The UK's main trade association for music retailers, the British Association Of Record Dealers, has rebranded in recognition of the fact that many of its members now do as much business in the sale of DVDs and video games as in the sale of CDs and records (not to mention eggs and bread and milk - most of the supermarkets are members these days). The organisation will now be known as the Entertainment Retailers Association, or ERA (how the eggs and bread and milk come into that I'm not sure, though they can be entertaining I suppose, depending on what you do with them).
The rebrand in itself won't dramatically affect the operations of the organisation, which has been evolving a wider remit in the entertainment retail space for some time. Its council members will remain unchanged, and ERA chiefs say they will continue to work closely with other trade bodies in the UK and European music, video and gaming sectors, such as BPI, BVA and ELSPA.
Confirming the rebrand, ERA secretary general Kim Bayley told reporters yesterday: "Our rebrand can be seen as the culmination of industry change over the last five years. Film and games retail sectors have become as large as music, and digital formats have delivered a sea-change in the way people buy and consume entertainment. The name change demonstrates our commitment to represent the interests of our increasingly diverse membership, through a period of rapid industry change."