Farewell Atomic Records!

[Smokestack Joe]

Atomic Records, an independent record store on Milwaukee's East Side, is closing in Feb 2009 after 24 years. This is very sad for a lot of music lovers in Milwaukee and elsewhere that ever visited the shop. Plenty of quality records, etc, great people who work there, in-store performances. It is sad to see another indie store not survive.

 

Rich from Atomic Records here.

 

It is with great sadness and more than a little difficulty that I have to announce that Atomic Records will be closing in February 2009.

 

The reasons for shutting down are many -- and I'd hate to bore you with wonkish details of shifting demographics, downward market trends, changing consumer habits, etc. -- but the decade-long (and running) decline of the music industry combined with the recent economic downturn have made it impossible to continue doing what we love to do.

 

Thank You !

 

First off, THANK YOU! It has truly been a pleasure serving the music lovers of Milwaukee for the past 24 years. Much gratitude goes out to our customers. The recent words of encouragement -- the likes of "hang in there," "please don't go out of business," "what would I do without you?" -- mean more than you can imagine. I only wish we had the wherewithal to continue on. But for the next couple months the current members of Team Atomic shall keep on serving you as best we can.

[bböp]

It's sad to see so many independent record stores shutting their doors these days. I had never been to Atomic, but I ducked in last week when I was passing through Milwaukee and it seemed like a cool place. I think currently there's a 20 percent off everything sale through the end of the month and I saw that they're going to haul a bunch of other stuff out in January before they close for good.

 

It sucks that for a lot of the stores that I've seen close in the last couple of years, they get way more business after they announce they're closing than they ever did while they were open.

 

Seems like it's almost impossible to survive as a mom and pop shop anymore. You either have to be a "mega-indie" like Amoeba or have a real niche.

[brianjeremy]

I honestly don't see how one of the indies in town stays open. There is never anybody there and their selection is way under-developed when compared to the other indie store in town selection (not as many cd's and now, not so many records). They have a lot of Jazz and folk stuff - a true niche store. I was in there on Saturday and it was just desolate. I feel sorry for them but their prices are higher than the other indie store, they've not changed in the six years I've lived here, etc. I'm not sure they'll be around this time next year.

 

The other store has diversified their selection, vastly expanded their vinyl offerings and expanded their used section. And it's not so much that they've gotten more used records, they've got better ones. I haven't walked out of that store in two months without a handful of cd's. I have had to pick and choose. I'm afraid that they're "stealing" business away from the smaller store, but the music industry is trying to survive I don't see how the smaller stores can compete. There are only so many Zappa fans and records a guy can sell in a small, southern city. They just aren't changing and that's sad.

 

To the winner, the spoils I suppose.

[virtualreason]

Oh so many times have I been in there....It had become my go-to place for CDs when I was home visiting my mom. I am a little surprised it's not getting enough business given its location. The UWM campus is RIGHT there, and they did a well enough job of bring kids from the burbs (like me) into the city. At least I can stop in a few times over winter break and grab some bargain stock.

[tapmyglass]

I've lived in Milwaukee for almost five years now and used to live about a block away from Atomic Records. As much as I love independent music stores, Atomic was one of the worst I've seen. They have a lot of cred around here but truthfully their selection is pretty small and almost everyone who works there fits the "HIgh Fidelity" model of I'm cooler then you and you're stupid for liking the music that you like. I'm sad to see them go, but I can't say I'm too surprised

[Smokestack Joe]

wow, you must have had different experiences there than me. but thats ok, every one has their opinion.

 

i just dont like buying records at best buy or places like that. there are still other indie stores around but I liked Atomic.