Founded | 1976 |
---|---|
Founder | Geoff Travis |
Headquarters | London , UK |
Divisions | Rough Trade Records (with Beggars Group, co-ownership through brand licensing only) |
Rough Trade is a retail chain of record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London.
The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Ladbroke Grove district of West London. Travis reportedly took the name from the Canadian art punk/new wave band Rough Trade. [1] In 1978, the shop spawned Rough Trade Records, which later became the label of bands from The Smiths to The Libertines. In 1982, the two separated and the shop remains an independent entity from the label, although links between the two are strong. At the same time, the shop moved from its original location on Kensington Park Road round the corner to Talbot Road. In 1988, a shop opened in Neal's Yard, Covent Garden. [2] At various times there were also shops in San Francisco (on Grant St., then Sixth Street, then Haight Street and finally 3rd and Townsend Streets), Tokyo and Paris. They were eventually closed following the rise of music sales on the Internet. Rough Trade replaced these stores with an online music store.[ citation needed ]
In 2007, the chain began to grow again, opening Rough Trade East in Dray Walk, Brick Lane, in east London. [3] There are now 6 shops worldwide with 5 shops in the UK [4] and one in New York City, USA. [5]
The Beggars Group retains control of the company. Its trading company ownership name Rough Trade Retail (UK) Limited is owned by XL Recordings and Matthieu Pigasse with directors including XL owners from the wider Beggars Group [6] causing some[ who? ] to question its independence. Martin Mills, the original founder of Beggars is another notable director.
Its dominance in the record shop market is sometimes resented by other shops who think it makes an unfair market, e.g. they have less access to limited editions which Rough Trade can develop with its links to record labels. [7]
The store was the first Rough Trade shop and opened at 202 Kensington Park Road in 1976. [8] It later moved to 130 Talbot Road where it continues to trade today. [9]
The Covent Garden shop opened in 1988 and was located in the basement of Slam City Skates in Neal's Yard. It closed down shortly before Rough Trade East opened in 2007. [2]
In July 2007, Rough Trade opened a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) shop in Brick Lane. [10] The shop, called "Rough Trade East", is located in the former Truman's Brewery in a courtyard off Brick Lane and puts on music gigs with a stage, allowing for an audience of 300. [11] Gig ticketing is usually the cost of entry with the purchase of a full price album, either bought ahead from the shop to gain a ticket or bought online via the DICE platform, where the customer picks up the record at the door. [12] [11]
The shop sells some chart titles, music from bands without distribution deals with a quarter of the merchandise is vinyl. [13] Every item, vinyl and CD, has a written description to encourage browsing and discovery. Designed by David Adjaye the shop has a fair trade café and a "snug" area with iMacs, sofas and desks. [14]
In the first half of 2007, CD sales had fallen by 10 percent and in the month of the shop opening the UK music chain Fopp went into administration. Stephen Godfroy, the store director, said, "I don't think music belongs on the high street as the high street exists at the moment", and that retailers, not the consumers, are to blame for the decline in sales. [15] In September 2007, sales in Rough Trade East had exceeded expectations by 20 percent. Stephen Godfroy explained that "You've got to create an environment where people want to spend time. It's got to be complementary to modern lifestyles, distinctive and competitive on pricing and have confidence in recommending exciting new products and not rely on chart product." [10]
In April 2012, it was announced that Rough Trade would be opening a store in the Williamsburg neighbourhood of Brooklyn, in partnership with Bowery Presents. The store, including a performance space and a coffee counter, was initially scheduled to open in late 2012. [16] The store opened on 25 November 2013, becoming the biggest record store in New York City. [17] The Brooklyn store closed in March 2021, moving to a new, smaller location at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in June. [18]
Rough Trade opened a store on Broad Street in Nottingham's Lace Market area in 2014. The store has a bar and performance area on the first floor. [19] [2]
The opening of the shop in Nottingham was thought to threaten existing independent shops, with the struggling Music Exchange shop closing 18 months later. [7]
In 2024, Rough Trade opened its first shop in the north of England, in Liverpool, where it is situated in the Hanover Street district of the Liverpool One shopping complex. [20]
Musically, Rough Trade Shops' own music releases often follow the post-punk genre, but carry items through a range of genres, mostly within the alternative or underground scenes. Recently the shop has released several compilation albums, each focusing on an individual genre such as indie-pop, electronica, country, singer songwriter, rock and roll and post-punk. Every January since 2003, it has released a compilation putting together the best (in the opinion of the shops' staff) of the previous year's music entitled Counter Culture. [21] In 2007, there was also the release of Counter Culture 76, reflecting the music of year the shop opened. It also released a 4-CD box set for its 25th anniversary in 2001, and a special collection of songs chosen by customers was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary in 2006.[ citation needed ]
Hot Topic, Inc. is an American fast-fashion company specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming, and most of their audience ranges from teens to young adults. Approximately 40% of Hot Topic's revenue comes from sales of licensed band T-shirts. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls.
