120-608: Ninja Tune is an independent record label based in London with a satellite office in Los Angeles . It was founded in 1990 by Matt Black and Jonathan More, known professionally as the electronic duo "Coldcut" The label was created as an outlet for Coldcut to expand their style farther from that of the mainstream music industry. Following a Coldcut tour in Japan with Norman Cook (a.k.a. Fatboy Slim, then of Beats International )
240-519: A Mercury Prize , after prior nominations for Roots Manuva 's Run Come Save Me and Ty 's Upwards . With the album, NME called her: "one to seriously watch." A book entitled Ninja Tune: 20 Years of Beats and Pieces was released on 12 August 2010, and an exhibition was held at Black Dog Publishing 's Black Dog Space in London showcasing artwork, design, and photography from the label's 20-year history. A "stunning futurespective" compilation album
360-403: A "solid example of the kind of genius Concept, himself something of a child piano prodigy, is capable of." The following May saw the release of a much-awaited album from Amon Tobin , ISAM , which set a new benchmark for live electronic music. Tobin decided to step away from previous DJ centric performances, and instead provided a large-scale live audio/visual experience to select cities around
480-493: A CD/DVD package that included remixes from King Britt , Oh No , J Rocc , and AmmonContact. Back in London, having previously scored a place with his college band E.V.A. on the 1996 Ninja 12" One Track Mind , Fin Greenall subsequently signed to the label as a solo artist, under the name Fink . First releasing Fresh Produce – an atmospheric set of downtempo instrumental hip hop tracks – on sister label Ntone in 2000, it
600-513: A bespoke AV live show for London's only public planetarium, in conjunction with astronomers from The Royal Observatory Greenwich, using art from The Search Engine, images from Kev's visual archive, plus a wealth of material provided by the astronomers themselves. Kev adapted his content to fit Montreal's Stratosphere in July. In mid-2012, The Bug announced that after "London Zoo," he set out a new genre and sub-label with Ninja Tune: Acid Ragga. Releasing
720-699: A couple of appearances from Kylie Minogue and a few releases on XL Recordings, the Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50 would be alien to anyone who remembered the indie chart from 1990. It is now more likely for grime, dance and K-Pop artists to be in the Top 10 than indie bands, with the chart of 20 November to 26 November 2020, having KSI and Craig David at number one with their BMG released single "Really Love", BTS at number two with "Dynamite" and AJ Tracey at number three with "West Ten". Apart from re-issues and oldies by people like
840-483: A few rarities. While 2007's Well Deep multimedia package shed light on Big Dada , Ninja Cuts drew a healthy cross-section from all three Ninja-associated labels. 2008 also marked Daedelus ' first official Ninja album, Love to Make Music To , after his previous albums Exquisite Corpse and Denies the Day's Demise had been licensed by Ninja Tune. The album showcased the L.A. artist's diverse nature and his skills as
960-532: A few years later decided to launch a 'new Virgin Records'. This 'Virgin2' was set up as V2 Music in 1996 with staff from Branson's company working on V2 at the same time as the V96 Festival (both record company and festival would use similar 'V' branding, as Branson could not use the full Virgin name for any projects involving music). This British independent label would be joined by other V2 Records around
1080-572: A grant from the Intelligent Energy Department of the European Union, to create a project that promoted intelligent energy and environmental awareness to the youth of Europe. The result was Energy Union , a piece of VJ cinema, a political campaign, a music tour, a party, an art exhibition, and social media hub. Energy Union toured 12 EU countries throughout 2009 and 2010, completing 24 events in total. Coldcut created
1200-433: A huge number of records (usually promoted by a 'front' of models-turned-singers and various rappers) and, in the 1990s, a UK arm which would eventually turn into hard house label Nukleuz , known for its DJ Nation releases. The dance music scene also proved beneficial to independent labels who compiled and marketed TV-advertised compilations, especially when Virgin teamed up with EMI to launch Now That's What I Call Music ,
1320-407: A lot of its catalogue in order to please various anti-monopoly and merger commissions or trade bodies, after buying the large part of EMI ( Parlophone ) that UMG was not allowed to keep hold of after acquiring the remainder. In 2016, Radiohead 's back catalogue was sold to Beggars (XL Recordings) , Chrysalis Records was sold to Blue Raincoat Music (now including recordings by Everything but
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#17327876626971440-536: A massive $ 3.4 million record deal, all which ended when Mimran's father, Jean Claude, cut finances. In the end Bowie's Savage album, Black Tie White Noise only just made the US Top 40 albums chart (but was a number one in the UK for Savage's distributor BMG via their Arista label) with Savage Records being a record label whose 'story' Telstar and Sanctuary would follow to a lesser extent. One independent record label who
1560-516: A multi-instrumentalist as well as his engrossing stylistic shifts. Additionally that year (a year after their 2007 Stompbox 12"), The Qemists released their debut album, Join the Q. All Music Guide, at the time, said that the group had constructed "some of the most energetic breakbeats of the late 2000s." The vinyl version of the album came as four super-heavy platters, weighing nearly a kilogram. In 2008, an international group of party organizers, activists, and artists – including Coldcut – received
1680-676: A negative way, WEA set up Korova in 1979 for Zoo Record's Echo & the Bunnymen , with Zoo Records being the Liverpool-based label of Bill Drummond and David Balfe). The term " alternative " was increasingly used to describe artists, and "indie'" was more often used to describe a broad range of guitar-based rock and pop. The "explosion" of the dance music scene in the mid- to late 1980s found labels such as Warp , Coldcut's Ahead of Our Time and Wax On Records set up. In Italy production teams like Groove Groove Melody and
1800-534: A new sound to the label, with her melodic, R&B tinged bass-heavy 'Double Edge.' Her self-titled debut was later released in 2011, Billboard said that Emika came close to "bridging the minimalist menace" of Bristol dubstep to " breathy accessible vocals and classical piano." On her 2013 follow-up, 'DVA,' Emika shifted her song writing style, focusing on political and personal themes. In March 2011, another exploratory bass cadet – Dorian Concept – released his first Ninja EP, Her Tears Taste Like Pears . It proved to be
