Reflecting on 2010

It's time again for another set of lists. Our Top albums of 2010 might look like an indie love-fest, but to be brutally honest, 2010 was kind of the year which witnessed the return of the true meaning of independent records - and the acts which shined this year typified the work ethic of the genre.

Perhaps confining the “indie” ‘vapid genre tag’ to history, we learned in 2010 that independent albums can again sell (or at the least sell tickets), and perhaps tellingly, it’s trending back to be about complete art and not shuffle.

From Arcade Fire topping the charts in the UK and US through to groundbreaking tours around the Middle East by Gorillaz - it was bands taking a risk on their own and bucking trends that seemed to be rewarded in 2010.

[Not that we haven't completely ignored the groundbreaking advancements in metal this year either – but the list did need to relate to sales and commerciality – often something that happens on a smaller, but much more loyal, scale with metal. Watch out for the Squid's list soon.]

If I can say anything about the Top 25, and Top 5, is that the independent labels showed the way in creating an embrace and fully integrating with the online world.

From XL (Vampire Weekend) and 4AD (The National) showing the way with sharing content and driving sales by making the offering more vertical than ever before, through to Merge/Arcade Fire’s joint venture with Google on We Used To Wait - This year gave us hope that we’re entering a new age of recognising the potential of online to drive non-traditional sales, rather than take them away, and the industry's short term pain will be survived, intact.

And that’s what it’s all about.

Value the art (whatever that might mean to you), and there’s more ways to be rewarded as both artists and users. Changing the way we all work with music, including here in the Middle East, needs to happen for its continued survival.

The journey of discovery is a personal one, and perhaps none that accompanies the journey it is so personal, or subjective, as music. This is the beauty of the art as a medium is open to any interpretation - and, perhaps, highlights the futility of creating a list of best albums by us. Then again, benchmarks should be set and hopefully smashed again the following year – we all grow up, after all. We hope you like the list assembled by the team and members of the industry.

Enjoy, debate, and please, come back in 2011 and watch us deliver on promises, transparently and honestly.

Paul Kelly

On behalf of our whole team – Happy New Year!