A very different post this – with thanks to Oliver Weindling who covered it on Sunday at

http://towerofjazz.blogspot.com/

Out there in the tough real world, the CD distributors, essential businesses in the ecology of the music industry, are going to the wall.

First Pinnacle, the physical distributor of record labels went into administration before Christmas. Leaving some jazz musicians in the unenviable position of being offered their stock/back catalogue back – but at a price.

Now comes the fall-out from Pinnacle: New Note into administration last Friday. Leaving debts to smaller labels unpaid.

New Note were never a flashy business. Their offices are in Swanley next to the M20/M25 motorway junction, take the wrong lane and you’re in the municipal refuse tip (sic)

The article from Music Week here explains what happened, and highlights the positive.

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1036586&c=1

But hold on…Proper were in the process of merging anyway as announced in early December…

http://www.charliegillett.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9339&sid=cc96a4da15d47c2dbb4b340231899f67

Malcolm Mills of Proper is a stalwart of the industry and of the music. Sounds like the right man in a crisis…

But watch out. Musicians or from indy labels are going to be feeling the pain from the New Note/ Pinnacle collapses in the months to come.

There is one glamorous and we’re -all-friends side to the record industry which is promoting, and heading off for Midem or SXSW.

And then there is this, which is much tougher…..Debt can be eerily silent….