Martin Mills

Martin Mills (born 12 May 1949) is the founder and chairman of the Beggars Group.

For the twentieth century Australian writer who used this name, see Martin Boyd.

Beggars Group
Main article: Beggars Group

Educated at Berkhamsted and Magdalen College Schools, Mills graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oriel College, Oxford, in 1970. The company was started to sell off records that he and a friend, Nick Austin, had collected for a mobile disco. The disco, and then the company, was named after the Rolling Stones' album Beggars Banquet.[1]

His company is now one of the world's most successful independent groups of record labels. His ability to spot future trends in music has been celebrated by the BBC Radio 4 Zeitgeisters series, and has included New Romantic, Gary Numan electronica, Goth rock of the 1980s and being ahead of the popular trend for digital downloads.[1] In the radio show he was quoted as saying that The whole point [of independent music publishing] is not giving people what they want but what they are going to want.[1]

As of 2016, the labels that comprise the Beggars Group are 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade Records, XL Recordings and Young Turks.[2]

Commentary

In 2011 Martin Mills was voted number 22 in The Guardian's inaugural Music Power 100 list. In June 2013, Mills was described in a BBC Radio 4 portrait as looking "remarkably unremarkable" but being "like a wise old fisherman watching minnows waiting to catch a really big fish".[1]

References
  1. Radio 4 'Zeitgeisters' 22 June 2013
  2. "Beggars Group Homepage". Company Website.

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