WASHINGTON -- The lastest victim of the digital shift in how we get our music: Dupont Circle's Melody Records will close later this winter after 34 years in business.
Owners Jack and Suzy Menase opened the shop in 1977 and moved it to its current location at 1623 Connecticut Ave. NW location in 1979. In a letter posted to the store's website, the couple made the announcement with clear regret.
While we wish that we could continue indefinitely, technology, the internet and the economy has taken its toll, and we have concluded, unfortunately, that it is not possible to survive in this environment
It will soon join the ranks of D.C.'s other fallen record stores, including Revolution Records near the Van Ness-UDC Metrorail stop, which closed in 2006, and Georgetown's Yoshitoshi, a record label and shop that has morphed into an online-only business.
As Washington City Paper observes:
That brings the number of record stores within city limits to...less than half a dozen? But while Smash!, Red Onion, Crooked Beat, and Som are all great shops, they're also fairly boutique and mostly rock-focused. If you wanted pop, hip-hop, classical, jazz, Latin, African music, or just about any other genre -- and if you're the kind of person who still buys your music in person -- you probably went to Melody.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user krossbow.