1920-660: A new soundtrack, Man with a Movie Camera , for a screening of the visionary 1929 Russian silent feature, Man with a Movie Camera , for the 2000 Portuguese Film Festival Fantasporto . The following year it was performed at the opening gala of Portugal's year as European Capital of Culture in Porto in front of 3000 people. The material written for this film score laid the groundwork for what would be The Cinematic Orchestra's second full-length, Every Day , released in May 2002, and one of Ninja's best-selling albums. Roots Manuva featured on
2040-583: A nightclub in South London, before it became a record company). Originally AATW would focus on singles and would issue a compilation album once in a while as a tie-in with a local EMAP-owned radio station such as 97.4 Rock FM in Preston, Lancashire (Rock The Dancefloor - All Mixed Up), while the Ministry of Sound moved into compilations quite quickly with the release of their Sessions series . Over
2160-502: A nomination for the 2002 Mercury Music Award , and was called by The Times "Too maverick, too brilliantly original a talent to be tethered by mere genre or geography." missing ref Also in 2001 Cornwall's Luke Vibert joined Ninja Tune. Growing up amongst contemporaries Aphex Twin and Tom Middleton / Global Communication , Vibert had made a name for himself in experimental electronica, though his name has always been hard to pin down: he operates under several different aliases. With
2280-407: A number one hit that would see CBS and WEA (the future Sony BMG and WMG) move into the market with their rival Hits compilations and Chrysalis and MCA team up for the short lived Out Now! brand. Morgan Khan's StreetSounds/StreetWaves was the first independent company to run up a number of hits in the UK album chart with a run of various artist dance music collections and started off business in
2400-508: A pop hook ('Regrettably, we now believe/ That only force will make him leave') and interspersing quotes from Jello Biafra ('don't hate the media, become the media!') and Mario Savio 's famous 1964 address to the Berkeley Free Speech Movement ." Between 1994 and 1997, Ninja explored the instrumental hip hop beats sound (often known as trip hop ). Its pioneering influence on the genre became more prevalent with
2520-675: A remix album, Black Sands Remixed , which featured re-imaginings from producers such as Lapalux, Mark Pritchard , Machinedrum and FaltyDL . A couple of months before, in November 2011, New York producer FaltyDL had made his debut on the Ninja roster with his Atlantis EP, a "smoother and shuffler" ride than most of his earlier work. His work for Ninja was deemed "calm and focused, a trend that continued on his third album", Hardcourage , released in January 2012. Ruth Saxelby with Pitchfork said
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#17327876626972640-469: A separate London event, Ninja also placed a legendary rave in 3 rooms in a car park behind the Tate Modern with all of their artists in one place for the first time (artists included Coldcut, Mr. Scruff, Roots Manuva, Toddla T, The Bug, Daedelus, Kid Koala, Bonobo, Dj Food + DK, Mark Pritchard, DJ Kentaro, Dorian Concept, XXXchange (Spank Rock), DELS, Floating Points, Jammer, Dark Sky, and Offshore). For
2760-501: A set of 7"s, in June the first Bug track – "Can't Take This No More" – unleashed featuring the legendary Daddy Freddy, while on the flip "Rise" featured Inga Copeland of Hype Williams. The "Ganja Baby" 7-inch was released shortly afterward, featuring Daddy Freddy, followed by the 2 x 10" Filthy EP featuring rapper Danny Brown and long-time collaborator Flowdan. Independent record label An independent record label (or indie label )
2880-561: A short movie documenting a meeting between jazz/funk drummers Paul Humphrey and James Gadson , and a bunch of turntablists who now scratched and sampled their breakbeats, including DJ Shadow , Cut Chemist and the Beat Junkies . This project snowballed into a live concert featuring the drum duo jamming along with the turntablists – and included extra guests Madlib and DJ Numark . In 2005, Ninja released Keep in Time: A Live Recording ,
3000-506: A similar marketplace to their compilations partner, the original BMG company. In the 2010s, due to platforms such as Bandcamp and SoundCloud, a number of the larger indies moved away from signing unknown acts instead acquiring back catalogues and working with 'heritage acts' (for example, those popular in a pre-digital age). New independent BMG , which had been spun-out of the Sony BMG joint venture that included Arista and RCA, ended up with
3120-517: A small but loyal audience. They relied less on mass sales and were able to provide artists much more opportunity for experimentation and artistic freedom . In the late 1940s and into the 1950s, the American music business changed as people began to more quickly learn the industry. Several companies set up their own recording studios , and the number of label owners began to increase. Many of these owners realized that whichever label first publishes
3240-526: A sold-out 15-show run through US and Canada, in addition to five sold-out UK/EU shows. In 2012, ISAM Live returned with a larger tour, starting at Coachella and traveling to Sydney Opera House , London's Brixton Academy , New York's Hammerstein Ballroom , Greek Theatre (Los Angeles), Sonar (Barcelona), as well as full European and US tours throughout summer and fall. In May 2012, Ninja Tune released an Amon Tobin box set (7 × CD, 2 × DVD, 6 × Vinyl, 10"). At
3360-502: A song is legally entitled to receive compensation for every record sold. Jazz musicians pioneered a new subset of independent labels, companies operated by the artists themselves. Following the original pioneers of the music industry, many new labels were launched over the following decades by people with industry experience. From the 1940s to 1950s, R&B indie labels such as Savoy, Apollo, King, Modern, Mercury, Imperial, Specialty, Red Robin, Duke and Vee-Jay Records were founded. During
3480-465: A sound engineer. Steinski , a big inspiration behind Coldcut's initial forays into music, released his first Ninja Tune EP as Steinski and Mass Media in the same year. According to Nate Patrin, the single "builds on a catchy loop of the Jackson 5 's 'It's Great to Be Here' and creates one of the few anti- Gulf War protest songs of the era, transforming [ U.S. President George H. W. ] Bush's speech into
3600-460: A specific genre , and the chart featured a diverse range of music, from punk to reggae , MOR , and mainstream pop , including many songs in the late 1980s by artists like Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan on the PWL label. Even though PWL 's releases were mainly Hi-NRG -influenced disco-pop the label was independently distributed and did have a music fan ( Pete Waterman ) at its helm, of which
