Rough Trade-1970's

How did Rough Trade start?
Rough Trade was a record store; opened by Geoff Travis, on the 20th February, 1976.

Which music trends were popular?

Punk rock was the trend that was popular at the time.
What was the ethos of Rough Trade at this time?
Rough Trade's ethos was providing diverse music- "Anyone could make a record"
How was Rough Trade different to large cooperations?
Rough Trade offered a Do it yourself magazine as well as selling records. They also began a revolt for musicians to make and sell records without the support of a record label.
What techniques were used to expand the independent music scene?
Rough Trade forged an alliance between punk and reggae, which was very unique.
How did this lead to Rough Trade's expansion?
The alliance created a new type of music that showed independent artists that you do not need to be a part of the mainstream music culture to be popular. They started pressing and distributing music from artists that were not supported by record labels.
What type of business structure existed in the 1970's?
The business structure was "do it yourself". Rough Trade only wanted to release music to the public that mainstream weren't producing.
Explain the successes of the distribution department and record label?

During this time period record distribution was controlled by big record labels. Rough Trade started to independent records; allowing independent artists get their music across. The profit was split 50/50 between the artist and Rough Trade. This is what effected the big companies as artists were abandoning mainstream labels and going to Rough Trade.