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How Soon Is Now? The Madmen and Mavericks Who Made Independent Music
One of the most tangible aftershocks of Punk was its urgency to prompt individuals into action. Document your do it yourself. From this, a generation of young men were inspired and, with often zero financial planning or business sense, in a bedroom, garage or shed, labels such as Factory, Rough Trade, Mute, 4AD, Beggars Banquet, Warp, Domino and Creation began, shifting the musical landscape and trading on an ethos and identity no brand consultant would now dare dream of. Musicians were encouraged to do whatever the hell they wanted and damn the consequences. From humble beginnings, some of our most influential artists were allowed to New Order, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Orange Juice, Cocteau Twins, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, Aphex Twin, Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine, Autechre, Broadcast, Vampire Weekend, The White Stripes and Artic Monkeys to name but a handful. This is the story, set to an incredible soundtrack, of the enormous scale of the passions, the size of the egos, and the true extent of the madness of the mavericks who had the vision and bloody-mindedness to make the musical landscape exciting again.
640 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 5, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 27, 2012
I don't think I've ever read a 450+ page book faster.
This is a lovingly researched and retold insiders tale of how independent music was produced and distributed from the heady days of punk, through to the Arctic Monkeys. Rightfully centred on Rough Trade, the book tells of the excesses, artistry and bloody-mindedness that characterised making music outside of the majors.
Of course the many well-told tales of Factory and Creation are included, and even embellished beyond what I've read dozens of times before, but the book goes much further looking at other influential labels such as Mute, 4AD, Blast First, Fire, etc, the cast of mavericks behind them, and the bands you will have heard of (Depeche Mode, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Spacemen 3) along with those you won't.
As someone who is an avid Bill Drummond fan, the many many anecdotes and antics, plus the dedicated chapter on the KLF were extremely interesting, and contained much that was new, and confirmed much that was previously apocryphal. Including the original plans for the infamous Brit Awards performance - much more than just a dead sheep and a machine gun firing blanks, ouch.
Richard King works for Domino Records, and so it is fitting that the book concludes with tales of Franz Ferdinand and Artic Monkey's choosing Domino over the majors, although the golden age of independence now seems to be past with the appearance of 'mandies' (majors masquerading as indies), and their associated financial clout.
If there is one flaw in the book it is the lack of interest in the independent electronic music labels - there is an excellent chapter on Warp, and some earlier references to Rhythm King, but not a mention of heavyweight independent trailblazers such as Ninja Tunes. And there is no speculation on where 'independent' is heading in the truly independent new era of self-production and digital distribution, but I guess that is covered amply elsewhere.
I will not be lending this book to anyone.
This is a lovingly researched and retold insiders tale of how independent music was produced and distributed from the heady days of punk, through to the Arctic Monkeys. Rightfully centred on Rough Trade, the book tells of the excesses, artistry and bloody-mindedness that characterised making music outside of the majors.
Of course the many well-told tales of Factory and Creation are included, and even embellished beyond what I've read dozens of times before, but the book goes much further looking at other influential labels such as Mute, 4AD, Blast First, Fire, etc, the cast of mavericks behind them, and the bands you will have heard of (Depeche Mode, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Spacemen 3) along with those you won't.
As someone who is an avid Bill Drummond fan, the many many anecdotes and antics, plus the dedicated chapter on the KLF were extremely interesting, and contained much that was new, and confirmed much that was previously apocryphal. Including the original plans for the infamous Brit Awards performance - much more than just a dead sheep and a machine gun firing blanks, ouch.
Richard King works for Domino Records, and so it is fitting that the book concludes with tales of Franz Ferdinand and Artic Monkey's choosing Domino over the majors, although the golden age of independence now seems to be past with the appearance of 'mandies' (majors masquerading as indies), and their associated financial clout.
If there is one flaw in the book it is the lack of interest in the independent electronic music labels - there is an excellent chapter on Warp, and some earlier references to Rhythm King, but not a mention of heavyweight independent trailblazers such as Ninja Tunes. And there is no speculation on where 'independent' is heading in the truly independent new era of self-production and digital distribution, but I guess that is covered amply elsewhere.
I will not be lending this book to anyone.
