Amongst the wreckage of the terrible riots and looting that has spread accross London and sparked copy cat incidents in Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool in the past few days. There’s more bad news for the music industry. PIAS the leading indie label distributor [PIAS] was burned to the ground yesterday. It’s another blow to the music industry that has already seen physical sales drop off a cliff in the last few years. Please support those labels affected by buying their artists mp3s today.
The CMU reports: Communities and businesses across the country are already counting the cost of three days of rioting and looting in London and, as of last night, some other English cities, and that includes the music industry, in particular many of the UK’s independent labels, after a warehouse facility used by leading indie label distributor [PIAS] was burned to the ground yesterday.
Violence first broke out in Tottenham on Saturday during an otherwise peaceful protest against the shooting, by police, of local man Mark Duggan last week. Copy cat violence then began elsewhere in the capital, rioters possibly spurred on by the excitement of seeing their otherwise pointless violent acts played out on rolling news channels, and with some seemingly linked up via social media, especially BlackBerry’s messenger network.
Rioters and other possibly desperate opportunists then followed the violence to loot damaged shops and offices. Last night similar gangs of teenagers started to run riot, with differing levels of impact, in Birmingham, Liverpool, and Bristol.
Some North London branches of HMV were among those vandalised and looted over the weekend, and as violence moved to Brixton and Camden yesterday, there were reports – albeit as yet unconfirmed – that both the Brixton Academy and Electric Ballroom venues were attacked. But the biggest impact on the music business is likely to be the fire, caused by rioters, at an Enfield distribution centre operated by one of Sony Corp’s businesses.
The impact of the centre and its stock being destroyed will be felt far beyond Sony’s own operations, because the warehouse was used by [PIAS], one of the country’s leading distributors of CDs for independent labels, including the Beggars Group, Ninja Tune, Warp, Domino and around 150 others. It is as yet unclear exactly how much [PIAS] stock was damaged, and indeed just how much stock was stored at the facility, though with informal reports that the centre was “burned to the ground” some already fear the worst.
The Sony DADC centre was also used by movie and gaming distributors, so the impact of the fire could hit various branches of the British entertainment business, hitting supply of product in the short term and, for smaller businesses, already operating in a tough economic climate, maybe even resulting in an uncertain future long term.
Here’s the official statement from PIAS issued whithin the last few hours:>”There was a fire last night at the SonyDADC warehouse which services the physical distribution for PIAS in the UK and Ireland. PIAS is working closely with SonyDADC who are implementing their emergency plans. PIAS’s UK offices in London and all other areas of our business are unaffected.
More information will be communicated shortly to all our labels and partners.”
The fine site the Quietus is urging music fans to buy MP3 copies from those labels affected and we fully support this cause. So get behind your labels that give us such joy throughout the year, to help minimise the terrible effect this could have on labels, and artists and their releases in the coming months. Here’s the full list of labels services by PIAS:
1234, 2020 Vision, Accidental, Ad Altiora, Adventures Close to home, Alberts, All City, Alt Delete, Ambush Reality, Angular, Ark, ATC, Atic, Atlantic Jaxx, Azuli, B Unique, Backyard, Bad Sneakers, Bandstock, Beggars, Big Chill, Big Dada, Big Life / Nul / Sindy Stroker, Boombox, Border Community, Boysnoize, Brille, Bronzerat, Brownswood, Buzzin Fly, Can You Feel It, Catskills, ChannelFly, Chemikal Underground, City Rockers, Counter, D Cypher Dance To The Radio, Deceptive, Def Jux, Dirtee Stank, Divine Comedy, Domino, Drag City, Drive Thru, Drowned in Sound, Duophonic, Eat Sleep / Sorepoint, Electric Toaster, Emfire, F. Comm, Fabric, Faith And Hope, Fantastic Plastic, Fargo, FatCat Feraltone, Finders Keepers / Twisted Nerve, Fingerlickin’, Flock Free Range, From The Basement, Full Time Hobby, Goldsoul, Gronland, Groove Attack, Halftime, Hassle, Heron, Hum&Haw, Independiente, Info UK, Join Us, Kartel, Kensaltown, Kitsune, Kompakt, Laughing Stock, Leftroom, Lex, Lo Max, Loose, Love Box, Lowlife, Lucky Number, Marquis Cha Cha, Memphis Industry, Merok, Metroline, Mute, Naïve, Nation, Navigator, New World, Ninja Tune, Nuclear Blast, One Little Indian, Output / People in the Sky /, Process, Pale Blue, Palm, Peacefrog, PIAS Recordings, PIP 555, Productions, Play To Work, Powerhouse (T2), Propaganda / Ho Hum, Raw Canvas, Red Grape, Red Telephone Box, Rekids, Renaissance, Respect Productions (PES digital), Reveal Records, RMG, Rock Action, Roots, Rough Trade, Rough Trade Comps, Rubyworks, Ruffa Lane, Search And Destroy, Secret Sundaze, Secretly Canadian / Jagjaguwar / Dead Oceans, Sell Yourself, Setanta, Shatterproof, Sideone Dummy, Slam Dunk, Smalltown, Soma, Something In Construction, Sonar Kollectiv, Soul Jazz, Southern Fried, Stolen Recordings, Stranded Soldier, Subliminal, Sub Pop, Sunday Best, TARGO, Taste, Ten Worlds, Thrill Jockey, Total Fitness, Touch And Go, Track And Field, TriTone, Trouble, Try Harder, Turk, Turnstile, Twenty 20, Underworld, Union Square, Urban Torque, Vagrant, Vice, Victory, Wagram, Wall Of Sound, Warp, Wi45, Wonky Atlas, Word And Sound, Xtra Mile, You Are Here, Young Turks
UPDATED: If you know of more labels affected by the fire, reply here.
