It's with heavy hearts that we write this letter.

After 5 great years providing Melbourne with an alternative to pushy record store stereotypes, we have decided to call it a day in Hear Now's current incarnation and as such we will be closing our beloved record store at the end of July.

We would like to thank all of our loyal customers throughout the years for supporting us and giving us the opportunity to serve and provide Melbourne with quality dance music vinyl. We love you all, and thank you from the bottom of our conjoined hearts. You have made the experience worthwhile for us over the years and we thank you & hope you have gotten as much enjoyment out of the store as we have.

The weekly grind of running the business has always been a hard slog for us, but lately it has gotten to the point where we are no longer having fun doing this week after week. We are saddened seeing the demise of a once prosperous industry & culture. It's now up to you to keep the culture alive! Nothing compares to walking into a record store and finding a forgotten gem hiding down the back of a record rack, meeting like-minded music heads, or bumping into that [rockstar?] dj whose gig you're buying tickets for. Over the past 5 years, Hear Now has been a hub for Melbourne's underground dance music community, acting as a physical outlet for independently distributed material, supporting upcoming artists and unsigned producers with in store exhibtions and performances. Unfortunately, we are not immune to the sweeping cultural changes currently affecting this industry and threatening its many cultures and institutions. The growing dominance of the internet is probably the most to blame for the steady decline of record store culture, and while it is a great tool, it has also led to the death of so many great stores as people become more and more reliant on their online personas rather than interacting with people face to face, which is such a shame.

So anyway, as we are closing down, everything must go: records, fittings, counters - if it's not bolted down it's for sale! Turntables, powered speakers, display racks etc etc etc. Come down and say goodbye, buy a record and write your name on the wall to prove you existed.

We will be closing the store at the end of July and will still be around - you just can't come visit us everyday, unless you go to our website which will be running for a while longer.

We will be having an "In The Red" closing down party/fundraiser on Sunday 26 July. The party will be held in the store and feature a F_Posers (jimothy k & Andee Frost) reunion 8 hour set as well as cameos from some dear friends. Tickets are extremely limited. This will be one party you won't want to miss.

So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu!
Andee, Jim & Janette xxx