Check out the retail alternative: supermarkets may be an easy answer, but independent outlets have a crucial role to play.(Editorial)

The relative health of Tesco and WH Smith says volumes about the shifts within the music retail sector during recent years.

For many young people buying their first music, WH Smith has long been "the" destination, a store which holds a crucial place in the broad music retail market. Today, its role has been dramatically eroded.

Tesco, by contrast, has emerged from being a chain which didn't even stock music in the early Nineties to become the retail colossus of our times. Along with other supermarket chains, such as Asda, Sainsbury's and Safeway, it offers an alternative to the traditional experience, essentially taking the generalist approach previously offered by the likes of Smiths and Woolies and pushing it to the limits.

We have already seen the impact that the supermarkets are having on the UK's albums charts. And, while the snobs may argue otherwise, it is simplistic to dismiss this is a purely negative phenomenon.

There is strong evidence that the supermarkets' most-favoured acts are appealing to many consumers who might otherwise have long since stopped buying music, a key factor in helping keep the UK market in growth while others, across the world, have slumped.

But while such music sells in high volumes, it is crucial that the industry ...