UPDATE! The end is nigh for Criminal Records

If you haven’t heard the news by now, Criminal Records is on the verge of shutting down. Rumors have been circulating around Little Five Points over the last few weeks, but 11 Alive News confirmed this morning that the end is extremely nigh.

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According to 11 Alive’s post, “Store owner Eric Levin says Criminal Records has been increasingly unable to turn a profit since the rise of digital audio.” The post later adds that Criminal will begin liquidating inventory immediately.”

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D Day for the store is November 1.

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UPDATE: According to Levin, “liquidation plans are in effect,” but haven’t been implemented yet. Levin also says that a “save Criminal Records” campaign is currently being planned as well, but it’s going to be an uphill battle. The store has to raise approximately $150,000 by Nov. 1 to pay off a sizable debt that the store has accrued since moving to its current location at 1154-A Euclid Ave., in Oct. ‘08. Since the move the store has tripled its expenses while watching sales dwindle in the face music becoming increasingly available for free via the Internet.

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Levin also added that one of the final straws showing just how bad the situation had become occurred in Sept. ‘10 when the Hoboken, NJ -based indie rock trio Yo La Tengo played an in-store performance for a crowd of about 350 people, but the store only sold 9 CDs and 11 LPs. “That was a real bummer that pretty much sums up the situation for everyone that’s involved with this business,” Levin says.

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The campaign to save the store is still on the drawing board. No specific events have been confirmed yet, but money raised will be used mostly to pay a sizable debt that the store owes to the Georgia Department of Revenue.

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Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.