In a recent article in Mojo magazine, Otis Williams of The Temptations was quoted as follows:

Motown used to throw local industries parties at the Roostertail Club and the Greystone Ballroom. At one of these I overheard a couple of white guys who worked for other labels.

One said, “We’ve got to stop this. Too many more of these Motowns” - meaning successful independent companies - “and we’ll be out of business.” When you’re successful enough to make the establishment nervous, that’s success.

Music scenes used to be referred to as city based, yet the more you look the more localised they are than that. After all, Hip Hop was Bronx, not NY.

Right now, so many local music scenes are out there, greased by the power of myspace. Croydon dubstep, Ladbroke Grove Broken Beat and so many more…

So much of this music is finding their own ways to consumers…

After so much consolidation in the music industry, are we on the verge of the return of the spiirt of Motown?