M+E Daily
Fire Reportedly Destroys Sony DADC’s London-Area Warehouse
Story Highlights
A third night of rioting in greater London has threatened havoc on the UK’s entertainment supply chain, with a fire at Sony DADC’s Enfield distribution center reportedly destroying “vast quantities” of CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs stored at the warehouse (via the Financial Times).
UK newspapers are reporting that the DADC facility was burned to the ground in the third night of city-wide rampage, set off by the police killing of a 29-year-old man in the Tottenham area of London last week. The Enfield warehouse is believed to have stored up to 30 million discs, Variety reports.
Sony confirmed via Twitter that the distribution facility had been damaged by the Aug. 8 fire, adding that no employees had been injured; but the company has not yet released details on the the extent of the damage. “Due to the current levels of smoke at the scene it is impossible for anyone to enter the site,” Sony said in an Aug. 9 statement. “We do not anticipate being able to get on site until at least midday tomorrow (Aug. 10) to assess the full scope of the damage.” The company also said that local authorities have commenced an investigation into the cause of the fire.
In the meantime, major DADC customers, such as independent music distributor Pias UK, say they are working with Sony to implement emergency plans.
While the Enfield facility serves as DADC’s UK distribution hub (via Logistics Manager), the company reportedly houses clients’ disc masters in other plants. Yet Independent music labels and other entertainment publishers in the UK are fearing the consequences that the fire could have on new release plans as well as back catalog availability.
The incident, UK music industry observers speculate, could spell ruination for smaller record labels that kept their entire stocks at the warehouse (via The Guardian). More on the story as details emerge.