3720-576: A team of assistants headed out into the streets with high-sensitivity microphones and recorded found sounds from tigers roaring to cats eating rats, from wasps to falling chickpeas, kitchen utensils to motorbikes to water dripping from a tap. Added to this were the sounds of The Kronos Quartet , Stefan Schneider (of To Rococo Rot ), and Sarah Pagé, Tobin traveling from Foley rooms in Montreal to San Francisco to Seattle and back as he collected them (the CD release
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3840-510: A valuable marketing tool (especially when targeting readers of the NME, Select and various student publications) and so the Britpop-era gave rise to the idea of the 'fake indie'. The 'fake indie' would be a record label owned by a major company but whose distribution did not go through the parent company's distribution arm, going through an independent in order for those records to be eligible for
3960-633: Is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels ; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise , or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network ( WIN ). Many of the labels started as producers and distributors of specific genres of music, such as jazz music , or represent something new and non-mainstream, such as Elvis Presley in
4080-403: Is a challenge to this orthodoxy: George McKay's argument in the article 'Was punk DIY? Is DIY punk?' that, because it relied on existing commercial record manufacturing companies, [n]o punk band ever made its own singles . Further, only recently has the early 1970s pub rock scene has been re-evaluated by cultural historians and in rock documentaries such as Sky Arts' Trailblazers series, with
4200-489: Is a label that owns its distribution channel . Some independent labels, particularly those with successful artists, sign dual-release, or distribution only agreements with major labels. They may also rely on international licensing deals and other arrangements with major labels. Major labels sometimes fully or partially acquire independent labels. Other nominally independent labels are started and sometimes run by artists on major labels but are still fully or partially owned by
4320-617: Is accompanied by a short DVD, Foley Room: Found Footage , documenting the recording process). Kevin Martin began developing his sound further as The Bug, after other projects such as GOD, Techno Animal, Ice, and Curse of the Golden Vampire. The Bug's second album in 2003, Pressure , demonstrated a fully formed aesthetic – stark spaces, gleefully subsonic bass – holding collaborations with vocalists such as Toastie Taylor, Wayne Lonesome and Daddy Freddy . 2008's London Zoo , meanwhile,
4440-568: The 13th Floor Elevators and began distributing releases from local rock bands. In the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s, the major labels EMI , Philips , and Decca had so much power that smaller labels struggled to establish themselves. Several British producers launched independent labels, including Joe Meek ( Triumph Records ), Andrew Loog Oldham ( Immediate Records ), and Larry Page ( Page One Records ). Chrysalis Records , launched by Chris Wright and Terry Ellis ,
4560-717: The Doctor Who theme . In 1994, Matt Black's close friend Mixmaster Morris introduced Matt to Openmind – a DJ & design collective in Camberwell – at the Telepathic Fish chill-out club they were running. Openmind included Kevin Foakes a.k.a. Strictly Kev of DJ Food . After submitting a re-styled company logo he was employed by Ninja Tune in the capacity of overall design consultant. Matt Black also invited Foakes to Ninja's recording studio, where he eventually joined
4680-640: The Energy Union show for the tour, a one-hour Audio/Visual montage on the theme of Intelligent Energy. In presenting new ideas for climate, environmental, and energy communication strategies, the Energy Union tour was well received, and reached a widespread audience in cities across the UK, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Spain, and the Czech Republic. missing reference Speech Debelle 's debut album, 2009's Speech Therapy , finally scored Big Dada
4800-603: The Official Charts Company when he released Weltschmerz on 25 September 2020, an album self-funded, marketed and distributed from his home in Scotland. As he did not partner with a record label like BMG, he missed out on a top ten album chart placing when early sales revealed that he would have been number 2 on the UK midweek charts behind that week's chart topper, the Partisan-signed band IDLES. On
4920-490: The Recording Industry Association of America , indie labels produce and distribute about 66% of music titles, but only account for 20% of sales. Many musical artists begin their careers on independent labels, hoping to further grow their career into signing with a record label . The distinction between major and independent labels is not always clear. The traditional definition of a major label
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5040-564: The peak body for the independent music industry is the Australian Independent Record Labels Association , known as AIR, representing about 350 members as of 2019 . A 2017 report commissioned by AIR, titled AIR Share: Australian Independent Music Market Report , was the first market analysis of the industry in Australia. It showed that indie labels represented 30% of revenue generated by
5160-509: The post-war period in the United States . Disputes with major labels led to a proliferation of smaller labels specializing in country , jazz , and blues . Sun Records played an important part in the development of rock 'n' roll and country music, working with artists such as Elvis Presley , Carl Perkins , Johnny Cash , Jerry Lee Lewis , Roy Orbison , and Charlie Rich . These independent labels usually aimed their releases at
5280-452: The 1960s, rock label Elektra, R&B labels such as Motown, Stax records released singles and albums. A noted success was that of comedy artist Tom Lehrer , who sold more than 350,000 copies of his 4 albums on his own label, Lehrer Records, by the mid-1960s before moving publishing to Warner Bros. Amidst the advent of the psychedelic revolution independent record labels such as International Artists geared their attention towards bands like
5400-526: The 1980s. Early independents of the 1970s included labels such as MAM Records , set up by the Gordon Mills' Management Agency & Music company. However MAM, like many of the small independents in the United Kingdom ended up signing a distribution deal with a major to remain viable, with MAM's records being licensed and distributed by Decca until it was sold to Chrysalis. For many years,
5520-678: The 1990s would see the founding of two independent companies who would go on to chart numerous dance music collections in the new compilations album chart, Blackburn-based All Around the World (AATW) and the Ministry of Sound . Both All Around the World/AATW and the Ministry of Sound would be founded in 1991, the former by Cris Nuttall and Matt Cadman, the latter by James Palumbo , Humphrey Waterhouse and Justin Berkmann (though initially as
