You cannot argue with Bleep’s tagline: ‘We sell the best music from the best record labels and artists in the world.’
Okay. Where do we sign?
The company, a subsidiary of independent legend Warp, is a true pioneer of digital entertainment.
Launched in January 2004 – before iTunes officially came to Europe – it became one of the UK’s first legal download portals, and continues to offer a range of digital formats as well as vinyl, CD, T-shirts and DVDs.
More significant that what Bleep sells, though, is what it stands for.
No label is too small, no artist too weird, to feel the love from an online seller which frankly makes iTunes look like it’s for squares.
The Independent Echo caught up with some key members of Bleep’s team to ask them what it’s like to work for an independent retailer in every sense of the phrase…
Dan Minchom – General Manager
What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you at Bleep?
Having our tenth birthday party in the Barbican with Fuck Buttons headlining. One of my favourite bands in one of my favourite places.
What does Bleep mean to you?
Bleep is about championing the best music and products. I am very proud of how we present the very best small and niche artists and labels and scenes alongside much larger ones who we feel are making amazing music. We look for quality; artistically, aesthetically and ethically and try to be guided by the aims of the artists. These ideas underpin the approach to everything we do at the company, which I am very proud of.
What do you hope to achieve at Bleep in the future?
I hope the Bleep store manages to continue navigating the changing world of music retail without straying away from our roots in curation or our support for the artists and music we like.
We have also started using our retail experience, technology and infrastructure to help out artists and labels selling online direct to their fans. Our technology is now running an increasing number of stores for labels and artists and we have started providing mail-order fulfillment services to artists and labels who are selling stuff online. I hope we can expand this significantly in the next few years and I think we can achieve a lot in what is a new area for us.
Matt Baker – Head of digital
What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you at Bleep?
Giving Atom TM tourist advice of where to go in St Petersburg.
What does Bleep mean to you and why are you proud to work there?
One of the first stores set up to listen to artists and help them sell their music in the way that they want, that’s a proud heritage, and that’s what we still do.
What do you hope to achieve at Bleep in the future?
I hope and expect the store to continue to grow, but I am just as excited about some great new projects launching in 2016 working with artists with innovative ideas about direct-to-fan retail.
Luke Murray – Buyer
What’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you at Bleep?
Every week something cool happens, the vast range of titles we stock means that every week something comes in that to me personally is the coolest thing in the world be it a 12″ a tape or an LP.
What does Bleep mean to you and why are you proud to work there?
Its a freedom to push the best records in the world, it gives me the opportunity to extend beyond just getting excited about records and telling my mates about them but through Bleep I am able to tell a huge amount of people around the world about the killer records I am getting excited about through the releases we stock.
What do you hope to achieve at Bleep in the future?
I think we will continue to do what we are doing and build upon what we are working on and continue to push the most interesting and enjoyable music we discover to the wider world on a daily basis.