Britain's Warp label find key to survival in uncertain music industry

Britain's pioneering Warp Records is surviving on a diet of innovation and experimentation, confounding predictions that traditional labels could die out as major bands release music independently.

For almost 20 years Warp co-founder Steve Beckett has steered the label through countless trends and industry changes but accepts that the distribution of free music by the world's best-known artists such as Radiohead could present the most difficult challenge yet.

"A big artist can now take more of the cut themselves but the danger is the small acts can't do that and that's where the big divide is coming," he told AFP.

"Labels are going to be less and less willing to invest in them and that's where the problems are coming from," he warned.

Warp has been defined by its diverse roster, which includes electro-pioneers Aphex Twin, indie band Maximo Park, maverick satirist Chris Morris and Hollywood bad-boy actor and musician Vincent Gallo, who Beckett reassures is "exactly as difficult to work with as his reputation suggests."

Beckett credits this eclecticism for his label's endurance: "We sign artists that we feel have got longevity so even though they might been making music that fitted in a scene they had a longer-term vision.

"I was always interested in new sounds, sometimes they don't work but other times they do and that's given us the longevity," he added.

Beckett and friend Rob Mitchell, who passed away in 2001, established the label in Sheffield, northern England, in 1989 during the acid-house explosion.

"It's a very industrial city and it's got the sounds of mechanisation wherever you walk," Beckett said of his home town. "It's got that romantic sound melded into the atmosphere."

The label's worldwide reputation for being at the cutting edge of electronic music attracted international artists including New York's Gang Gang Dance and Australian three-piece, Pivot.

Avant-garde Brooklyn collective Gang Gang Dance, whose fourth album Saint Dymphna is released internationally this week, explained their decision to join the label.

"We were fans of Warp. Aphex Twin is amazing and I've absolutely loved his music for years and years. They just gave us natural positive vibes," guitarist Josh Diamond told AFP.

"I think there's a role for the labels. There's a lot of things that labels do that I don't particularly want to do.

"I've had almost nothing to do with the music business and ideally a good label will insulate you from the actual nuts and bolts. We don't care, we're musicians."

Electro-rockers Pivot had a less auspicious introduction to the label, but were equally impressed by the label's philosophy.

Guitarist Richard Pike told AFP: "Because they can't make as much money on record sales they are signing bands to '360' deals which means they get involved with touring, merchandise and publishing. That's the main way labels can survive these days."

However, Beckett fears that the label's survival could be influenced by the current financial crisis.

"If people have only got a limited amount of money in their pockets and they've got a choice between spending it on food or a CD then how do you think they're going to spend it?" he asked.

"But in tough times people go into a deeper level of artistic expression, so in terms of the art that comes out it could be amazing. There's always a silver lining."