November 12, 2013
If you have any interest in British independent music 1975-2005 (with an emphasis on the 1980s); you feel an affinity with the independent labels of that era (Rough Trade, Factory, Postcard, 4AD etc.); and/or you enjoy well researched and readable books about popular music, then I would say you will find much to enjoy in Richard King's "How Soon Is Now? The Madmen & Mavericks Who Made Independent Music".
It is also a great companion book to Simon Reynolds' "Rip It Up and Start Again", and it is equally entertaining and informative.
As with all good books about music, it inspired me to go away and explore or revisit some of the key tracks from the era. For example, I'd completely forgotten about Colourbox despite loving their music when it was released - thirty years on they still sound wonderful. I was also very interested to read how a massive hit single effectively stopped their career in its tracks.
Looking back from the detached perspective of 2013, the indie labels of the 1980s, and the personalities that were associated with them, seem even more magical and remarkable. It was a remarkable era for popular music and this book is a compelling reminder of a glorious and important musical era. The book concludes in 2005 when, in a reverse of the rest of the music industry, many modern independent labels are prospering relative to the major labels. That said, if this book proves one thing, it's that it is very difficult to run a small and successful independent record label - and always has been.
It is also a great companion book to Simon Reynolds' "Rip It Up and Start Again", and it is equally entertaining and informative.
As with all good books about music, it inspired me to go away and explore or revisit some of the key tracks from the era. For example, I'd completely forgotten about Colourbox despite loving their music when it was released - thirty years on they still sound wonderful. I was also very interested to read how a massive hit single effectively stopped their career in its tracks.
Looking back from the detached perspective of 2013, the indie labels of the 1980s, and the personalities that were associated with them, seem even more magical and remarkable. It was a remarkable era for popular music and this book is a compelling reminder of a glorious and important musical era. The book concludes in 2005 when, in a reverse of the rest of the music industry, many modern independent labels are prospering relative to the major labels. That said, if this book proves one thing, it's that it is very difficult to run a small and successful independent record label - and always has been.
December 5, 2020
A thorough yet readable account of the British independent music scene, from the Buzzcocks to the Arctic Monkeys, taking in iconic labels such as Rough Trade, Factory, Postcard, 4AD and Mute to name just a few. Had me diving down numerous Spotify rabbitholes to refresh my memory of the Subway Sect, Orange Juice, Josef K and explore other bands that had simply passed me by. The focus is very much on the label bosses (Geoff Travis at Rough Trade, Alan McGee at Creation, numerous others) so it's handy that these individuals are as mad as a box of frogs and as drug-fueled and self-destructive as any of their musical charges. King is no Lester Bangs and for the most part allows the principals to tell their own stories, which is probably the best approach. Great fun and most enlightening.
March 8, 2022
De wereld van de post-punk leent zich niet alleen tot goedkope sensationele tabloid-artikels of scripts voor psychedelische arthousefilms, want zelfs de meest nuchtere beschrijving van de feiten in een boek van nota bene 570 pagina’s blijkt een boeiende ervaring. Voor een muzieknerd althans.
June 6, 2012
"How Soon is Now?" is an in-depth look at 30 years of independent music. It sticks mostly to the UK scene, but there's a regular sprinkling of US artists, British bands (mostly) failing to crack the US market, and legendary players in the US like Seymour Stein.
It's not for the faint-hearted - the tightly woven nature of the indie circuit can make sections covering less familiar musical territory seem somewhat confusing, and occasionally slightly dry as you try to keep up with yet another confusing network of licensing and distribution deals between indies and majors, but across its 600 or so pages there is plenty for anyone with an interest in the music to get stuck into: from Depeche Mode and The Smiths, through KLF, Pixies, Happy Mondays, to The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand.
Through a sheer lack of business sense (or a finely cultivated appearance of the same), the absence of accounting, the refusal to even have contracts in some cases, the hideous over-spending, spiralling debts and the constant fear of liquidation, it's a minor miracle that some of this music ever made it out of the studio and onto the shelves.
The people who, in the end, we have to thank for somehow making it happen, for fighting off the more pernicious practices of the major labels while at the same time making use of the opportunities, not to mention the cold hard cash, that they sometimes offered, are pretty much all in here somewhere, all speaking candidly about the giddy highs and all too common lows of their business, the mistakes and lucky breaks.
