Painful signs of media convergence in my hometown

After 28 years of business, Randy’s Music and Movies store on 33rd and Broadway in Edmond, Oklahoma has closed up shop.

According to their website:

Randy’s M & M’s operates three stores in the Edmond-Oklahoma City area. We are the largest and oldest “independent” music and movie store in Oklahoma. We sell compact discs, cassettes, VHS, and DVD movies at everyday discount prices. Our customers enjoy our huge VHS and DVD rental selections and our convenient drive-thru returns.

We started twenty years ago with one “record store” on Broadway in Edmond, Oklahoma, developed a strong following of loyal, local customers, and as they say, the rest is history. Our customers have stayed with us through a devastating fire and fierce competition.

Apparently the store’s recent closure has not triggered a website update, as there is no indication online that the store at 3200 S. Boulevard has closed its doors forever.

I don’t have insider knowledge, but from my vantage point it looks like Randy’s is a local casualty of media convergence. I’d wager that competitive services like Netflix, Redbox, and pay-per-view movies from both Cox Communications as well as AT&T Uverse created an unsustainable economic landscape for Randy’s. This is sad but predictable. Several months ago, our family had a “Jurassic Park” movie marathon, and we turned to Randy’s for movies 2 and 3 which were NOT available via Netflix’s streaming service.

So long, Randy’s. We’ll miss you.