Following the London riots that burned Sony/PIAS distribution warehouse to the ground, indie musicians and labels have begun to react in the form of volunteerism and taking stock of damage.
The most harrowing efforts in the post-riot sage have come from Kaiser Chief’s Ricky Wilson and Simon Rix, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’s Sam Duckworth and Kate Nash, all of which have volunteered their time to cleanup efforts in the wake of this week’s remarkably destructive riots.
“Camden Chalk Farm. Me and Simon will there in a bit with our brooms. Get to one near you today if you’re about,” tweeted Wilson, later adding that would be heading to Clapham for the cleanup effort there.
Kate Nash also addressed the cleanup efforts via Twitter:
“At the Bethnal Green clean up, nice to see so many people ready to help in the community!” she tweeted. “Heading to Clapham now. Got my bin bags, need to find gloves,” she later added.
Beyond the cleanup efforts from independent musicians across England, record companies affected by the PIAS fire have begun to address the situation—one of which was Domino Records.
“While relieved that no-one was injured in the incident, we’re upset about the loss and destruction of our stock, and thinking of our friends at other independent labels who were also affected by the fire,” said a Domino spokesperson.
The label also confirmed that record stocking and releasing will be affected by the fire, one of the most significant instances being the release of Arctic Monkey’s “The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala.”
The fire has also brought up the issue of music downloading, with the Association of Independent Music asking fans to take the losses incurred into account and pay for their music in order to help get artists and labels get back on their feet.
“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,” read a statement from the organization.
These announcements and efforts come just hours after the containment of the PIAS fire, which started as a result of the London riots that reportedly started of the shooting death of 29-year-old suspected drug trafficker Mark Duggan.
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