5640-588: The Australian recorded music market, and that 57% of independent sector revenue was from Australian artists, which put the Australian sector in the Top 10 global list of mainly English-speaking indie music markets, according to then CEO of WIN (Worldwide Independent Network), Alison Wenham. (By comparison, the US indie market had a 34% share while the UK had 23%.) The report valued the Australian recording industry as worth A$ 399.4 million , sixth largest music market in
5760-561: The Disco Mix Club (DMC) for their Hit Mix series. Coming before the Acid House-era the first Hit Mix album in 1986 still had a large amount of pop hits from mainstream chart stars like Kajagoogoo, Kate Bush and Nik Kershaw, but Paul Dakeyne & Les 'L.A. Mix' Adams mixed 86 tracks onto four-sides of vinyl, while follow-up releases would start to feature more house tracks by people like Krush and Nitro De Luxe. The start of
5880-608: The FPI Project would make and release Italo dance/piano house records under many pseudonyms and license them individually to various record labels around the world (such as Beggars' Citybeat label). Instead of going down this one-by-one deal route, Cappella 's Gianfranco Bortolotti set up Media Records in Brescia, northern Italy to release his 'commercial European dance music', a set-up which included fifteen studios featuring various production teams working almost non-stop on
6000-519: The Girl , Athlete and Cockney Rebel ), while the rights to albums by Guster and Airbourne went to Nettwerk . In 2017, WMG went on to sell the catalogues of a number of other artists to independent record companies, including Domino ( Hot Chip and Buzzcocks ), Cherry Red ( Howard Jones , Dinosaur Jr. and Kim Wilde ), Fire ( The Lemonheads and The Groundhogs ) and Because Music ( The Beta Band and various French acts). Apart from
6120-901: The Ninja XX gig in New York, the label's venue (Santos Party House) was shut down unexpectedly, moving the event at the last minute to the Bowery. In October 2011, Ninja Tune's massive "Ninja Tune XX" campaign won "Innovative Marketing Campaign of the Year" at the 2011 AIM Awards. It was around this time that Ninja Tune began expanding its roster in an interesting new direction, co-signing underground labels with whom they felt artistically aligned. In February 2010, LA-based producer Flying Lotus , a.k.a. Steven Ellison, announced his Brainfeeder imprint had partnered with Ninja Tune to handle manufacturing, marketing, and distribution for Brainfeeder everywhere outside
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#17327876626976240-469: The Norwegian jazz band signed to Ninja Tune to re-release A Livingroom Hush in 2002, followed by The Stix later that year, and their fourth album What We Must in 2005. Coldcut returned with the single "Everything Is Under Control" at the end of 2005, featuring Jon Spencer (of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion ) and Mike Ladd . It was followed in 2006 by their fifth studio album Sound Mirrors , which
6360-552: The Official Independent Albums Chart Top 10 for 8 October, IDLES would be number one with Ultra Mono with acts from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s taking up a further seven slots (including compilations from acts like Slade and new albums from people like Hüsker Dü 's Bob Mould ). According to Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun , K-pop company Big Hit Entertainment had revenues of 484 billion South Korea won ($ 436 million US dollars) for
6480-515: The UK Charts. Let Us Play! paid homage to the greats that inspired them. Their first album to be released on Ninja Tune, it featured guest appearances by Grandmaster Flash , Steinski , Jello Biafra , Jimpster , The Herbaliser , Talvin Singh , Daniel Pemberton and Selena Saliva. Hex collaborated with Coldcut to produce the multimedia CD-ROM for the album. Hex later evolved the software into
6600-496: The UK version and extended the premise "into an open access participatory project," according to author Graham Meikle. Through the multimedia political art project, over 12 gigabytes of footage from the last 40 years of US politics were made accessible to download, allowing participants to create a cut-up over a Coldcut beat. Coldcut also collaborated with TV Sheriff and NomIg to produce two audiovisual pieces "World of Evil" (2004) and "Revolution '08" (2008), both composed of footage from
6720-902: The US. In April 2010, Sheffield -born producer and DJ Toddla T (who had originally arrived at Ninja having produced parts of Roots Manuva's 2008 album, Slime & Reason , which reached number 22 in the UK Charts) also signed his Girls Music record label to Ninja Tune for distribution, manufacturing, and marketing, in addition to signing a three-album deal. In June 2012, Ninja announced a partnership with underground artist Actress and his Werkdiscs imprint, home to Zomby 's Where Were U in 92? , Actress's Hazyville , and various records by Lukid and Lone. Also in 2010, Bonobo's own Black Sands album marked his fourth full-length. It pushed Bonobo's sound "much more steeped in beat-making, creating deluxe, post-dance soundscapes", and achieved worldwide commercial success. In February 2012, Ninja followed up with
6840-644: The United States presidential elections of respective years. The music used was composed by Coldcut, with "Revolution '08" featuring a remix by The Qemists . Roots Manuva climbed back into the limelight at the beginning of 2005, with his deft album Awfully Deep . His third album, which reached number 24 in the UK Charts, was celebrated by critics for his growth as an artist, with NME calling it "a set of immense maturity that never rubs your nose in its thematic complexity, compositional innovation, and thunderous thump-beats." The Cinematic Orchestra scored
6960-570: The Week" review, the compilation was deemed "a glorious celebration of Ninja Tune's audio splendor." As part of the 20th anniversary, Ninja Tune produced 20 different events around the world. Ninja Tune sold out Royal Albert Hall in London, with The Cinematic Orchestra, Amon Tobin, and Dorian Concept all presenting a one-off orchestral performance with the London Metropolitan Orchestra arranged by composer Ilan Eshkeri . For
7080-478: The White Stripes and Arctic Monkeys, the nearest to a new indie band hit is pop guitar band McFly at number 30 with their song "Happiness", only charting after a special called "McFly: All About Us" was broadcast by ITV on 14 November 2020. After having his own independent record company in the 1990s which charted a number of releases in the main UK charts, prog rock singer Fish decided not to sign up to
