Classical CD world rocked by loss of major distributors

For years, pop musicians have had to cope with giving their music away for a pittance, forcing them to tour endlessly to scratch out a living.

But this year, it's been annus horribilis  for classical record labels. 

According to a post on the opengoldbergvariations.org website, three major distributors have shut down over the past month.

It reports that Codaex has bid "Auf Wiedersehen" on its web site, which will affect 113 labels.

The Classicalite website reports that Codaex's British and U.S. divisions are "in administration".

This is equivalent of seeking protection from creditors in Canada under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act or the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.

Another major distributor, Long Island–based US Qualition Imports, is also closing. Labels that relied on it include Farao, Accent, Supraphon, Hungaroton, Signum and Neos, Raumklang, and Ars Produktion.

The third collapse involved Harmonia Mundi Iberica, which distributes classical music in Spain and Portugal.

Classical Music reports that its parent, Harmonia Mundi France, has announced that the subsidiary "found agreement with HM for unpaid invoices".

"The company refused to give details of the agreement and whether it would pay client labels for all unpaid stock delivered before HMI went into administration," Classical Music adds. "Several labels faced losses of many thousands of pounds."