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Editorial As Bido Lito! goes to press, the embers of the nation’s riots are finally burning out, but different tensions begin to build as the blame game and the rationalising begins. We’ve all got our own opinions as to whether the scenes that played out during mid-August were anything to do with youth disillusionment, poverty or a disenfranchisement with the ruling class, and the social post-mortem has a long way to run. Yet the resulting challenge to British music has come from a few different angles, both literal and ideological. I fear that we will not feel the real impact of the fire at the Sony/PIAS warehouse for months, possibly years to come. With labels such as Rough Trade, 4AD, XL, Full Time Hobby, Angular, Brainfeeder, Domino, Jagjaguwar, Memphis Industries, One Little Indian, Sub Pop, Warp and Young Turks losing as much as 90% of their physical stock in some cases, the implications will be further reaching than the obvious short term cashflow and insurance claim problems for the affected labels. As the record industry evolves in the digital age, the role of vinyl and that of the unique artefact has been repositioned in the process of selling music. Digital bundles will be given away and sold off cheap, in order to entice fans into purchasing the deluxe, physical versions. Losing all that physical stock, which will still need to be paid for, completely blows out the business model for existing campaigns. And without the funds accrued from the PIAS Warehouse existing campaigns, the amount of money the labels will then have to finance new projects and take risks on new artists will be drastically depleted. This will then drip down quickly, impacting independent record shops, press companies, radio pluggers, music magazines, indeed every facet of the recorded music family. The independent sector is the incubation ward of British music and, as a community, we need make sure the power switch is kept on. Smaller labels, such as Angular, who don’t have the reserves of the likes of the Beggars Group, may well be wiped from the musical map. Take a look at the list of labels and artists that have been impacted upon by the blaze at recordlabellove.com and pay to download a selection of their records today. We need to pull together. Another way in which we need to pull together is to address the ideological assault against music and wider youth culture that has become to inflame after the riots. Mirror journalist Paul Routledge decided to run a column in his rag that declared that ‘the pernicious culture of hatred around rap music’ was at the root of the unrest. He said that rap music ‘glorifies violence and loathing of authority, exalts trashy materialism and raves about drugs. The important things in life are the latest smart phone, fashionable jeans and trainers and idiot computer games.’ He then went on to call for a ban on ‘poisonous rap music.’ Where do you start?! Providing a run through a history of intergenerational misunderstanding when it comes to pop music would be an option. The key thing, however, that old Routledge has got so, so wrong, is one of pop music’s key defining principles: music is a vehicle through which young people express themselves. It is a method through which young artists talk about the worlds they live in, the issues around them and the troubles they face. It was the same in 1968, it was the same in 1981, and it’s the same in <strong>2011</strong>. Banning music (which is clearly fucking ridiculous) would only result in the political class removing a key way of understanding what is going on in the lives of young people. If they spent twenty minutes listening to the music of our cities’ streets, they may well have seen the whole thing coming. Take a look at the root causes, find out where the anger comes from, because by the time it’s found its way into music, and is being expressed in song, it’s way too late. Craig G Pennington Editor Bido Lito! <strong>September</strong> <strong>2011</strong> 3 Bido Lito! <strong>Issue</strong> Fifteen - <strong>September</strong> <strong>2011</strong> bidolito.co.uk Bido Lito! Static Gallery, 23 Roscoe Lane Liverpool, L1 9JD info@bidolito.co.uk Editor Craig G Pennington - info@bidolito.co.uk Assistant & Reviews Editor Christopher Torpey - reviews@bidolito.co.uk Photo Editor Jennifer Pellegrini - photos@bidolito.co.uk Designer Luke Avery - info@earthstudios.net Words Craig G Pennington, Christopher Torpey, Helen Weatherhead, Samuel Garlick, Phil Gwyn, Philip Gofton, Michael Pinnington, The Glass Pasty, Nik Glover, Richard Lewis, Lisa O’Dea, Bethany Garrett, N. Philip, Emma Weston, P. Lee Photographs Jennifer Pellegrini, Jacob Chabeaux, Javier Horcajada, John Johnson, Keith Ainsworth, Phil MacDonald Illustrations Ameé Christian, Charlie Hope Proofreading Debra Williams - debra@wordsanddeeds.co.uk Adverts To advertise in Bido Lito! please contact Another Media: bidolito@anothermedia.org 0<strong>15</strong>1 708 2841