7200-459: The airwaves. The late-night Saturday show cut all manner of beats, samples, and loops into a chaotic musical blend. The show's 'everything but the kitchen sink' approach continued through Coldcut's "utterly brilliant" Journeys by DJ series of mix compilations in 1995. The title 70 Minutes of Madness was a nod to Coldcut's earlier Eric B & Rakim remix, and included sounds from Depth Charge , DJ Food, Plastikman , Mantronix , Harold Budd and
7320-490: The album was "sure-footed and big-hearted, accessible and yet cerebral." Jaga Jazzist returned in 2010 with their strongest release to date, One-Armed Bandit , which featured new members within Jaga Jazzist's ranks and included "tropical polyrhythms, modernist patterns, and even techno-inspired synth sequences." Another release that pushed Ninja to new sonic territories came from London-based artist Floating Points at
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#17327876626977440-562: The attraction of creating independent labels for the genre. MF Doom 's album Madvillainy sold over 150,000 copies, making it Stones Throw Records highest selling underground album. In 2004, Telstar Records went bankrupt in the UK after giving Victoria Beckham a £1.5 million record deal. Like Savage Records a decade earlier Telstar did not stick to their niche (they started off as a compilations label - similar to Ronco and K-Tel - before signing children's TV stars and dance acts to their XSRhythm and Multiply labels) and tried to operate in
7560-404: The bands got bigger the releases ended up going through major distribution channels like Arvato (its also worth pointing out that BMG would be seen as being one of the largest independent record companies of the 21st century after Sony BMG was dissolved). Richard Branson sold the independent label he co-founded with Simon Draper and Nik Powell ( Virgin Records ) to Thorn EMI in 1992 and
7680-418: The beginning of 2012, Speech Debelle returned to Big Dada, after much critical speculation about leaving the label. She returned from her Mercury Prize win to release another critically acclaimed album, 'Freedom of Speech.' According to Scottish magazine The Skinny, this album had "a verve and vigor that more than justify the early hype." The "refreshingly outspoken" album went on to "trounce all expectations" and
7800-408: The case of Factory, one of Tony Wilson's beliefs was that "musicians own everything, the company owns nothing", which caused problems for the firm when it was going to be taken over by Roger Ames' London Recordings (a 'boutique' semi-independent label which followed Ames from Polygram to Warners when he became CEO). London Recordings did not have to buy Factory out right because the artists owned
7920-423: The catalogues of Echo , Infectious and Sanctuary (the biggest independent record label in the UK before it went bankrupt), while Cherry Red Records , who had a few 'heritage acts' like Hawkwind on their main label, were mainly concerned with their re-issue labels such as 7T's Records (1970s music), 3 Loop Music (indie music) and Cherry Pop (mainly chart pop from the 1980s). From 2013, Warner Music had to sell
8040-438: The company is sometimes excluded from various lists of 'greatest independent labels' due to its association with Island Records in the 1980s (though ranked at number 7 on the NME's list from 2015). In the United States, independent labels such as Beserkley found success with artists such as The Modern Lovers . Another factor that came to define independent labels was the method of distribution, which had to be independent of
8160-695: The double standards of the ban and fine. In 2000, Ninja Tune celebrated its first decade of music with Xen Cuts , a three CD, 6 x LP box set that provided a collection of their artists. Mark Richardson with Pitchfork called the effort a "mostly downtempo affair." It featured the likes of Latyrx (Lyrics Born and Lateef), The Herbaliser , Kid Koala and Luke Vibert , Clifford Gilberto, Amon Tobin and Funki Porcini . Also in 2000, Kid Koala released Carpal Tunnel Syndrome , "a playfully arranged montage of quirky sound bites, rhythmic scratching, and fluid hip hop beats." Deriving sample material from both comedy albums and sound effects records, and jazz and funk vinyl,
8280-446: The early days. Indies release rock , soul , R&B , jazz , blues , gospel , reggae , hip hop , and world music . Music appearing on indie labels is often referred to as indie music , or more specifically by genre, such as indie hip-hop . Independent record labels are small companies that produce and distribute records . They are not affiliated with or funded by the three major records labels . According to SoundScan and
8400-576: The end of 2010 with 'Post Suite / Almost in Profile'. The Floating Points Ensemble is an instrumental ensemble headed by himself on Fender Rhodes and Sequential Circuits Pro One and Prophet keyboards. The double A-side 10" vinyl single featured two tracks by the full Ensemble, recorded and mixed at Abbey Road Studios for the Ninja Tune XX twentieth anniversary celebration. In 2010, a sound designer from Berlin (by way of Bristol), Emika , brought
8520-538: The engine that was used on the Let Us Play! world tour. In 1999, Let Us Replay! was released, a double-disc remix album where Coldcut's classic tunes were remixed by Cornelius (the opener of the album, which was heralded as a highlight of the album), Irresistible Force , Shut Up and Dance , Carl Craig and J Swinscoe. Spin Magazine stated that Let Us Replay! pieces together "short sharp shocks that put
8640-423: The firm running TV channels in the 21st century based on Clubland and Universal's Now Music brands. Also in 1991 Rough Trade Distribution went bankrupt, causing a number of indie labels to stop trading (including Rough Trade itself and - indirectly - Factory, who had already spent a large amount of money on various projects such as their headquarters at Fac251 ) and others to be sold off in part to majors. In
8760-508: The first annual coordinated celebration of independent music across the world, for which the Australian Independent Record Labels Association created a list of the greatest independent records of all time. After Wenham's departure, WIN's director of Legal and Business Affairs, Charlie Phillips, was promoted to the leadership role, named as chief operating Officer. He would report directly to
8880-572: The first three quarters of 2020, a period which did not include the release of the Billboard album chart topping BE by BTS, but did include the period when the label bought into Han Sung Soo's Pledis Entertainment . In October 2020, Big Hit Entertainment floated on the Korean stock market with founder Bang Si-hyuk giving the members of BTS shares in the company and his stake in Big Hit making him
9000-413: The following decades, album brands such as AATW's Clubland and Floorfillers or the Ministry of Sound's The Annual and Euphoria (with the latter brand picked up from Telstar) would turn-up in the compilations top 20 so regularly that the majors became interested, with Sony taking over Ministry of Sound's record company and AATW getting into a joint-venture with Universal Music TV, which ended up with
