Small music firms are "vital" for the economy. And if you don't believe me, ask James Purnell, Britain's Music Minister. He's so sure of that fact he's launched a research project into what support independent companies need. No, really, a research report. It's all very exciting.
The report will be used to inform future government policy in order to help smaller businesses in the music sector. Launching it, Purnell said that he recognised that smaller music companies often suffered - "we know the symptoms, now we must find the cause. This study will, for the first time, give us real, robust data which will help inform our future policies. It goes without saying - the small music businesses are vital, not only to the industry itself, but also to our culture and economy. Without the independent record labels and publishers - who discover much of our new and successful talent - we would be starved of great British acts such as Franz Ferdinand or Bloc Party."