Goya Music UK’s November 30 announcement that it was closing after 10 years as broken-beat and nu-jazz music’s most respected distributor only furthered speculation that niche vinyl distribution may finally be breathing its last gasp. A press release posted at Bugz In The Attic’s CoopR8 online social network read in part: “Last week our good friends and partners, Goya Music Distribution Ltd, filed for liquidation. Along with Amato Distribution, yet another great vinyl dance music distributor, spanning a decade or more, has folded in the last few weeks due to the ever declining sales of vinyl.”

Additionally, Trash Menagerie’s blog reported that the UK’s Resist/React Music would also go down in the Amato flame out. These announcements follow the news of New York-based Dancetracks’ transition from a vinyl store to exclusively online digital distribution.

Elsewhere in New York, it has been rumored that Syntax Distribution is heading towards liquidation, evidenced by a recent “all vinyl half-price” sale at its warehouse, as well as by the disappearance of its distributed labels page. It remains to be seen what might happen to Syntax’s successful P&D labels Coco Machete, Hector Works, and Dallas-based Grab Recordings, among others.

It is clear from the demise of record stores where the future of vinyl distribution is going, but some predict vinyl itself will outlast CDs. What can devoted Goya-heads do for their broken fix? For now, broken-beat fans can gather at the twice-monthly Co-Op club sessions, at Plastic People, and listen to radio shows like BBC 1Xtra’s Benji B and (XLR8R contributor) Velanche’s Urban Landscapes, and hope that the music will rise again for the digital age.