It’s a sad day for the D.C. music scene. Homegrown label Gypsy Eyes Records sent an email to its artists Thursday morning announcing they are closing up shop for good.

Hello All,

We are writing this to let you know that after much thought and exploration of all available options, we have decided that it is time to shutter Gypsy Eyes. It was a very hard decision, but our only option at this time.

If any of you want, we have copies of your albums that we will give you back, you are, effective immediately, free from any contractual obligations to Gypsy Eyes. The albums are currently at Nick’s studio, please let us know if you want the product back and when you can come and get them. If you do not want them, please let us know that as well.

We are really sorry this didn’t work out. You guys are all incredibly talented, we love the music, and we hope this has not been a bad experience for you.

Any questions, we are free to talk.

Thanks for everything.

Kalani, Josh, Nick

Gypsy Eyes was founded in 2006 by friends Kalani Tifford, Josh Read and Nick Pimentel, with the stated goal of filling the “void between pop radio and DIY indie music.” Since then the label had provided a home to a large cast of local musicians, including John Bustine, Brandon Butler, Vandaveer, Shortstack, Mikal Evans and The Apes. The City Paper’s Aaron Leitko recently penned a cover story focused on the label and its struggle to make money. In light of the news that they’ve folded, this quote from Tifford from that story is pretty heartbreaking: “The point is to give people a career doing music—doing what they love,” Tifford says. “I believe that we’re on that path, and it’s only a matter of time.”