The Association Of Independent Music has said it has formally responded to those two open letters issued by the Ministry Of Sound record label last week but that, while it will share its response with its member labels, it will not issue an open letter to the media, which is just no fun whatsoever. I quite liked being in the middle of the squabble. But AIM says that it "chooses not to conduct its business in that manner, nor will it reciprocate Ministry's method of campaigning".
As previously reported, Ministry Of Sound issued its open letters, via its lawyers, in protest at the agreement reached between pan-European independent label trade body IMPALA, to which AIM is affiliated, and the Warner Music Group, in which IMPALA said it would not oppose a Warner takeover of EMI on the basis that Warner made certain commitments to support the indie sector and the new indie digital rights agency Merlin. Ministry said AIM should and could not support any IMPALA deal which enabled further consolidation in the major label sector, and also criticised IMPALA bosses for the secrecy that seems to have surrounded their deal with Warner.
In a statement issued yesterday, AIM said it had now "replied to the legal letters received from Ministry Of Sound's lawyers" adding that their response included "a full and complete rebuttal of every material criticism and accusation implied and insinuated by the company's open correspondence. AIM and its executives are reserving all their rights against Ministry of Sound".
Presumably in response to implications in Ministry's correspondence that AIM had failed it members in failing to oppose the IMPALA deal, or share information about it with its membership, AIM's statement added: "AIM's priority is and has always been to its members - be this during negotiations with new media businesses, in disputes with practitioners of copyright apartheid or as part of its regular member services. AIM will post a copy of its response to Ministry Of Sound on the member's section of its website, so that its members remain fully apprised of its activities. AIM will inform members of this by way of the usual weekly newsletter bulletin".