Edinburgh record shop Avalanche Records could be forced to close, following 20 years at the heart of Edinburgh's music scene.
Located just off the Royal Mile, Avalanche Records has sat at the centre of Edinburgh's music scene for more than two decades. The shop stocks local, independent music giving an outlet for bands and producers who might otherwise be ignored. Hell, they even gave some of them a job…
Sadly, though, Avalanche could be forced to shut up shop in January 2013. Owner Kevin Buckle has posted a frank, open blog warning that tumbling profits mean that the shop requires a major re-think if it is to continue trading.
“I will seriously have to consider if Avalanche can continue as primarily a record shop as so much of our business has been eroded,” he said. “The national figures I see only confirm that again we are not alone. It is going to take a major rethink if we are going to remain in the current location and I have to say that currently I don’t have all the answers we need to survive. We already exist only because of the help of some very kind supporters of what we do who have helped in many different ways including recently financially".
“There has been a fair amount of interest in more formally financially sponsoring the shop and there has been a lawyer for whom this is a speciality working on this for free. However so far there have been no concrete results. While there was a positive response to my blog saying that just a few extra sales a day would make a difference as often happens it soon fizzled out and October was actually a terrible month for us even with the release of the Godspeed album".
“Consequently I have to draw a line in the sand somewhere and that date is Sunday, January 6th 2013. I hope that by then there will be a plan but at worst I will simply close the shop and concentrate on expanding our online presence and pursuing other opportunities.”
Whilst it is very easy to patronise Avalanche with false praise, the work they do for Edinburgh's music scene shouldn't be under-estimated. Auld Reekie's music scene needs a champion, an outlet and the friendly store has always been on hand to provide assistance.
Let's hope it can pull through!
