It's not often that I see a blog post that draws public responses from the brass at hot indie labels like Merge and Secretly Canadian. Patrick Monaghan of Carrot Top Distribution was dismayed to discover CDs from Merge and SC artists available at Best Buy at a deep discount. Concerned that he was witnessing a trend that would hurt smaller independent record stores, Patrick made his concerns known through his weblog, which sprouted into a rather earnest discussion of the challenges indie labels face when the big retailers come a-knockin'.

It's a convoluted (and long) read, but worth it if you're interested in how indie labels struggle to balance rapid growth and loyalty to independent retailers.