EFA files for bankruptcy

i wonder who will pick up tresor, the basic channel family, klang elektronik, disko b, force inc, kanzleramt, perlon, playhouse ...

not to mention the rest of the world: subvoice, source, rise robots rise, rephlex ...

they also do cds!! chances are, if you've bought a european techno cd in the last several years, it had a little sticker or imprint on the back somewhere that said EFA.

william is also OTM.

That is really sad that they are going down, jeez with Pinnacle out too its going to be near impossible to get stuff out here. I am not that big a fan of buying on the internet either but at this point I guess I am going to have to start getting used to it.

Vahid are there any good internet resources out here on the west coast for techno?

i don't know of any good online californian stores (not to say they don't exist), or really any storefront that compares to nuloop.

I would have thought that I would have been suffocated under the wealth of stores out here but find myself frustrated more often than not.

The euro is killing me these days too, the price of european music just goes up and up.

Dance music is a mess right now, Integrale went under as well this summer, which means that a lot of hard techno labels in the UK lost their distributor. Those records are not my cup of tea, but it still worries me. I was talking with PJ from S://kimo awhile back and he said that his business died after 9/11 as well. Basically, he said that his standby's were still selling, autechre and BoC are moving 100 12"s but everybody else is just moving a handful of records if they are lucky.

I wonder why it has declined so much in the last few years. I think the decline in the cool-factor of electronic music coupled with the increase in product because every kid with a laptop is a "producer" because he has a crack of Reason is what is killing it right now. I think it has lost so much audience because of the sheer amount of crap out there; as much time as I have invested in electronic music I almost do not feel like wading through a glutted market full of lukewarm product anymore.

Filesharing does not help either, but I don't think that is the problem. I think what is killing sales is that consumers don't have to take chances with crap product anymore. When I think of how much money I have wasted on bad records over the years because I had to order them unheard it makes me sick. I have only recently started buying physical media again, and then it is only with albums I have already heard and know I am getting value for my money. That also means that I spend about 75% less than I would have if I just had to take a leap of faith with new releases. Your shit has to be pretty hot if you want me to shell out 14 bucks for it. ;)

I must say it is a little scary seeing other distibutors like Integrale and Prime going under the past year as well. And I hear the Force Inc label may be following shortly. Not sure what to make of it at this point, but I hope this trend doesnt get any bigger....

So the preview factor is there, certainly.

One of the greatest 9/11-related impacts on my buying habits has been the US Dollar's downward spiral since. When I first began buying Kompakt discs, for example, I bought direct and would have continued to buy frequently. But the Euro's climb has made me extremely cautious and whereas I had been in the habit of buying ~4-5 discs/month generally (with the occasional overseas purchase), I've scaled that number back to 1-3.

A weak dollar's a bitch on imports.

I doubt any of you work for no pay.

There will be a few labels left standing and the independent scene will be dominated by them just like the mainstream is.

thanks