[Commlist] New book - Mute Records: Artists Business, History

*New Book Announcement *

*Mute Records: Artists, Business, History*

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


Media of Mute Records

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)/*

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“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)/*

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“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)/*

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“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/*



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