Proper Music Group MD Drew Hill has backed the physical market to continue to hold its own in the face of the exponential growth of streaming.
The indie distribution, label group and services company is uspcaling from its current south-east London distribution base to a new warehouse, five times the size, in Dartford, Kent.
"We’ve signed a 15-year lease on our warehouse, if that gives you any idea of our commitment to the future," Hill told Music Week. "I’m pretty sure that, for the next 15 years, we’re going to be putting things in boxes."
Proper's turnover for the year to March 2016 was £21 million, recording best-ever profits of £280,000, while the firm's distribution arm is responsible for around 5% of the UK market.
"I’ve got the BPI’s July 2017 sales figures here, showing that 54% of album sales were on a physical format. Last time I checked, 54% was still more than half," added Hill. "It doesn’t feel like a business people should be abandoning, and that decline is so much shallower than people predicted.
"I’ve not got my head in the sand; the world is moving towards a more digital marketplace, but there’s still a lot of life left in physical."
Subscribers can read the full Music Week Big Interview with Hill here.
