Burning Down The House
The London Riots & Independent Music's Losses
by Pablo Roman-Alcala

The eyes of the world have been on cool Britannia for week as I write this. The unrest and ensuing damage, carnage, and sensationalized media reports have kept a lot of people enraptured and brought more than a few cries of "hoodlum!" and "hooligan!" to those involved. While looting, property damage, and more than a few cases of outright criminality (see the video of the young, injured Indonesian student who thought he was being helped but instead was mugged) have been a part of the events, I prefer to see them in a larger context.

Rioting in London's Tottenham neighborhood erupted following protests over the fatal shooting of a local man, Mark Duggan, by police. This is the most direct cause of what followed. For a pretty well-written (if also somewhat sensational) take on why it happened, I point you to "an open letter to those who condemn looting" http://socialismandorbarbarism.blogspot.com/2011/08/open-letter-to-those-who-condemn.html. As Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack put it on his blog/web site, “…the banks looted the nation's wealth while destroying countless small businesses and brought the whole economy to its knees… These kids would have to riot and steal for (many) years to run up the bill equivalent to the value of non-paid tax big business has avoided”. I know you are asking yourself, "What does this have to do with music? Where’s the self-indulgent, hedonistic culture reporting I enjoy?" Don't worry; there is a connection.

During the riots, the Sony DADC/PIAS distribution center in Enfield was burned to the ground. People have already been arrested. Teenagers,17. Charged with arson. The center was the stock warehouse for a huge amount of independent labels distributed by PIAS. Several good friends who run labels have lost their stock. Insurance isn't so easy to deal with in cases of civil unrest. I have heard it has to be filed within seven days, a cynical insurance company's move to ensure that fewer claims are made. This sucks.

I don't need to tell you how difficult it has been for smaller labels in the past few years. I don't want to argue the digital debate again, nor bemoan the sinking sales and fees for artists (we will save that for another time.) I want to talk about why we are in the subculture, the tribe, the — dare I say it? — Community we are in. Why? And what should we do when part of our community is hit with an unforeseen emergency?

Personally, I always hated the PLUR-ists because the call of "Peace, Love, Unity and Respect" is largely an empty one. It has more to do with a pacifier and Vicks Vap-O-Rub than it does with an idea of a supportive mutual community. Lately, our scene has finally begun stepping up, though. For example, Jay Haze's efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo (with his DJs for DRC Project) and his work in his current home of Lima, Peru with local poor communities; Red Dot Relief's fundraising for Japan; and even a friend (who can afford it because of his day job) has said he plans on donating all his playing fees this year.

The loss of the PIAS distribution center is no exception. Immediately a Facebook page and web site have sprung up to get artists involved in benefit shows, and lots of people have said the best thing you could do is buy a couple of digital releases from some of the labels. While the larger of the PIAS-distributed independents might easily survive this financial setback, if you can afford it, I’d say buy something from one of your favorites. There's a list of the labels that lost their catalog in the fire, in alphabetical order, here: http://www.nialler9.com/10964-links-a-z-buy-labels-list-pias-distributed-releases-place.

I'm proud to see people step up, but we, as a community and scene, need to do more. There are politics in everything that you do. Getting wasted and dancing is great fun, but is it all you want to contribute? We have financial and personal power; we should use it!

Further reading:
Boff Whalley of Chumbawamba responds to the events and media reaction: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boff-whalley-in-defence-of-anarchy-2336159.html

MAC (Mission Anti-displacement Coalition) is a coalition of activists, artists, and groups who worked during the dot-com boom in San Francisco to fight gentrification, a problem Berlin is currently facing: http://missionantidisplacement.blogspot.com

Antics Roadshow, a short Banksy video on public protest. Humorous and interesting: http://vimeo.com/27695140

Taken from SLIM Mag September Issue