A Message To Everyone Who Has Supported Squirrel Records.
25th November 2012
First of all, and most importantly....THANK YOU!!!
Earlier this year, as you may know, we made a very difficult decision regarding the future of this label, and went ahead with issuing a statement announcing that Squirrel Records will be closing down by the end of 2012. We didn't come to this decision easily, and it was the very last thing we wanted to do. To put it mildly, in March 2012......we were all well and truly fed up.
Almost immediately after that statement went online, we were not only quite surprised, but also very moved (and we don't mind admitting that, despite our tough exteriors) to read the fantastic messages that came in from lots of people from all over the world to let us know how sad they were to hear that Squirrel Records would be closing its doors. Sales began to improve, and so did our moods. We issued another statement thanking everyone for their continued support........ and then things started slowing down again, unfortunately.
The main problem was cashflow. There was great music we wanted to put out there, but funds just wouldn't permit us to do that. Therefore, the Ailsa Craig Imperial Cold album, for example, went from being a planned CD release to simply a download only release. T shirts were printed to commemorate Squirrel Records, and you lovely people bought them (they're almost all gone now too) Then, when The Cribs got in touch to say they'd like us to re-issue their debut single, and Jen Schande (who is on the flipside of that particular release) said she was heading to the UK in November to play some gigs, and that she'd also love to see the single re-issued......well, we decided to go for it. We'd have been daft not to, really.
Anyway, what we're struggling to get around to saying is......with all the recent activity, with all the lovely messages we've received (and still occasionally continue to receive) we've decided not to go out with our heads down, but to keep our chins up, and try to keep this little label of ours going for as long as we possibly can. Sure, times are tough, funds are tight, but isn't that the case for plenty of other people too ? What we have discovered over these last few months, and what i believe we kind of lost sight of earlier this year when things really weren't going very well for us, is that there are still enough genuine music fans out there who are interested in what we release on Squirrel Records. There are still enough people just like ourselves who want to hold a piece of vinyl, or a shiny silver CD in their hands, open up a CD booklet and read the liner notes....yeah, there's still enough of you out there to justify keeping Squirrel Records alive. We're not knocking the download crowd here either, by the way....but as we said before, we started this label to release vinyl and CDs....and dammit, that's what we're going to try and continue to do.
OK, the Grim Reaper is never going to be too far away, the axe is continuously going to be ready to fall on us once and for all......but we'll keep things going for as long as we possibly can. It isn't going to be easy, infact it's probably going to get even more difficult, but with your continued support, we'll do this thing as long as we can.
2012 has been a tough one for us. We've kept our heads above water by selling the old stock, and by bringing in limited supplies of new releases from other labels (mainly Odd Box...thanks Trev!!) but now, with the upcoming release of The Cribs/Jen Schande single, and with a psychological boost from well wishers everywhere, we can announce that in early 2013, we'll be releasing a brand new 7" single by a brand new band. So, watch out for Girl One And The Grease Guns next year.
Where we go from there......who knows ? Will we still be here this time next year ? Again, who knows ? But for the time being at least.....consider Squirrel Records alive, and in reasonably good health.
To say thank you to all our loyal customers as well for your continued support.......if you order 2 or more releases from the Squirrel Records website (that includes any actual Squirrel Records releases, plus the stuff in the other sections) before the end of this year (so, closing date for this offer is Monday 31st December) you can choose ANY other title ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!!......while stocks last on these titles, of course.
All you've got to do when ordering anything is fill in a message on your order, or email us at squirrelrecords@hotmail.com to let us know which title you would like as a free gift, and we'll pop it in the package along with your other purchases for you.
Just a small way for us to say, once again, THANKS!!!!!!
Sonic Regards
Darren, Caroline, Dicky...and all the people who help keep this label up and running.