PROMOTIONAL FEATURE O2 X AWARDS: Next stop: The O2.

The entrants for the O2 X Awards have been whittled down to just three businesses competing for #10,000 in prize money. We look at the music contenders in with a chance of winning

THE O2 X AWARDS regional judging events have now been completed, with just three dynamic small music businesses left in the running.

The three companies will battle it out with finalists from the fashion, food and drink and technology and innovation categories in a bid to walk away with #10,000 in prize money at the final, to be held at The O2 in London on Monday, October 13.

The aim of the award is to recognise success and vision within the world of small business, and there can be few sectors where innovation, commitment and drive are more prevalent among small-to-medium size businesses than in the music industry.

The first of the finalists is Rough Trade Retail, which was entered for the awards by director Stephen Godfrey.

Rough Trade opened its doors in 1976 in London's Notting Hill, specialising in US and Jamaican imports. In 1987, a second store opened in Covent Garden, sharing a premises with Slam City Skates clothes store. Rough Trade celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2001 and, six years later, the company opened Rough Trade East, a 5,000 sq ft store in London's East End.

Rough Trade East is a unique retail outlet that celebrates music culture with curated stock, a Fair Trade cafe and iMac lounge, a live stage for gigs and a gallery space. In a tough retail market, Rough Trade continues to forge ahead, taking an innovative ...