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Small Labels Could Go Bust Following Devastating London Riots
Tuesday, 09 August 2011 Written by Elliott Batte
Small Labels Could Go Bust Following Devastating London Riots

The music industry has become one of the countless victims of the London riots, with small labels likely to be declared bankrupt following the fire at Sony’s and PIAS’ distribution facility.

ImageWith the building the only Sony distribution centre in the UK, as well as being PIAS’ headquarters – a label that works closely with smaller independent labels like Warp, Ninja Tunes and Domino. But after the intense looting, rioting and arson that has occurred in London since Saturday night, the building now stands in ruin after nearly all of its stock was stolen or burnt.

The loss of records and stock will leave many labels simply unable to cope with the loss of cash and will force them to close their doors – unless music fans like you and I can help them.

The Association of Independent Music (AIM) is a supporter of small and independent labels around the world, and believes that if fans begin a surge of digital and physical sales, the labels could potentially survive.

A press release by the company reads: “What music fans can do to show their support for the indie label community, and help them survive this disaster is to buy a digital download of an album from any one of the digital retailers in the UK, as well as going to their local record store while stocks last.

“This way, the labels will be able to remanufacture their CDs and vinyl more quickly, to resupply the record shops who are also affected by the riots.”

Chairman of AIM Alison Wenham has also tried to rally fans to save the labels – she said: “This is a disaster for the music community, but with the fans’ help, labels and artists will survive. Please show your support for the music community by buying a digital album from an independent label today.”

Rough Trade Records, a record shop in London, has a less positive outlook on things. Manager Spencer Hickman said: “I am sure there are labels that will go bust...It's our bread and butter, they (record labels) make up a huge amount of our business, it's complete chaos, we are going to be talking to PIAS and the labels today and see if we can support them as much as we can.

“It looks like people have lost everything in the warehouse; a big record at the moment is Adele's.”

Amidst the dwindling music economy, this is a massive blow to the industry which is currently suffering from piracy problems among other things. Let us know what you think in the comments.
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