Rough Trade

A man called Geoff Travis started off Rough Trade. Geoff traveled to North America and got a huge record collection and then shipped them back to the UK which became the starting point for the Rough Trade Shop. Travis went into the distribution businesses and started taking and selling records from bands which created the 'do it yourself' system. The do it yourself system is where singers or bands can go to the shop and let Geoff Travis listen to their single and he can sell it at his shop. Rough Trade then became an independent record label that started in 1978. The label got bigger and they had to move out of the shop.The genre of music that Rough trade specialised in is Punk rock/Jamaican music.By the end of 1979, a number of bands are now associated with Rough Trade had started to release records on the label, including Scritti Politti and The Raincoats. 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. Once this happened to any band,Rough Trade had trouble holding onto them once they wanted to make a break through and want to go main stream. Rough Trade produced quite a few succesful bands Such as The Smiths,The strokes, The libertines and Duffy. The Smiths were sighned in 1983 and rought Rough Trade into new territory. The independent music scene was gradually giving way to what is now recognised as ‘indie'. 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.



A lady called Jannett Lee was approached by Geoff Travis with an offer to join him in managing the Rough Trade label. In 1987 they became full partners. Rough Trade had many successes, signing acts such as Stiff Little Fingers, The Smiths and The Sundays. Rough Trade went bankrupt in 1991 because of cash flow problems within their distribution business. Lee and Travis then moved into band management for successful groups including The Cranberries and Pulp.

In 2000 Sanctuary Records decided to bring back Rough Trade and brought on Lee and Travis to run their old label once. Rough Trade then success with The Strokes, Arcade Fire and The Libertines. In July 2007 Sanctuary Records then sold Rough Trade to the Beggars Group making it once again independent. Jannett Lee personally managed a singer called Duffy, from 2006 until the relationship ended in January 2010.

Major VS. Minor

Which subsidiary labels do Sony BGM own?

Columbia Music Group
Epic Label Group
Roc Nation
RCA Music Group
Sony Masterworks
Provident Music group
Legacy Recordings
RED Distribution
IODA Labels
Sony Music UK
Sony Music Japan