Mute Records: Artists, Business, History

Zuleika Beaven (Middlesex University), Marcus O’Dair (University of the Arts), Richard Osborne (Middlesex University)

Mute Records is one of the most influential, commercially successful and long-lasting of the British independent record labels formed in the wake of the late-1970's punk explosion. Yet, in comparison with contemporaries such as Rough Trade or Stiff, its legacy remains under-explored.

This edited collection addresses Mute's wide-ranging impact. Drawing from disciplines such as popular music studies, musicology, and fan studies, it takes a distinctive, artist-led approach, outlining the history of the label by focusing each chapter on one of its acts. The book covers key moments in the company's evolution, from the first releases by The Normal and Fad Gadget to recent work by Arca and Dirty Electronics. It shines new light on the most successful Mute artists, including Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Erasure, Moby, and Goldfrapp, while also exploring the label's avant-garde innovators, such as Throbbing Gristle, Mark Stewart, Labaich, Ut, and Swans. Mute Records examines the business and aesthetics of independence through the lens of the label's artists.

Praise for the book

“An important history of a highly significant British label, this deliciously wide-ranging collection considers an array of key artists approached from always stimulating perspectives: issues of production, promotion and reception in an emerging Depeche Mode, the meaning of noise in Throbbing Gristle's industrial odyssey and the challenging photographic depictions of Alison Goldfrapp, to name only a few.” –  Simon Warner, Visiting Research Fellow, Popular Music Studies, University of Leeds, UK, and author of Kerouac on Record: A Literary Soundtrack (Bloomsbury, 2018)

“This excellent and innovative collection demonstrates the value of making a record company the basis of investigation into the tangled relations between music, creativity, and business. It helps that the choice of company is one of the world's most adventurous and fascinating record labels.” –  David Hesmondhalgh, Professor of Media, Music and Culture, University of Leeds, UK, and author of Why Music Matters (2013)

“Mute Records is one of independent music's most iconic labels, and with this book it finally gets the scholarly treatment it deserves. Mute Records: Artists, Business, History is a much-needed compendium that makes an important contribution to the industrial history of popular music studies.” –  Devon Powers, Associate Professor of Advertising, Temple University, and author of Writing the Record: The Village Voice and the Birth of Rock Criticism (2013)

“A delight for fans and scholars, Mute Records explores some of the most exciting and influential music of the past four decades. A record label born in a bedroom, Mute mixed the weird and the danceable, the avant garde and the mainstream, and in the process became a cozy home for platinum hitmakers and obscurantists alike. While upholding staunchly indie principles, Mute pioneered an electronic roots music that stands as a foundation for much contemporary dance-pop. The collection offers smart and passionate analyses of stars like Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, Moby and Goldfrapp alongside insightful essays on indie artists who helped shape the synthetic sound of our time. A model of interdisciplinary scholarship, the volume ranges across musicological, industrial, and sociological approaches, with particular attention to the radical gender and sexual politics of key artists. An example of popular music studies at its very best.” –  Keir Keightley, Associate Professor of Popular Music and Culture, University of Western Ontario, Canada

“There is plenty here to enjoy ... Among the best chapters by far are those flowing out of the stories of feminism, gay activism and sheer theatricality.” –  The Wire