The Association of Independent Music - Britain's trade body for small labels and the artists on them - has lodged an official complaint with the Office of Fair Trading, asking them to look at this Sunday's launch of the first combined digital and physical music chart... and possibly delay the chart itself.
Why?
Aim chairman and CEO Alison Wenham says the systems in place to monitor the combined chart are "seriously flawed" and the fact many independent labels are not sold through certain key retailers would work to disadvantage those labels from achieving a fair chart position.
"Like everyone else I'm keen to see download data included but at the moment the whole supply chain is insufficiently developed," says Wenham. "It's like giving birth to a premature baby."
She points to reports of delays in midweek sales data arriving from key online retailers such as iTunes this week as evidence more work needs to be done before the charts can be officially combined.
There have been concerns about the incredibly strong position of iTunes - which has had what I'd call a rocky relationship with AIM - and how that might play in the future of digital music development.
Will the complaint have an effect?
