Tesco ban unnerves labels.

More disputes on way, say insiders

By Ben Cardew

Tesco's dramatic decision to bar key Warner albums from its shelves last week over a contractual dispute could be the tip of the iceberg in the battle between labels and retailers.

That is the warning from a leading music distributor, after the supermarket last week refused to stock the new My Chemical Romance album The Black Parade - which was yesterday (Sunday) set to debut in the top three - and another Warner fourth-quarter priority, Press Play by P. Diddy.

Although the dispute is now resolved, Vital managing director Peter Thompson believes such disagreements are likely to become more commonplace, as aggressive price cutting becomes the norm.

"We are going to have more of these problems over the coming months, with supermarkets and retailers as the marketplace becomes more aggressive," he says.

"It will be interesting to see where the balance of power drifts. If it goes too far in one direction then pricing will go even lower, and it will be near impossible for independents to survive."