The end is a bit abrupt, condensing the 21st century into a far briefer section than King affords the late 70s and early 80s but the origins are perhaps more interesting anyway, and set the scene for what's to come. Perhaps, after the exhaustive interviews and quotes from the older guard, the new generation just doesn't have the insights to share.
I can't imagine there could be a better, more detailed, account of the subject.
It's not for the faint-hearted - the tightly woven nature of the indie circuit can make sections covering less familiar musical territory seem somewhat confusing, and occasionally slightly dry as you try to keep up with yet another confusing network of licensing and distribution deals between indies and majors, but across its 600 or so pages there is plenty for anyone with an interest in the music to get stuck into: from Depeche Mode and The Smiths, through KLF, Pixies, Happy Mondays, to The Libertines, Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand.
Through a sheer lack of business sense (or a finely cultivated appearance of the same), the absence of accounting, the refusal to even have contracts in some cases, the hideous over-spending, spiralling debts and the constant fear of liquidation, it's a minor miracle that some of this music ever made it out of the studio and onto the shelves.
The people who, in the end, we have to thank for somehow making it happen, for fighting off the more pernicious practices of the major labels while at the same time making use of the opportunities, not to mention the cold hard cash, that they sometimes offered, are pretty much all in here somewhere, all speaking candidly about the giddy highs and all too common lows of their business, the mistakes and lucky breaks.
The end is a bit abrupt, condensing the 21st century into a far briefer section than King affords the late 70s and early 80s but the origins are perhaps more interesting anyway, and set the scene for what's to come. Perhaps, after the exhaustive interviews and quotes from the older guard, the new generation just doesn't have the insights to share.
I can't imagine there could be a better, more detailed, account of the subject.
March 23, 2018
Listing fact after fact about who did what, which year they did or defining what indie music is does not make for does not make for an interesting read. I lost track of the number of names dropped in the first chapter. If your looking for a narrative of what was in the water that drove the off the charts creativity in music during this time you will not find it here. There is no reflection of the creativity of this time in music in the writing itself.
March 26, 2025
Incredibly detailed history of independent record labels and their impact on the music industry
January 8, 2020
An immersive trip down musical memory lane was taken, with Richard King taking note of it all and when I say all I mean ALL !!
Honestly I was a little wary at the beginning of this book but I put that down to my lack of knowledge and exposure to those late 70's rock/punk bands but my interest was certainly peaked when along came the 80's (my sweet spot when it comes to music) and then it was difficult to put the book down!
As a consumer of music the listener pretty much takes the product at face value, the melody, the beats, the feelings it provokes inside you without much of a thought of what it took to bring that piece of music to your ears but King pulls back that curtain and reveals so much and then some.
Be prepared for the highs and lows, the breakdowns, the high-life, the drugs, the passion, the hype of artists bringing their music to these decades of predominately UK music.
So many memories came flooding back and Spotify got bombarded with searches for artists I'd half forgotten only to fall in love with all over again - this was a superb book to discover and a must for all fans of UK music brought out independently over the time period.
If Netflix can release a documentary series on Hip Hop (go watch Hip Hop Evolution, it's fantastic) then they need to get someone to take this book and put it on my tv screen asap!!
Honestly I was a little wary at the beginning of this book but I put that down to my lack of knowledge and exposure to those late 70's rock/punk bands but my interest was certainly peaked when along came the 80's (my sweet spot when it comes to music) and then it was difficult to put the book down!
As a consumer of music the listener pretty much takes the product at face value, the melody, the beats, the feelings it provokes inside you without much of a thought of what it took to bring that piece of music to your ears but King pulls back that curtain and reveals so much and then some.
Be prepared for the highs and lows, the breakdowns, the high-life, the drugs, the passion, the hype of artists bringing their music to these decades of predominately UK music.
So many memories came flooding back and Spotify got bombarded with searches for artists I'd half forgotten only to fall in love with all over again - this was a superb book to discover and a must for all fans of UK music brought out independently over the time period.
If Netflix can release a documentary series on Hip Hop (go watch Hip Hop Evolution, it's fantastic) then they need to get someone to take this book and put it on my tv screen asap!!
