Downtown: A Response

Martin Mills and Darius Van Arman respond to last week's article on The Radio Edit.

Happy Tuesday, folks. Don’t worry, January’s nearly over.

Welcome to new subscribers, both free and paid (and thanks to new paid subscribers for the support). Last week’s article, titled Down, Down, Downtown, considered Universal’s acquisition of Downtown Music Group. I evoked the connection between the indie community and counterculture and showed how the notion of independence and autonomy, once conjoined in music biz psyche, now mean different things. At the end of the article, I shared a quote from PIAS owner Kenny Gates in support of major label investment and speculated about some of the defensive moves the indie community might take against further encroachment.

Martin Mills from Beggars, alongside Darius Van Arman from Secretly, got in touch over the weekend and sent a response to the piece. It’s published in full below.