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Avid Records Closes After Twenty Years

Avid Records, Oxford’s last remaining vinyl record store, has been forced to close due to a large rent demand from Oxford City Council.
The store has been a popular haunt with music lovers, and has been especially popular with students, for over two decades.
The store was due to close in 2006 after it was hit with a backdated bill for £21,000. The owners were about to sell the lease and relocate to Bournemouth when the buyer pulled out, and fans have been able to continue to buy records, until now.
One first year student at University College told Cherwell24 that it was a “shame”, as he had spent “many an hour” browsing Avid’s vast collections. He lamented the increase in illegally downloaded music via the internet and cited that as the reason why establishments like Avid are becoming all the rarer.
However, it is not just students who will feel the loss of Avid Records. Liberal Democrat City Councillor, Patrick Murray, 27, has been visiting the shop for thirteen years and spoke to the Oxford Mail of his sadness at its closure.
"It's such a shame that Avid has closed – it's been a real Oxford institution since I was a teenager and was my favourite shop.
"The council is duty-bound to try to achieve the market rent for its properties, but we don't want a situation where small traders who add character to the city are driven out because they are being asked for years of backdated rent.”
"I suppose times change and now if people want to buy vinyl, they will have to buy it over the Internet," he said.

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