen, Atlanta:
(courtesy of the ajc):
Eric Levin has helped make Record Store Day an annual event to support 1,000 independent record stores worldwide.
But he may have to shutter his own music store – Criminal Records – by Nov. 1 after making what he said were bad business decisions during the nation’s recession.
“We’ve been underwater ever since the economy became distressed,” founder and owner Eric Levin said Monday. “We’ve been on a rescue mission for three years. I’m done paying for it by myself.”
There are more than 700 independent record stores nationwide. Many have closed their doors saying they can’t compete with Amazon, iTunes and big box retailers such as Best Buy or Target that sell new releases at deep discounts. If Criminal closes, that will leave the metro Atlanta area with a half-dozen independent stores that sell new or used CDs or vinyl records. Levin rattled off nearly 10 independent music stores in Atlanta or Decatur that have shuttered in recent years.
