Rough Trade Publishing was formed in June 1991 by Peter Walmsley and Cathi Gibson following the demise of the original Rough Trade Group where they had both worked previously; Peter as a director of Rough Trade Records, Cathi as General Manager of Rough Trade Music.

The new company started in some style: Violent Femmes and Lydia Lunch followed Cathi from Rough Trade Music, Robert Wyatt's 'Dondestan' album was the first release to bear the Rough Trade Publishing name and Asphalt Ribbons, better known these days as Tindersticks, marked the first exclusive signing in August 1991 (a relationship which has continued to this day).

Since those early days Rough Trade Publishing has been a fiercely independent company, always looking forward rather than merely reflecting current, transient, musical trends. As a result, the RTP roster reads like an essential history of ground-breaking underground music. Don't believe me? Then look at this for a list of acts: Gastr Del Sol, Smog, Slint, Rocket From The Crypt, Huggy Bear (signed when Wiiija was still being run from the Talbot Road Rough Trade shop), Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Trans Am, The Sea and Cake and Tortoise, all represented by Rough Trade Publishing.

Encouragingly, a brief glance at RTP's more recent signings indicates that this unequalled ear for high-quality, genuinely independent - rather than 'indie' - music certainly shows no sign of fading: The Animal Collective,The National, Les Georges Leningrad, The Black Heart Procession, Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Le Tigre all now part of the RTP roster A picture emerges of an all-too-rare, successful, independent company still pushing the boundaries and challenging a music business over-saturated by big budget corporate pop.

Recognising the unique nature of its roster, RTP has never concerned itself with traditional publishing ploys, such as looking for cover versions, but has concentrated on its strengths. To this end, the promotion of its catalogue for film synchronisation projects has become a priority. Some examples are RTP acts featured in 'The Sopranos' (Tindersticks), 'High Fidelity' (Smog), 'Grosse Point Blank' (Violent Femmes), 'The American Nightmare' (Godspeed You Black Emperor! and Leechwoman) and a host of other soundtrack and advert work for Tortoise, Mortal, Sam Prekop, Jim O'Rourke, H2SO4 etc.