Hamfatter have done well getting on TV. They’ll get good publicity, and good luck to them, but the beneficiaries of the changing music industry have not been small bands.

Big heritage acts such as Genesis and the Rolling Stones can afford to ditch their labels in favour of new business models that focus on revenues from live performances and merchandise.

The key question for the industry is what to do with the next generation of bands. They can’t suddenly go from playing in their bedroom to going on a big stage and selling out the venue. They need a record label to do that. There’s never been an example of a band becoming big without one. Maybe a new business model will develop, but it is uncharted territory.

Big bands, on the other hand, have been very creative in moving away from the traditional model of record labels marketing and releasing albums. Genesis auctioned tour tickets, and the Dandy Warhols allowed fans to subscribe to them for a year. The most famous example is Prince, who gave away his album at gigs, as well as in The Mail on Sunday.

If such creativity could be applied to new bands, it could make music a more varied experience. We may see an era reminiscent of the Eighties and Nineties, when indie labels such as Rough Trade prompted a resurgence of guitar music.

There is a danger, however, that record companies will merge and offer every service from live promotion to record distribution. That will drive out independents and leave a sparser landscape.

The author is news editor of the New Musical Express

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