9120-432: The general consensus was that the punk rock movement was the main turning point for independent labels, with the movement's do-it-yourself ethos creating an even greater proliferation of independent labels. Scholars of punk from Dave Laing (1985) to Matt Worley (2017) have consistently argued that independent labels were, along with self-produced punk fanzines, key to punk's influential DIY heart. Worth noting here though
9240-406: The genre being given a more prominent role in music history than it had. The pub rock scene included labels such as Chiswick Records and Stiff Records , the latter being a company known for rude slogans, bizarre releases (such as The Wit And Wisdom Of Ronald Reagan ) and tours by train. Even though Stiff Records released the UK's first punk single, ("New Rose" by The Damned on 22 October 1976),
9360-423: The indie chart. Acts promoted this way initially included Sleeper on BMG's Indolent Records and Echobelly on Sony's Fauve Records. However, at this point its worth noting that Sony owned half of Creation Records at the time (with Alan McGee too important within the scene to be labelled a 'fake'), that Fauve Records was set up as part of a labels deal between Epic and former dance music label Rhythm King and as
9480-446: The journey from birth to death), and conceived by Swinscoe as the premise for the score of an imaginary film. Album track "To Build a Home" became one of Ninja's top tracks of all time (with its fan video clocking up nearly 9 million plays), and track "TBAH" features vocals from Patrick Watson , which became the band's most successful song. Following Jason Swinscoe's vocal appreciation of Jaga Jazzist 's 2001 album A Livingroom Hush ,
9600-541: The label lifted its moniker and aesthetic from the Japanese TV shows of the 1950s and 1960s based on the Ninja . With their first releases in the early 1990s, Ninja Tune went on to "usher in trip-hop/instrumental hip hop ." according to Pitchfork . After Coldcut's success with their first label, Ahead of Our Time , contractual issues prevented them from releasing anything under their name. Ninja Tune's inaugural release
9720-591: The label managed to make it into the 1990s with a number of dance and hip-hop hits by artists such as Silver Bullet and A Homeboy, Hippy and A Funky Dread (issued on Savage's Tam Tam dance label). Around the time Soho had their top ten UK hit, Mimran decided that Savage would not just be a British indie, but would be an American major instead. Savage Records went on a spending spree in America, which resulted in them opening plush offices on Broadway, hiring Michael Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo and signing David Bowie to
9840-408: The label was closely associated with. Whether indie fans dismiss Stock Aitken Waterman as cheesy pop or not, this was as true for Waterman as it was for Ivo Watts-Russell (4AD), Alan Horne (Postcard), Daniel Miller (Mute), Alan McGee (Creation) or Tony Wilson (Factory). The UK Indie Chart became a major source of exposure for artists on independent labels, with the top ten singles regularly aired on
9960-461: The label's first compilation, Funkjazztical Tricknology , in 1995. The genre originated in England as a successor to acid house , taking influence from acid jazz and funk , and using hip hop style breakbeats rather than the mechanical '4 on the floor' drum rhythm of the house. The ongoing success of Solid Steel, and its subsequent syndication across the globe, broadcast the Ninja brand across
10080-568: The last two spent as CEO . As a driving force in helping indie labels being able to compete worldwide with bigger companies, Wenham featured in Billboard ' s "Top Women in Music" every year since publication. She stepped down from her role at WIN in December 2018, the following year taking on a non-executive director 's role at Funnel Music. On 4 July 2008, WIN ran " Independents Day ",
10200-540: The lowest share of the total music market, at only 16%. In 2017, South Korea's indie market showed the healthiest share of the total music market, 88%. In 2017, the UK indie market had a 23% share of the total music market. In 2017, the US indie market had a 34% share of the total music market. 9 Lazy 9 9 Lazy 9 is an Italian electronic music group, consisting of Keir Fraser, James Braddell, Gianluca Petrella (trombone), Mishael Levron (guitar), Manù Bandettini (flute) and Adriano Tirelli (bassoon). Keir Fraser
10320-523: The major label. These labels are frequently referred to as vanity labels or boutique labels, and are intended to appease established artists or allow them to discover and promote newer artists. According to the Association of Independent Music , "A 'major' is defined in AIM's constitution as a multinational company which (together with the companies in its group) has more than 5% of the world market(s) for
10440-500: The major labels for records to be included in the UK Indie Chart , with labels such as Industrial and Factory retaining full independence (though Beggars was excluded as they had a deal with Warner Brothers for Gary Numan at the time). The late 1970s had seen the establishment of independent distribution companies such as Pinnacle and Spartan, providing independent labels an effective means of distribution without involving
10560-466: The major labels. Distribution was further improved with the establishment of 'The Cartel', an association of companies such as Rough Trade Records , Backs Records, and Red Rhino , which helped to take releases from small labels and get them into record shops nationwide. The UK Indie Chart was first compiled in 1980, with the first number one being "Where's Captain Kirk?" by Spizz and his band (billed on
10680-451: The majors at their own game. David Mimran's Savage Records (known for British band Soho and their Smiths-sampling indie-dance hit "Hippychick" in 1991) was set up by the Swiss teenager in 1986 and funded by his multi-millionaire father. Due to the almost endless financing of his father and the fact their A&R manager (a Swiss record shop owner called Bernard Fanin) had industry experience,
10800-516: The many hands at work on DJ Food's 1995 album, Recipe for Disaster (which also included Patrick Carpenter a.k.a. PC, Isaac Elliston, Paul Rabiger and Paul Brooks). With their two 1994 albums, Paradise Blown and Electric Lazyland , 9 Lazy 9 helped spawn the funky, subterranean sound for which Ninja Tune would earn its early acclaim, combining hip hop and funk breakbeats with jazz-influenced sound. Coldcut's "Timber" video – an AV collage piece using analogous techniques to audio sample collage –
10920-492: The masters and so London could pick and choose which acts they wanted, dealing with them directly (though due to problems with the administration, London did not get the rights to New Order's catalogue for a couple of years and so a company called CentreDate Co Ltd was set up to license them back to London). However, not all indie record labels failed in this era due the problems with Rough Trade Distribution, some failed because they did not stick to their niche and tried to take on
