THIS SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED AND CLOSED.

Mike Skinner has spoken on the collapse of his record label.

Skinner, whose The Streets are safely signed to Warner offshoot 679 recordings, was forced to watch as The Beats faltered and then finally passed on last month.

Home to artists like the quite decent Professor Green, the mediocre Mitchell Brothers and the atrocious Example, The Beats even had its own funeral, held by Skinner on the 19th of December.

“It just comes down to the fact that the traditional record label is dead,” Skinner explained to NME.COM.

“The Beats represents me growing up. Spectating was more nerve-wracking than performing.”

He announced his intention to delve into the world of online labels; a feat Drowned in Sound just undertook in line with a few others over at RCRDLBL.com.

“What I’m doing now is looking for the thing you can create that embraces the next generation… I’m really into what you can do online and I’d rather be at the centre of it.”

The centre of this?

Have a good weekend.