Further to the distribution point - Black Crow was owned by a long-term friend of Bulmer's and the two companies were effectively in bed with each other for a long time.

Like Lien, I also gather the distribution rights of a lot of the other companies were acquired from receivers.

Now, any company seeking to emulate CM will find things a lot tougher because there are nice, intermediary-free websites where folkies can buy their CDs direct from the artists.