Record Store Blues

I got some bad news a few weeks ago, my favourite independent record store Echo is closing down. Echo was probably one of the best record stores in Glasgow, I mean, this is where I bought my first Merzbow record, my first Nurse With Wound record, my first Coil record, and my favourite John Fahey record("Fare Forward Voyagers"). With Echo closing down there's less choice for the discerning record shopper, especially after John Smiths closing down 2 years ago. I'm beginning to notice that these indie record stores basically seem to doing pretty badly in the current climate, getting in less adventurous new stock. One store that does seem to be doing well is Fopp, but that's because everything is £5, and the same people that buy Dido and Coldplay records seem to enjoy shopping there (nothing against Fopp, I've bought shitloads to plug up gaps in my collection, but it's seems to specialise in selling the stuff the record companies are flogging for cheap).

Is this happening everywhere, or just Glasgow, or UK? Is it a combination of Amazon/Net ordering and d/ling stuff off the internet and consequently people buying less records? Is it just the current economic climate? I mean, the WIRE magazine seems to be doing OK, I assume there is a market for this kind of "difficult" music. Could this mean the death of the small record shop, until all we're left with are the megastore monstrosities, that have size but extremely limited choice and seem to be playing Friends videos everytime I enter the store as well the fact they reek of mcdonalds. Maybe I don't want record stores to reek of coffee. I mean, in Echo and these other small record stores I enjoyed taking a chance on music even if I had never heard of it, if it had an interesting package say. Maybe , mail order is a better way to go. Who knows, I'm depressed.