Subversive Media, an independent electronic dance music netlabel from Barcelona (2007-2011)

About – On us, the label, its inception & objectives.

It was 2007. We (Roger Mercader & Sergi Muñoz) were a couple of youngsters, loving electronic music since our childhood and having performed, produced and participated in the Barcelona scene long enough to see that there should be something else. At that time, the city had really great initiatives in terms of clubs, festivals, events or collectives but there was still an underground pulse that really attracted us, so we decided that we should try to contribute by doing something, even with practically no resources beyond our time and passion (and zero revenue or profit), and we started Subversive Media.

As an independent Netlabel, between 2007 and 2011 we released 17 EPs and compilations, with 110 unique electronic dance music tracks, mainly minimal and techno, by more than 60 national and international artists and obtained more than 75,000 downloads over the different platforms we were working on.

We got mentioned in magazines, online communities and specialized websites, collaborated with other pioneering netlabels, and also participated in several events, festivals and showcases, in Barcelona, Madrid or Palma de Mallorca.

What now? – Some thoughts on our legacy and the future to come

With this project we thought we could help our Artists promote their work and stand out, and in some cases, we are pleased to see that it has been this way. We’ve always believed in the democrazitation of the media system, standing against the rules or the traditional ways. We aimed to work without any engagement or endorsement, with full independence from big music labels, mass media, lobbies or corporations. In addition, we wanted to see beyond some of the city “cliques”, to think, and also act, more globally.

Maybe today the Netlabel revolution has ended, this site is now a reminder, a “soundtrack” of that moment and place, a “changing” time in which young creators did not have the tools they now possess and emerging or just thinking outside the box were tough objectives. Now we want to give a shout-out to those who helped us in this brief but intense journey. Thank you, you know who you are! As our motto said, “Be Subversive, don’t believe”, that’s what we tried to do and we’ll keep on doing it, as long as we’re breathing.