Brighton's Rounder Records to close The independent Brighton record shop Rounder Records, has announced that it will close its doors for the last time. The shop is the latest in a string of independent music shops to close down because record sales are being undercut by digital sales. In a statement, the company said: "We are closing because we can't make it add up any more ... We are a business that has been decimated by downloads (both legal and illegal), VAT avoidance by the big online retailers, a double dip recession, and the decline of the high street. Our lease has ended and we have nowhere to go. The record store has a history at the centre of the music scene in Brighton and in the mid Nineties, Norman Cook (aka Fat Boy Slim) and Damian Harris both worked behind the counter before becoming famous. The owner Phil Barton said: "We tried everything to stay open, but the basic economics were killing us." Earlier this year a chart for independent record sales was begun by the Official Charts Company in an attempt to highlight the importance of record stores. The Official Charts Company released figures showing that an overwhelming majority of vinyl albums are sold through independent record stores. The shop will close Sunday July 29. Today news of the closure was trending on Twitter. Comment below and tweet your reactions to the news with the hashtag #rounderrecords.