Rough Trade:21st Century

How has Rough Trade evolved in the 21^st century?

After the Rough Trade business was revived, they signed ‘The Strokes’; this would be the band that would kickstart Rough Trades future.

What successes have they had at this time?

“The Strokes first release ‘The Modern Age’ – the title almost says it all – galvanised both the revitalised Rough Trade and the British music industry, which was sorely in need of a lift post Brit-Pop. Geoff and Jeannette’s peripatetic foray to a New Jersey bar in search of the band they would bring back and promote before attending to the small detail of signing them to a contract paid off. Subsequent releases by The Strokes through 2001/2 and beyond would give their label its biggest commercial success since The Smiths.

Releases during the early- to mid- part of the 2000s by important artists like The Libertines, Eddi Reader, British Sea Power, Low, Emiliana Torrini, Arcade Fire, Belle & Sebastian, Sufjan Stevens and Antony & The Johnsons reflected the refreshing eclecticism of the co-founders, but by 2005 the label had hit a vintage vein of credible and commercial form. Antony & The Johnsons were the unexpected yet deserved winners of the Mercury Prize for the outstanding ‘I Am A Bird Now’ and Arcade Fire’s ‘Funeral’ album had become a worldwide hit, eliciting breathless praise from the likes of David Bowie and David Byrne.

By 2006, some old friends had returned, too. Scritti Politti’s ‘White Bread, Black Beer’ suggested they’d never been away and made it all the way to the Mercury shortlist, whilst Jarvis Cocker, whom Rough Trade had managed for nearly fifteen years, released his first post-Pulp album, ‘Jarvis’.”

-Roughtraderecords.com

How has Rough Trades ideology developed for the company in the present day?

Rough Trade has gone back to its original idea that music should not be faked and it should be real and different from what is usually heard on everyday radio. They proved this by signing Duffy, the put her on a development deal and told her that they wanted her to do what she wanted to do without their guidance and direction. This proved a good move, as Duffy earner numerous awards for her first album.

Some of the artists they have signed since reviving the company include:

Rough Trade:1990s

What problems did Rough Trade incur at the start of the 1990s?

Rough Trade had reached its financial peak, cash flow management had determined Rough Trades fate. By December 1990 Rough Trades cash flow had grounded to a halt. Also in December 1990, two thirds of the staff were axed as a result of poor financial management. On the 1^st of June 1991 the company had no choice but to cease trading.

What effect did this have on the record label and distribution?

Rough Trade had written the rulebook for independent production and distribution; it had become one of the most successful independent music companies in the music industry. The work of Rough Trade had inspired so many other independent music companies to be created. The independent companies owned 40% of the music industry, they had ‘reshaped the musical landscape’. However, the financial down fall of the company meant the company was split up and sold off to try and deal with the payments they were unable to make.

How did major record labels branch out into the independent music scene?

The major record labels began signing the artist who were associated with the smaller independent companies. This meant relationships began to grow between the two sides of the music company and groups of independent companies would join together.

What actions were taken to revive Rough Trade?

Whilst Rough Trade was no longer in business…

Geoff Travis and Jeannette Lee remained working together; they were introduced to Jarvis Cocker, and afterwards they soon began managing him.  In the same year 1993 they had learnt from their mistakes and successfully managed Pulps legal and financial position. They had learnt how to sustain chart positions and as a result received 5 consecutive top 10 singles. The profit made from managing Pulp, allowed Travis and Lee to buy back the ‘Rough Trade’ name and in 2001, after 25 years since Rough Trade had begun it was back in business. 

Rough Trade:1980s

How did contracts effect the development of Rough Trade?

Rough Trade had a very different approach to the record contracts they gave out; Rough Trade had two simple clauses in their record contract. The first being that when the partnership between the company and artist was no longer working they would end the deal; the second clause was that any profit which was made from the record sales-once all the production and distribution costs had been taken away-was split equally between the artist and Rough Trade. They believed their way of signing artists, “captured everything that was right about humans”.

Geoff Travis-founder of Rough Trade

Which issues occurred between the record label and distribution?

The record label thought they had to approach more pop music to suit the music industry as a way of competing with the other larger companies. This decision led to conflict between the record label and distribution part of the business.

What has been Rough Trades ideology and how was this affected by the change in structure?