11040-492: The mental in 'experimental' and still bring the breaks till the breakadawn." It also includes a few live tracks from the duo's innovative world tour. The CD-ROM of the album, which also contained a free demo disc of the VJamm software, was one of the earliest audiovisual CD- Roms on the market, and Muzik claimed deserved to "have them canonized...it's like buying an entire mini studio for under $ 15." Mr. Scruff 's Keep It Unreal
11160-529: The moniker Wagon Christ , Vibert released Musipal on Ninja, which NME called "an intriguing procession of cheeky collages." Mr. Scruff 's second album on Ninja Tune, Trouser Jazz , was released on 9 September 2002. It charted at 29 on the UK Chart. In 2003, Simon Green, a.k.a. Bonobo , released his first proper Ninja album, Dial 'M' for Monkey , a subliminally seductive collection of atmospheric instrumentals. A live version of Bonobo soon took to
11280-476: The national television show The Chart Show . By the late 1980s, the major labels had identified that there was an opportunity in indie music and so teamed up with many of the main figures of the indie scene to launch indie music record labels. WEA (Warner/Elektra/Atlantic) teamed up with Geoff Travis and él Records' Mike Alway to launch Blanco y Negro , followed a few years later by Alan McGee's Elevation label (even though some indie fans viewed this development in
11400-474: The ocean, opening its Montreal office to manage distribution across North America.he book Integrated Performance Management described Ninja Tunes as devising "a term that perfectly expresses the antitheses between chaos and order." n 1997 Ninja Tune's sister label Big Dada was launched. Coldcut's fourth album Let Us Play! was released in September 1997, making its way to the Top 40, reaching No. 33 in
11520-461: The pre-Now days of Open Top Cars and Girls in T'Shirts , Raiders of the Pop Charts and Chart Encounters Of The Hit Kind . In fact, apart from a few soul music compilations billed as Dance Mix - Dance Hits on Epic and a few throwback disco collections, Khan's company was the only label regularly charting with music that could be classed as with club or dance until Stylus Music teamed up with
11640-711: The recently elected chair, Justin West, of Canadian company Secret City Records. As of August 2019 other member organisations of WIN included A2IM (USA), ABMI (Brazil), ADISQ (Canada – Quebec only), AIM (UK), AMAEI (Portugal), A.S.I.A.r (Argentina), Audiocoop (Italy), BIMA (Belgium), CIMA (Canada), DUP (Denmark), FONO (Norway), HAIL (Hungary), IMCJ (Japan), IMICHILE (Chile) IMNZ (New Zealand), IMPALA (Europe), indieCo (Finland), IndieSuisse (Switzerland), Liak (Korea), P.I.L. (Israel), PMI (Italy), Runda (Balkans), SOM (Sweden), stomp (Netherlands), UFI (Spain), UPFI (France), VTMOE (Austria) and VUT (Germany). Particularly active are
11760-411: The record as Spizzenergi ). "Where's Captain Kirk?" had been a constant seller for Geoff Travis' Rough Trade Records , but never got into the chart compiled by BMRB (British Market Research Bureau) as a lot of independent stores were not chart return shops and because a more accurate way of collating sales via EPOS (electronic point-of-sale systems) had yet to be introduced. The chart was unrelated to
11880-453: The release received much critical success. It was called "brilliant" and "humorous" in the book Minority Report: An Alternative History of English-language Arts in Quebec. Kid Koala cut two further highly acclaimed albums for Ninja, 2003's Some of My Best Friends Are DJs and 2006's Your Mom's Favorite DJ . In 2001, Roots Manuva delivered his second album, Run Come Save Me , which
12000-437: The road, which seeped into the production of 2006's Days to Come , an album that blurs the line between a programmed and live sound and created "a daydream vibe embedded within its moodiness." Blurring lines further, Coldcut collaborated with American video mashup artist TV Sheriff in 2004 to produce their cut-up entitled Revolution USA . The tactical-media project (coordinated with Canadian art duo NomIg) followed on from
12120-556: The sale of records or music videos. The majors are currently Sony , Warner Music (WMG) and the Universal Music Group (UMG), with EMI and BMG (RCA/Ariola International) being the other two majors that made up the 'Big 5' of the 1980s and 1990s. If a major owns 50% or more of the total shares in a company, that company would (usually) be owned or controlled by that major." Independent labels have historically anticipated developments in popular music , beginning with
12240-502: The sixth richest person in Korea. The international peak body for the indie music industry, Worldwide Independent Network, was founded in 2006. WIN is a coalition of independent music bodies from countries throughout the world. Alison Wenham spent 17 years leading the UK's Association of Independent Music (AIM), which she launched in 1999. During this time she also helped to found WIN in 2006, remaining at WIN for twelve years, with
12360-524: The time were signed and saw great commercial success with independent labels. These included Hep Stars ( Olga Records ), Tages ( Platina Records ) and Ola & the Janglers ( Gazell Records ). According to Företagskällan , these three artists secured an interest for minor record labels, a situation which otherwise would've led to 'the big five' having full control of the Swedish music scene during
12480-436: The topic of sound, noise manipulator Amon Tobin came back around at the beginning of 2007 with Foley Room , his sixth studio album, and a long player that was called his "darkest work yet." Tobin was inspired by the work of Foley artists : a Foley room is where the sound effects are recorded for films; Foley artists use their imagination and ingenuity to make the right noise for the situation they are presented with. Amon and
12600-410: The track "All Things to All Men", which later soundtracked the final scenes of the 2006 movie Kidulthood . The Cinematic Orchestra's albums grew increasingly ambitious over the years, with 2007's Ma Fleur album marking a move away from beats, and embracing folk influences. The album was based on the work of photographer Maya Hayuk (who commissioned 11 pictures based on three short stories recounting
12720-485: The trade associations in countries and regions with well-established music markets: AIM (UK), A2IM (USA), AIR (Australia), CIMA (Canada), VUT (Germany), IMNZ (New Zealand), UFI (Spain); IMICHILE (Chile), ABMI (Brazil), and IMPALA (Europe). In 2016, WIN's WINTEL report, an analysis of the global economic and cultural impact of the indie sector, showed the share of the global market as 37.6%. The sector generated worldwide revenues of US$ 5.6 billion in 2015. In Australia,
