By Camerron Martin

Time is constantly moving on and with progression comes new methods and ideas that people adopt and carry with them daily. Modern technology is built to be simpler and more available than its predecessors. When older ways fall out of favor, the platforms that carried them tend to follow, and unfortunately for some who built a business around them, they are left in the past or have to fight to compete with the new ways. 

With the continuous advancements in streaming services for types of all media, stores selling physical copies in older forms are met with a grim fate. With that, it has to come to an upsetting end of an era for one local Pueblo business. Independent Records and Video is set to close its doors after over forty years of serving our community and Southern Colorado.  

The business first opened its doors to the eager community of Pueblo in 1978 at 420 W. 4th St. and offered various formats from the times. In recent years, vinyl records, tapes and CDs for music and movies all line the shelves, incense and other smoke-related items. 

For around forty-five years, Independent Records has been greeting Pueblo residents with friendly service and a relaxing atmosphere, and many are very sad to see it go. 

Brent Valdez, a ten-year employee of the store, stated, “A lot of people are upset that the store is closing since it has been a staple of Pueblo’s history.” 

However, despite people’s disagreement over the decision, there is an understanding of why the choice was made as many factors hit the company hard, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today almost any song or album is at the tip of our fingers through streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, and dozens more. Due to this, most people need to see or hold more value in buying physical copies of the artists they enjoy, which leaves any place that deals with them in a troubled spot today. 

Despite this, the market for vinyl records and other forms of media has yet to be erased. Many individuals would instead collect their fair share of records and tapes and prefer them over streaming music and video. People see value in these forms as, for many, they remind them of a time when they were the best and only options. 

Independent Records was a great provider of concert tickets for all the best and most popular bands from the generations, and fans would camp outside the store for significant periods to get theirs as soon as they went on sale. This activity is another related method that has fallen out of favor and it hurts to see such a hub of that kind of commitment reach the end of its history.

However, this isn’t the true end of Independent Records, as the Colorado Springs location is still open and operational. Located at 195 N. Academy Blvd., the second location offers many of the same services and products as the Pueblo location for those who still wish to seek out the same feeling they could experience in our community. Even though Pueblo’s local branch is leaving our community, many people can still look back and enjoy the memories of everything Independent Records has given to our community. 

Not all might be lost, as recent information shared by Independent Record’s owner Orville Lambert that a new buyer is in the works, which might keep the store going. The store will continue its closing sale throughout the month and into April to allow for this possible change to happen.