Over the last seven months or so, we've seen two fairly big blows come to the sale and distribution of electronic music, particularly drum & bass, on the UK side: ST Holdings shutting down back in July and Drum & Bass Arena closing up their digital download shop. While both of those companies had their own reasons for shutting down, it puts the distribution of drum & bass into a weird light, especially when you have many fans and critics proclaiming how drum & bass is back. At one time, those who wanted to cop drum & bass vinyl releases from a knowledgeable source hit up UK retailer Chemical Records.
Chemical Records was one of the most vital spots for people to place orders from worldwide, especially as the dnb scene and the world in general moved into online purchasing. In the spring of 2014, a year in which vinyl sales were skyrocketing, word came down that Chemical had gone into administration. At that time, we weren't privy to what exactly was going on, and it's not the first time they'd had some kind of administrative issues (there was talk of their digital shop was apparently shut down in July of 2013, as well as discussion about Chemical going into administration at that time), but a few weeks ago, Chemial's website was updated with a sad tale of how they took risks that ended up starting the snowball effect that brought them to where they are now, with no hope or plans of coming back.
Chris Ramsay, Chemical UK's ex-director, says that their situation started in 2009, where their growth required the need for a larger space. Loans were required to obtain the facility they needed, so they got in bed with Barclays in a deal that sounded like it'd be manageable—assuming their growth would continue. Ramsay says, however, that in late 2010, Chemical's growth started to stall, part of which he points to new Google initiatives that ended up burying Chemical's links in searches, as well as the ease of setting up clothing shops for retailers. With higher rental fees and costs of doing business, they were forced to go into administration to maintain their business. With their loan from Barclays and the other companies involved in situations like these for UK companies, and as you can see in the recounting of Chemical's ordeal, it looks like they got caught in a web of stripping of assets and loans and a bunch of other corporate shenanigans that left them penniless and unable to properly maintain the business of selling music to their customers. Even when Chemical tried to get back on their feet—Ramsay says that sales were actually starting to grow in 2013, but with so much money being owed, there was practically no way for Chemical to get ahead.
A missed payment in February 2014 started this final chapter in Chemical's story. Employees were informed of their jobs being folded in mid-March of 2014, and for all intents and purposes Chemical was closed. It's a scary for a small company to try and get ahead and end up getting run through the ringer by banks and other corporations, to the point where a mountain of debt piles onto the debt they already accrued... especially when you consider that they were trying to grow when the seeds of this tragic ordeal were first sown.
While we're not sure what this ultimately means for the drum & bass scene—vinyl is still being produced, with the larger dnb labels still producing vinyl as are Paradox—it's definitely a sad trend we're seeing hit the scene in general. It's terrible to see an outlet like Chemical, one that DJs and fans alike used to frequent on the regular, falling in such a way, especially at a time when they were trying to expand. Keep it locked to the Chemical site, as it looks like they might be updating with more on their situation in the near future.
EDIT Blu Mar Ten pointed out that Barker Tilly, one of the organizations involved in the demise of Chemical Records, is also instrumental in the demise of ST Holdings. Super sad state of affairs.
@DoAndroidsDance you can also note that baker tilly is the company handling the winding up of st holdings
— Blu Mar Ten (@BluMarTen) January 3, 2015
