But he warned that if the labels continued to hold back, he would seek government action to spur competition.
Major labels continued to bemoan decreasing sales of the expensively produced, expensively promoted blockbuster albums they had grown accustomed to marketing.
Yet a handful of small, struggling independent labels continue to set standards and styles in black pop (Tommy Boy, O.A.O./Celluloid, Street Wise) and jazz (Gramavision, India Navigation).
Too often major labels continue to commit resources to bands whose albums linger on the Rock Albums chart for months, free of ambition.
Of course, the major labels continue to release jazz, some of it with the superior quality of 1999 records like John Lewis's "Evolution" and Lee Konitz's "Another Shade of Blue".
But it's crucial to remember the lack of institutional support that R&B artists on major labels continue to have, and the limbo many still find themselves stuck in.
Though corporate-owned record labels continue to rely heavily on exports of English-speaking stars, mainly from the United States, the top sellers in many countries increasingly are albums released by homegrown acts.
The clean surfaces of the ever-present iPhone are ripe for customisation; as Robinson says: "iPhone covers by luxury labels continue to be one of Selfridges' highest volume products".
The Motion Picture Association of America, the trade group of the big movie studios, and the Recording Industry Association of America, the trade group of the major music labels, continue to wage an expensive and sometimes unpopular campaign of education and enforcement against piracy, including lawsuits against individuals.
Indie and boutique labels continue to grow both in numbers and revenue as artists thrive in a more DIY world.