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and is affiliated to Beggars Group.
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British Home Stores, commonly abbreviated to BHS and latterly legally styled BHS Ltd, was a British department store chain, primarily selling clothing and household items. In its later years, the company began to expand into furniture, electronics, entertainment, convenience groceries and fragrance and beauty products.
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Tower Records is an international retail franchise and online music store that was formerly based in Sacramento, California, United States. From 1960 until 2006, Tower operated retail stores in the United States, which closed when Tower Records filed for bankruptcy and liquidation. Tower Records was purchased by a separate entity and was not affected by the retail store closings.
Beggars Group is a British record company, founded by Martin Mills, that holds various record labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings, and Young.
Fopp is a British chain of retail shops selling music, film, books and other entertainment products in the United Kingdom. The brand is owned by JD Sports, but the locations are operated under license by Sunrise Records.
Our Price was a chain of record stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 1971 until 2004. Ourprice.com reopened online on 30 April 2024 with new owners.
A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. Per the name, in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records. But over the course of the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were developed, such as eight track tapes, compact cassettes and compact discs (CDs). Today, in the 21st century, record stores mainly sell CDs, vinyl records and, in some cases, DVDs of movies, TV shows, cartoons and concerts. Some record stores also sell music-related items such as posters of bands or singers, related clothing items and even merchandise such as bags and coffee mugs.
Jeannette Lee is a British music record executive, music manager, filmmaker and former musician. A retail worker at the Acme Attractions store that, along with the SEX boutique run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, was instrumental in spawning punk in the UK, she went on to become a member of post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL). Lee is currently co-owner of the independent record label Rough Trade Records.
The Cartel was a co-operative record distribution organisation in the United Kingdom, set up by a number of small independent record labels to handle their distribution to record shops. Pooling their resources in this way allowed them to compete with the larger distribution operations of the major record labels, and also to gain access to the larger shop chains.
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together fans, artists, and thousands of independent record stores around the world. A number of records are pressed specifically for Record Store Day, with a list of releases for each country, and are only distributed to shops participating in the event.
Banquet Records is a record shop in Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. Formerly part of the Beggars Banquet Records retail chain, it became fully independent in 2002. It stocks a broad range of music on both vinyl and CD. The establishment is also home to Gravity DIP music management, as well as the Banquet Records record label.
Dusty Groove is a Chicago-based online record store specializing in new and vintage jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, world, rare, collectible, and vinyl records and CDs.
Sleaford Mods are an English post-punk music duo, formed in 2007 in Nottingham. The band features vocalist Jason Williamson and, since 2012, musician Andrew Fearn. They are known for their abrasive, minimalist musical style and embittered explorations of austerity-era Britain, culture, and working class life, delivered in Williamson's East Midlands accent. The duo have released several albums to critical praise.
An independent record label 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).
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The Official Record Store Chart is a weekly music chart based on physical sales of albums in almost 100 independent record stores in the United Kingdom, such as Rough Trade, Rounder Records, Jumbo and Sound It Out. It is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), and each week's number one is first announced on Friday evenings on the OCC's official website.
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