June 9, 2020
"Hubo un tiempo en el que el término indie podía emplearse legítimamente para hablar de una serie de grupos, sellos y distribuidoras que operaban al margen de la industria musical. La imparable fagocitación del mercado vació de significado el adjetivo casi desde su nacimiento; seguir empleándolo en la actualidad al referirse a bandas integradas en los grandes conglomerados de comunicación supone un bochornoso oxímoron. El proceso que llevó a estos lodos es explicado profusamente en este clásico moderno que, por fin, nos trae Contra.
La visión de King, pese a su ambición de exhaustividad, está inevitablemente sesgada. Pone el foco en Inglaterra y en el puñado de sellos que acabó gozando de éxito comercial; aunque esto resulte útil para ilustrar la mercantilización del indie, omitir la historia de los colectivos que operaron desde una autonomía real supone una oportunidad perdida. La otra gran omisión es identitaria; el movimiento indie queda retratado como un asunto de chicos blancos heterocis y de clase media (de lo cual, no obstante, no cabe culpar por entero al autor). La historia aquí narrada es, en cualquier caso, emocionante y absorbente, y nos recuerda un tiempo en el que la música, tras la ruptura que supuso el año cero punk, aún miraba al futuro." Jorge Arias
La visión de King, pese a su ambición de exhaustividad, está inevitablemente sesgada. Pone el foco en Inglaterra y en el puñado de sellos que acabó gozando de éxito comercial; aunque esto resulte útil para ilustrar la mercantilización del indie, omitir la historia de los colectivos que operaron desde una autonomía real supone una oportunidad perdida. La otra gran omisión es identitaria; el movimiento indie queda retratado como un asunto de chicos blancos heterocis y de clase media (de lo cual, no obstante, no cabe culpar por entero al autor). La historia aquí narrada es, en cualquier caso, emocionante y absorbente, y nos recuerda un tiempo en el que la música, tras la ruptura que supuso el año cero punk, aún miraba al futuro." Jorge Arias
February 24, 2021
An interesting overview of the British independent scene, a sort of across-the-pond version of Our Band Could Be Your Life that focuses on the labels that distributed the bands instead of the bands themselves. Unfortunately for a book that claims to focus just on "independent music", it almost entirely ignores the independent labels in America (unless those labels were offshoots or branches of UK labels). As a result, you get the picture that the only labels that mattered were Rough Trade, 4AD and Factory - no mention other than passing of American indies like SST, Homestead, Dischord, Kill Rock Stars or Sub Pop (even when bands who made their names on those very labels signed to British indies!). But despite all that (and some rather frequent errors in fact-checking) it's an interesting book with some interesting tales about the wild fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants indie scene in the UK.
October 15, 2022
This book is intended to be a 'survey' of independent music labels between 1975 and 2005. It covers Postcard, 4AD, Creation, Warp, Mute, Domino, and (mainly) Rough Trade, which signed artists like Joy Division, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jnr, Oasis, Moby, the Strokes, the White Stripes, and the Arctic Monkeys. I think the major flaw of this book is its focus and framing around the record labels themselves. I found that side of it really boring and I wanted more insight into the evolution of the music industry and the battle between 'majors' and 'indies'. There was some interesting history about, e.g. the Madchester scene and the hacienda, Britpop, and the threat posed by online sharing in the early 2000s, but too much about the label founders. About 75% of the writing is just direct quotation as well, which grated on me.
July 25, 2020
Although the first few chapters are messy and the author does a poor job of explaining who is who (not aided by the fact that he gives multiple names to the same person) at some point it all starts coming together and the book develops into a compulsive page-turner. Great account of the careers of acts like KLF and essential to understand the functioning of non-major record labels.
Terrible work on the Spanish translation, though.
Terrible work on the Spanish translation, though.
September 19, 2020
El último libro del año. Un repaso a los origenes y desarrollo de la historia de los sellos independientes, del año 1975 a 2005. Una historia de sueños musicales, utopías, fracasos y bancarrotas liderada por una serie de chalados que apostaron por editar sus grupos musicales favoritos desde el underground para alcanzar, en algunos casos, éxitos masivos. La historia de una época
May 1, 2020
Excellent, specific and informative read
May 21, 2020
Interesting for anyone who follows so-called indie music
January 14, 2013
This book inspires. Turn to any page of any chapter and you are given the key to success over and over again. That secret? Do what you love, do it for yourself and the rest will follow. Win or lose, sink or swim do it for the love of it and you'll find an audience.
