The body representing independent record labels has asked the Office of Fair Trading to act against the “creeping dominance” of Universal Music and block its purchase of V2 records.

The Association for Independent Music – which has 800 members representing the labels of bands such as Arctic Monkeys, The White Stripes and Kaiser Chiefs – said Universal’s acquisition of Sanctuary Records and V2 were signs of consolidation in the industry that had seen the indies’ share of the market halve from the 40 per cent achieved in the late 1980s.