As we're sure you're aware, riots in London last night led to a lot of fires, including one at the SonyDADC warehouse.
The warehouse in Enfield, North London, stocked entertainment items ranging from Play Stations to records, was also the place used by PIAS distribution, who represent all of the UK's major independent labels including the likes of XL, Domino and FatCat.
PIAS, whose website has gone down due to a huge surge in traffic, have released the following short statement:
"There was a fire last night at the SonyDADC warehouse which services the physical distribution for PIAS in the UK and Ireland. PIAS is working closely with SonyDADC who are implementing their emergency plans. PIAS's UK offices in London and all other areas of our business are unaffected. More information will be communicated shortly to all our labels and partners"
A full list of the affected labels can be found here.
We can't begin to fathom the volume of stock destroyed in these criminal acts, however we are glad to hear that currently there have been no reported human fatalities and our hearts and thoughts are with everyone affected in this warehouse fire and at all the events across London.
We don't want to preach or turn events such as this into a cynical sounding 'buy some records' campaign (not least because stock from the DiS label was destroyed) but we would imagine some of you would like to show your support for labels that have released records which have changed your life. There are a range of things you can do, from simply tweeting some positive message tagged #labellove to picking up a record you've been meaning to buy or going to the labels site and buying a totebag or whatever.
Independent labels are a constant source of inspiration for everyone at Drowned in Sound and we hope that you will join us in celebrating and supporting these great people and their records at a strange and tragic time when we're sure some of them could do with your kindness. Let's make today like Record Store Day cranked to eleven and support the labels who release music that has enriched our lives.
DiScuss: What are you doing to support the labels you love?