Up until this point, Rough Trade had prided itself on beating the corporate system and going against everything that was wrong with the British music industry. When the record label reached the point where they wanted to venture into the pop music industry, many people in the company disagreed and as a result were not supportive of this sudden shift.

Which artists led to success for Rough Trade?

It became apparent that indie music was set to take over the music industry; this came with the signing of The Smiths. Rough Trade took a new approach to this signing after having learnt from mistakes previously where their major selling artists had moved on to larger commercial companies; so Rough Trade signed The Smiths on a long term agreement which guaranteed them four albums. The first single The Smiths released in partnership with Rough Trade, was ‘The Charming Man’ which demanded major marketing, it was hugely commercial. In 1986, The Smiths tried signing to EMI but failed as they were still legally bonded to Rough Trade. After this The Smiths were beginning to break down and soon released ‘Strange ways here we come’ this would turn out to be their last album for Rough Trade and their last ever album as a band. By 1989, Rough Trade had its largest roster of artists in its history. 

What music trend emerged at the end of the 1980's?
At the end of the 1980s techno was taking over the music scene, as rave clubs began to develop.

What differences were there at this time between Rough Trade and other independent music labels?
Rough Trade was both a record label and a distribution company. Around 90% of the £40 million turnover came from the distribution, the distribution side of the company financed the record label; allowing them to develop the technical side of the music.

Rough Trade:1970s

Rough Trade:"offering a diverse alternative to mainstream music"

How did Rough Trade start?

Rough Trade started with Geoff Travis taking a trip to Canada where he purchased some records; he realised that there was nowhere in London where he liked to buy records and so paid for some records to be sent over from Canada and opened a shop in West London.

The original Rough Trade shop in West London (70s) 

Which music trends were popular?

Three of the main music trends, which were extremely popular during the 1970s, were: Hippy music, Reggae and Punk.

What was the ethos of Rough Trade at this time?

Rough Trade stood for the ‘intellectual political wing of punk’; Communism and Marxism heavily influenced them. (Marxism-the political and economic theories of Karl Marx, predicting the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism by the proletariat and the eventual attainment of a classless communist society. -. stg.brown.edu)

How was Rough Trade different to large corporations?

Rough Trade was an independent company, therefore were separate to the large commercial companies of the time. Companies such as EMI and CBS, the larger companies which often over shadowed smaller independent companies.

What techniques were used to expand the independent music scene?

Due to the fact that Rough Trade was an independent company, they did not have the same technical or financial advances as the larger commercial companies. Rough Trade resulted to the home made musical products by doing their own pressing and marketing, many artists thought this was a benefit as they did not have to spend lots of money and could decide on how many records they wished to produce. The band ‘Desperate Bicycles’ had the idea of turning record sleeves into instructions of how to make records. ‘Scritti Polliti’ carried on this trend as they printed the production budget on the record cover, showing just how cheap producing a record with Rough Trade could be. The larger companies often frowned this upon, Rough Trade had become ‘the headquarters of a revolt’ against the commercialised music industry.

How did this lead to Rough Trades expansion?

It had been shown to those interested in music that it was easier to get into the industry through an independent company rather than going straight to the bug companies. The original Rough Trade shop was set up in an area, which was cheap to live in; therefore it was a place where musicians would have lived-increasing the shops popularity. Originally Geoff Travis’ idea was to have a shop where people could just buy records, however, the discovery that they could produce and distribute records for a cheap cost led to the Rough Trade Distribution company.

Explain the successes of the distribution department and record label

'Stiff Little Fingers'

The distribution department was developed in 1977; it brought in more money than the record label as they distributed records to other small record shops around the country, which made it an extremely busy part of the company. As for the record label they had decided they did not want to be similar to the commercial record labels, Rough Trade had two simple clauses in their record contract. The first being that when the partnership between the company and artist was no longer working they would end the deal; the second clause was that any profit which was made from the record sales-once all the production and distribution costs had been taken away-was split equally between the artist and Rough Trade.

' The Raincoats'

“By the end of 1979, a number of bands now commonly associated with Rough Trade had started to release records on the label, including Scritti Politti and The Raincoats. Such was the label’s recognised importance that a television programme the South Bank Show was devoted to it. When its first album, Stiff Little Fingers’ ‘Inflammable Material’, was released later in the year, it became the first independent record in history to sell over 100,000 copies and charted at number 14.”