31/08/2003: Indie's beat up on the Majors:	Music Dish
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An analysis of Platinum, Gold and Silver awards by the Association of Independent Music (AIM) has highlighted the UK independent sector's dominant position in creating commercially successful British music. The analysis of sales of new albums by UK artists in 2002 reveals: 5 out of 13 (38.5%) UK artists who reached platinum status were UK indie signed. The labels were: 1. Infectious, for Ash - Free All Angels 2. Mushroom, for Muse - Origin Of Symmetry 3. Wildstar for Craig David - Slicker Than Your Average 4. V2 for Liberty X - Thinking It Over 5. Skint for Fatboy Slim - Halfway Between Heaven & The Stars 9 out of 29 (31%) UK artists who reached gold status were UK indie signed. The labels were: 1. V2 for Elbow - Asleep In The Back 2. XL Recordings for White Stripes - White Blood Cells 3. XL Recordings/Twisted Nerve for Badly Drawn Boy - About A Boy 4. Visible Noise for Lostprophets - Fake Sound Of Progress 5. Independiente for Paul Weller - Illumination 6. Infectious for Ash - Intergalatic Sonic Sevens 7. XL Recordings/Twisted Nerve for Badly Drawn Boy - Have You Fed The Fish? 8. Echo for Feeder - Comfort In Sound 9. Jazzee Blue for Chris Rea - Dancing Down The Stoney Road 8 out of 24 (33.3%) of UK artists who reached for silver status were UK indie signed. The labels were: 1. Sanctuary Records for Alison Moyet - Hometime 2. Big Dada for Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me 3. Rulin' for Jakatta - Visions 4. XL Recordings for Lemon Jelly - Lemonjelly. KY 5. XL Recordings for Lemon Jelly - Lost Horizons 6. Mushroom for Muse - Hullabaloo 7. Ninja Tune for Mr Scruff - Keep It Unreal 8. Perfecto for Paul Oakenfold - Bunkka Against a backdrop of a 21.5% share of the album market in 2002, the statistics prove the UK indies' prowess at breaking new British music, and the importance of the sector to the British music industry. The qualifying levels for the industry certified album awards are: Platinum - 300,000 units Gold - 100,000 units Silver - 60,000 units While the likes of Will Young and Gareth Gates dominate the multi-platinum categories, V2 and Independiente had notable multi-platinum sales for Stereophonics (Just Enough Education To Perform, which went 5 x platinum = 1,500,000) and Travis (The Invisible Band, which went 4 x platinum = 1,200,000 units) respectively. Said Alison Wenham, Chairman and Chief Executive of the Association of Independent Music "These figures prove the UK independent sector is the real force behind the survival and success of the British popular music industry. This was driven home by last week's Mercury Music Prize nominations, five of which (out of 12) are UK indie-signed. Other artists achieving award status were originally signed to independents and have since been signed by majors, or were signed to independents who have since been acquired by majors - (Mushroom/Mute)." About the Mercury Music Prize nominees An impressive 5 of this year's 12 Mercury Music Prize nominees are signed to UK independent record labels. The nominations for the prize, which celebrates the best in British music, provide further evidence of the independent sector's role as the lifeblood of the UK record industry. This year's UK independent nominees are: DUNE RECORDS: Soweto Kinch - 'Conversations with the Unseen' INDEPENDIENTE: Martina Topley-Bird - 'Quixotic' TOPIC RECORDS: Eliza Carthy - 'Anglicana' XL RECORDINGS: Dizzee Rascal - 'Boy In Da Corner' XL RECORDINGS: Lemon Jelly - 'Lost Horizons' From MusicDish

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