Aron's Records to close

Signs went up Thursday night at the fixture on Highland Avenue. There will be a closeout sale, then 34 employees will lose their jobs. The Aron's website claims the shop has been "Los Angeles' best independent record store for 40 years!" Times columnist Michael Hiltzik broke the news on his Golden State blog, far as I can tell:

Klempner says that although the arrival of the giant Amoeba at Sunset and Vine in 2001 affected his business, it wasn't the only problem. People simply aren't buying CDs like they used to; they're downloading, burning their own CDs, or file-trading online. "The iPod and lower-quality music is fine for them," he says. "Some of our best customers haven't bought CDs in years."

(Actually, the news was on Coolfer ahead of Hiltzik, he writes.)