London Riots Hit Home in Indie Music World

We've been mesmerized by the pure insanity of what's happening in London over the last few days. It was brought to our attention by a single Tweet from The Givers and since that time, the story seems to fall deeper and deeper into the ludicrous.

The pure destruction is baffling. It seems to have started from a shooting a la John T. Williams causing a similar uproar amongst our friends over the pond. However, the lower-income youth in London apparently felt a peaceful protest wasn't quite enough. Starting Saturday a city-wide (and even extending to the suburbs) riot ensued and continued on through early morning Tuesday. It looks like the destruction is finally subsiding but its effects could be worse than devastating.

One particular act of arson really hit home for us and throughout the U.S. The Sony/PIAS warehouse in Enfield (a suburb to the north of London) was gutted by a fire and from what we have heard all the inventory it contained was destroyed. The worst news in all this is the memorabilia inside belonged not only to larger labels but over a hundred independent labels as well. This could have an irreversible effect despite PIAS supposedly being covered by insurance for the entirety of the loss. If Sony/PIAS isn't able to replenish the inventory they've lost in a swift enough turn-around, many of those small labels could be faced with bankruptcy or at least a very serious financial crisis.

This tragic news even effects us here in Seattle with Sub Pop being one of the indie labels whose products were in that fire. We haven't had a chance to contact a representative from the local label yet, but will update when we have more news. Other labels effected by the fire (this is in no way a complete list which you can find here) were Vagrant (The Hold Steady), Matador (Cat Power), Asthmatic Kitty (My Brightest Diamond), JagJaguwar (Bon Iver), Polyvinyl (Of Montreal), Secretly Canadian (Damien Jurado) and of course Sub Pop.

The official statement from PIAS PR was as follows:

"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"

You can also catch more information on this particular story as well as the London riots in general at our sister site Londonist.
Hopefully the rumors of possible bankruptcy are just hyperbole and fear talking. Sometimes one hit like this can be the difference between an open and closed door to small companies but it's cities like Seattle with our intense support and love of independent artists and companies that will keep hope alive. That might sound cheesy, but this one time we're okay with that.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@seattlest.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By morgen in Arts & Events, Music on August 9, 2011 3:15 PM

Comments [rss]

Tavis Post

"It looks like the destruction is finally subsiding but its effects could be worse than devastating."

Worse than "highly destructive or damaging"? Worse than "causing severe shock, distress, or grief"? Worse than hyperbole?

morgen_s

Yes, I feel that a company going bankrupt is worse than the mere destruction of its property and grief over the loss of that property. It's not hyperbole when the livelihood of hundreds of people are in jeopardy.

Tavis Post

Perhaps you are unaware that wealth can be damaged or destroyed, and that such things can cause shock, distress, or grief (which, I assume, is actually why you think it's worse than mere property destruction, although, of course, that property has to belong to somebody and probably ties in to that person's livelihood or living [and probably that of some of the tenets as well] in as direct a fashion as records do to music publishers). It's not as though fires were started in and bricks thrown at only derelict buildings except in this one case.

However, I was not questioning your dubious suggestion that wide-spread, large-scale, pointless, and violent destruction is less important than the possibility of an independent record label closing up shop, but rather your use of the phrase 'worse than devastating'. 'Devastating' involves connotations of extremes. Its definitions contain terms like 'highly' (OED), 'severe' (OED), and 'bring to ruin' (Merriam Webster). 'Worse than devastating' is silly, hyperbolic, and sensationalist. It should thus be avoided.

That was my point. I suppose I wasn't clear enough. My apologies.