Wire report
The Guide #265: Your favourite record labels, from Motown to Flying Nun
In this week’s newsletter: Record labels always push music forward into interesting new places. Here’s a celebration of their power by readers and Guardian music writers • Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Last week we asked Guide subscribers to tell us about their favourite record labels, and the response was enthusiastic. Clearly, even in this age of streaming services that flatten albums, singles, EPs and mixtapes into one single “feed”, the lure of a label – and its role in identifying, nurturing and developing musical talents – remains. So this week, a celebration of the record label: along with some readers’ favourites, we’ve asked music writers to share their personal picks. They’ve put together a great list of familiar and off-the-beaten-track labels that might just help you discover your next favourite album (I can already tell I’ll be spinning the Verlai

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In this week’s newsletter: Record labels always push music forward into interesting new places. Here’s a celebration of their power by readers and Guardian music writers • Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Last week we asked Guide subscribers to tell us about their favourite record labels, and the response was enthusiastic. Clearly, even in this age of streaming services that flatten albums, singles, EPs and mixtapes into one single “feed”, the lure of a label – and its role in identifying, nurturing and developing musical talents – remains. So this week, a celebration of the record label: along with some readers’ favourites, we’ve asked music writers to share their personal picks. They’ve put together a great list of familiar and off-the-beaten-track labels that might just help you discover your next favourite album (I can already tell I’ll be spinning the Verlai
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What happened
According to The Guardian’s source item, The Guide #265: Your favourite record labels, from Motown to Flying Nun, In this week’s newsletter: Record labels always push music forward into interesting new places. Here’s a celebration of their power by readers and Guardian music writers • Don’t get The Guide delivered to your inbox? Sign up here Last week we asked Guide subscribers to tell us about their favourite record labels, and the response was enthusiastic. Clearly, even in this age of streaming services that flatten albums, singles, EPs and mixtapes into one single “feed”, the lure of a label – and its role in identifying, nurturing and developing musical talents – remains. So this week, a celebration of the record label: along with some readers’ favourites, we’ve asked music writers to share their personal picks. They’ve put together a great list of familiar and off-the-beaten-track labels that might just help you discover your next favourite album (I can already tell I’ll be spinning the Verlai
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Culture file for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-10-17T06:00:23+00:00.
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Source
Primary source: The Guide #265: Your favourite record labels, from Motown to Flying Nun via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
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Source links
- The Guide #265: Your favourite record labels, from Motown to Flying NunThe Guardian - 2026-10-17T06:00:23+00:00
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