The book is great, it drags once the 90s roll in, and bring with them Dance music, but once the Strokes revive guitar rock it becomes a race to finish it. This book coupled with Punk An Oral History and Rip it Up and Start Again are some of the best books about the best music scenes.
The book is great, it drags once the 90s roll in, and bring with them Dance music, but once the Strokes revive guitar rock it becomes a race to finish it. This book coupled with Punk An Oral History and Rip it Up and Start Again are some of the best books about the best music scenes.
February 11, 2014
Very good and detailed summary of the English independent record labels from the late seventies on. Went straight out after finishing this to get the books dealing specifically with 4AD (Facing the Other Way/Martin Aston), Creation (Creation Stories/Alan McGee) and Factory (Shadowplayers/James Nice) respectively. Very inspiring read in other words. Would recommended it (and indeed have done) to anybody with a passing interest in independent music.
September 5, 2012
Really fascinating insight into how independent labels works (or don't) and how they battle to balance their artistic vision with the age old issue of making enough money to put out records. Some great stories and set up nicely for a follow-up book on the new culture of "boutique" or micro-indie-labels that are popping up.
July 27, 2014
A completely fascinating behind the scenes look at the English independent music scene in the final quarter of the 20th century. Although we do meet The Smiths & a host of other bands, it is the often very strange people who 'ran' the record companies that are front & centre here. Highly recommended for anyone whose taste in music runs a little deeper than The Voice.
January 17, 2013
A very detailed telling of the tale of independent labels in the UK - which rose and rose then were brought down by hubris, and by a lack of management.
Some chancers, some idealists, some visionaries.
Some chancers, some idealists, some visionaries.
April 30, 2012
Definitive, and inspiring.
September 11, 2012
An interesting history of the independent music industry in the UK
January 3, 2013
Superb from start to finish, this gives a great feel for the industry and the characters involved
August 2, 2013
Packed with cracking anecdotes. A treat.
April 27, 2017
Even though this book is very long and took me two months to finish, it doesn't feel overlong; in fact, I felt it glossed over certain people and labels (Mute gets a chapter all to itself towards the beginning, then is barely mentioned until the end when it's sold off; meanwhile 4AD and Factory all get multiple chapters).
That said, this is a very interesting book on a subject I really had never thought about prior to reading. I loved the music covered in the book, and had never considered the people who ran the labels it came out on. I thought the book might get bogged down in business specifics, being about labels and all, but the author smartly focuses on the individual label heads and their sort of "character arcs" rather than deals and money (though that shows up too, of course).
In many ways this reads as a sort of British version of Our Band Could Be Your Life. That book, one of my favorites, profiles 12 bands in the 80s American Indie scene, but since many of those artists either ran their own labels or were close to the label heads, it ends up covering the business side as well. This book definitely focuses on the business end, but there is plenty of info about the bands as well (and when Blast First shows up, it even covers the same bands as OBCBYL).
I'm not sure I could recommend this book if you weren't at least interested in some of the bands mentioned on the back cover of the book, since it is quite long, but this expansive history of independent record labels is definitely not as dry as it may seem at first glance.
That said, this is a very interesting book on a subject I really had never thought about prior to reading. I loved the music covered in the book, and had never considered the people who ran the labels it came out on. I thought the book might get bogged down in business specifics, being about labels and all, but the author smartly focuses on the individual label heads and their sort of "character arcs" rather than deals and money (though that shows up too, of course).
In many ways this reads as a sort of British version of Our Band Could Be Your Life. That book, one of my favorites, profiles 12 bands in the 80s American Indie scene, but since many of those artists either ran their own labels or were close to the label heads, it ends up covering the business side as well. This book definitely focuses on the business end, but there is plenty of info about the bands as well (and when Blast First shows up, it even covers the same bands as OBCBYL).
I'm not sure I could recommend this book if you weren't at least interested in some of the bands mentioned on the back cover of the book, since it is quite long, but this expansive history of independent record labels is definitely not as dry as it may seem at first glance.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews