Universal is about to sell Cooperative Music to PIAS according to a clutch of independent labels who have written to protest against the move.

In a letter sent to Music Week, a number of indie label bosses affiliated with Co-Op, including Heavenly Recordings’ Jeff Barrett and Lucky Number Music’s Stephen Richards in the UK, have expressed their ‘alarm’ at the pending sale.

Should the deal go through, the indies say, it would “result in a key independent player on ...