12840-536: The world in terms of revenue and ahead of countries with higher populations such as Canada and South Korea. Digital revenue, at 44%, had overtaken that coming from physical sales, at 33%. A spokesperson from the company Unified Music Group said that governments were beginning to recognise the financial and cultural worth of a thriving music industry, but there was still a big challenge for the independents to compete with well-funded tech companies that have an anti- copyright agenda. In 2017, Finland's indie market share had
12960-413: The world, with V2 Records Benelux founded in 1997, a record company which continues to operate to this day. In 2001, Daptone Records records would be founded in New York, a funk and soul label known for Sharon Jones , Charles Bradley and a lot of the musicians who would appear on Amy Winehouse 's Back to Black album in 2006. As the indie hip hop or underground hip hop scene began to grow, so did
13080-427: The world. Developed alongside V Squared Labs, Leviathan, Vello Virkhaus & Matt Daly, Alex Lazarus, Vitamotus Design Studio, and Stefano Novelli, the show featured a 25' x 14' x 8' multi-dimensional/ shape shifting 3D art installation surrounding Tobin and enveloping him and the audience in a 3D experience. Tobin conceptualized the show as a projection-mapped "visual score" to the music from ISAM . The show completed
13200-419: Was 2006's Biscuits for Breakfast album that set Fink officially on Ninja Tune. And it set him far apart from the rest of the label, going his way to becoming a full-blown, guitar-picking singer-songwriter. Two subsequent full-lengths – 2007's Distance and Time and 2009's Sort of Revolution (which featured song-writing collaborations with John Legend ) have seen Fink further develop this new sound. On
13320-566: Was Coldcut's (under the name Bogus Order) house break collection Zen Brakes Vol. 1 in 1990. The label's profile increased when Coldcut, as DJ Food , released their funky hip-hop jazz-breaks album, Jazz Brakes Vol. 1 , which "blew up" in the DJ circuit, according to Record Collector . DJ Food's Jazz Brakes series were intended as source material for DJs and producers who worked with breaks and beats. In 1992, Peter Quicke joined as label manager, as did Patrick Carpenter, a.k.a. PC, who joined Coldcut as
13440-645: Was The Bug's third album – and first for Ninja Tune. Recorded over three years with its maker living in his studio, without a kitchen or shower, the album included collaborations with Warrior Queen, Tippa Irie , Burial , Kode9 collaborator Spaceape, and even singer-toaster Ricky Ranking showing up on three tracks. Erik Martiny said it is a "multivocal, spoken-sung, collaborative album." It appeared in many outlets' "best of 2008" lists. The year 2008 launched Ninja Tune's You Don't Know , their sixth official label sampler, and, like its predecessors, contained high-quality picks from their major releases, with select remixes and
13560-449: Was awarded CD of the week by Evening Standard. In 2009, Ninja's longest-serving artist, DJ Food a.k.a. Strictly Kev, released the 2009 EP 'One Man's Weird Is Another Man's World,' and its 2010 follow-up 'The Shape of Things That Hum' made up two-thirds of a forthcoming album. In January 2012, 'The Search Engine' was released as the first DJ Food album in 11 years. As an album release event, DJ Food created his most ambitious live gig to date:
13680-419: Was deemed one of the albums of the year by The Independent . Similarly, Mojo described it as "not just a landmark UK hip hop album, but a landmark hip hop album period". The album charted at number 33 in the UK Charts. "Witness (1 Hope)", the first single off the album, charted at No. 45 and was declared by AllMusic as being "the best British rap single since Tricky 's 'Aftermath'." Run Come Save Me won
13800-404: Was having a better time than Savage Records in the early to mid-90s American marketplace was Epitaph Records . It was Epitaph that released The Offspring 's 1994 album Smash , which would become the best-selling independent record of the 1990s. The album was certified six times platinum in the United States and sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. In the UK, the indie chart was still
13920-523: Was perhaps the most successful independent label from that era. Several established artists started their own independent labels, including the Beatles ' Apple Records , and the Rolling Stones ' Rolling Stones Records . These labels tended to fail commercially or be acquired by the major labels. Internationally, the situation was different. In Sweden , three of the four biggest rock bands at
14040-506: Was put on heavy rotation on MTV , and won awards for its innovative use of repetitive video clips synced to the music, including being shortlisted at the Edinburgh Television and Film Festival in their top five music videos of the year in 1998. In 1995, Matt Black created Pipe , Ninja's first website. The label's current website is ninja tune. net was developed by the following year. Also in 1996, Ninja Tune expanded across
14160-496: Was quoted as being "one of the most vital and imaginative records Jon More and Matt Black have ever made", and saw the duo "continue, impressively, to find new ways to present political statements through a gamut of pristine electronics and breakbeats." The fascinating array of guest vocalists included Soweto Kinch , Annette Peacock , Amiri Baraka , and Saul Williams . Ninja connected with L.A. filmmaker and photographer B+, who had filmed Keepintime: Talking Drums Whispering Vinyl ,
14280-520: Was released in the summer of 1999. Filled with bubbly breakbeats, slick horn sizzles, and bristling house beats, the album opened with BBC Radio 1 DJ Mary Ann Hobbes asking, "Are you ready Mr. Scruff?" At some point in 1999, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission decided that DJ Vadim and Sarah Jones ' pro-women empowerment record Your Revolution was "indecent" for radio. The decision ended up in court in 2002, where arguments were advanced for freedom of speech, freedom of expression and to argue
14400-872: Was released on 20 September in two formats – a regular version consisting of two 2-disc volumes, and a limited edition (of 3,500 copies), containing six CDs, six 7" vinyl singles, a hardback copy of the book, a poster, and additional items. It featured new music from Amon Tobin (also as Two Fingers ), Roots Manuva, The Cinematic Orchestra , Kid Koala , Mr. Scruff , The Bug , King Geedorah , Zomby , Bonobo , Toddla T , Daedelus , Dorian Concept , Floating Points, Wagon Christ , cLOUDDEAD and many others. It also included new remixes from Switch, Autechre , Benga , Cut Chemist , Modeselektor , Roots Manuva, Diplo , Gold Panda , Mark Pritchard , Rustie , Prefuse 73 , 808 State , Joe Goddard, King Jammy , The Orb , Micachu , Gaslamp Killer , Kronos Quartet , Mala , El-P (and El-B ) and many more. In The Independent 's "Album of
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