Case Study of a Record Label - Rough Trade Records

Ethos: 'an openness of mind, a willingness to be moved and an unswerving belief in the vision of the artists.'
Rough Trade Records is a renowned independent record label established in London, 1978. 

The label grew, quite literally, out of the record shop Geoff Travis had opened on Kensington Park Road, West London, 1976. The store was radical, welcoming and revolutionary; brimming over with 7" picture sleeves, reggae LP's, punk fanzines and badges. Having successfully promoted and sold records from bands benefiting from an emerging D.I.Y culture (early post-punk bands) such as Buzzcocks, Desperate Bicycles and French punk band Métal Urbain (Rough Trade's first release), Travis began to manage and distribute bands such as Scritti Politti and The Raincoats. It then became logical that they should start a record label in 1978. Soon after, Rough Trade organised a distribution system, the 'Cartel', in collaboration with other independent record stores in the UK. This network enabled small record labels such as 'Factory Records' and '2 Tone Records' to sell their releases nationally. The label's ever-growing importance was recognised by television programme 'The South Bank Show', who became devoted to it.

Founder Geoff Travis in the first Rough Trade shop, London, 1977.

Eventually, Rough Trade had grown far too large for its legendary yet relatively tiny premises and relocated to Blenheim Crescent in 1980. The move coincided with what is often regarded as a golden period for the label. Over the years, Rough Trade released some of the finest independent music ever committed to vinyl. New acts to the roster included: The Fall, Pere Ubu, Young Marble Giants, This Heat, Robert Wyatt, Television Personalities, Aztec Camera and James Blood Ulmer.

The signing of The Smiths in 1983 led Rough Trade into new territory. A stifled independent music scene was gradually giving way to what would go on to be recognised as ‘indie’ with The Smiths at the very forefront. The intensity with which the media embraced them, and the success of their records meant that the label had to learn how to promote a band in a way it had never had to do before. The outcome was an unprecedented run of sixteen chart singles, beginning with ‘This Charming Man’ in 1984 and culminating in ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ in 1987.

After relocating to Kings Cross in 1984, former Public Image Ltd member, Jeannette Lee, joined Rough Trade in 1987 and would later go on to co-develop the record label. Jeannette’s arrival coincided with a new influx of guitar bands such as Galaxie 500 and Mazzy Star that looked set to reinvigorate the label. However, after an ill-fated move to Finsbury Park in 1991, following a series of unfortunate business decisions and credit issues affecting distribution, Rough Trade International went into Administration. Rough Trade Records was resurrected in the late 90's and found overwhelming success with New York indie-rock band The Strokes. The band's debut EP ‘The Modern Age’ galvanised both the revitalised Rough Trade and the British music industry, which was in definite need of a lift post Brit-pop era. Subsequent releases by The Strokes would give their label its biggest commercial success since The Smiths. 

Additionally, releases during the early to mid 2000's from important artists such as The Libertines, British Sea Power, Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian and Antony & The Johnsons reflected the refreshing eclecticism of the co-founders. By 2006, Scritti Politti’s ‘White Bread, Black Beer’ suggested they’d never been away, whilst Jarvis Cocker, whom Rough Trade had managed for nearly fifteen years, released his first post-Pulp album, ‘Jarvis’.

The Libertines were a part of the garage rock revival and spearheaded the movement in the UK.

 

Arcade Fire’s emotionally-charged album ‘Funeral’ became a worldwide hit, eliciting breathless praise from David Bowie and David Byrne.

‘It’s flattering that people are interested in the past, but the most important thing is what happens now, what happens next.’ - Geoff Travis