As reported at XLR8R.com a few weeks back, New York dance music distributor Syntax has gone out of business. The company’s last day is this Friday, January 11. Rumors have been circulating for weeks as the influential house, techno, and drum & bass distributor sold its warehoused stock at 50 percent off and ceased importing new vinyl from overseas.

In a statement from management, the company cited digital distribution’s rise, retail stores closing, a weak dollar, poor economy, and rising business costs as fomenting their demise. “We’re all very sad here, as this has been our passion and livelihood for as long as we’ve been ‘adults,’ but the time has come to move on,” the statement said.

Syntax’s closing leaves several of their P&D’ed labels in the lurch, including Dallas’s Grab, New York’s Hector Works, and Coco Machete–for which Syntax produced and distributed vinyl.

Dance music distributors such as Groove, Forced Exposure, Downtown 161, and Crosstalk will fill in some gaps left by Syntax’s departure. But DJs and vinyl enthusiasts have lost another great, passionate music wholesaler as the vinyl DJ era looks more and more in doubt.