Snapper Music is an independent record label

Independent record label

An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 founded in 1996

1996 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...

 by former head of Castle Communications Jon Beecher, Dougie Dudgeon and funded by the late Mark Levinson from Palan Music Publishing. In 1999 Snapper broke away from its parent company in an MBO in association with ACT and CAI venture capitalists. In 2004 Snapper was bought out by music publisher and former artist manager Bryan Morrison (deceased) and in 2005 Jon Beecher (MD) and Dougie Dudgeon (A&R) left Snapper Music and were replaced by Frederick Jude, a former employee of Palan Music Publishing and Snapper director.

Included amongst the many artists the label has issued albums by are Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree is a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorise, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven...

, No-Man

No-Man

No-Man are a British art-pop duo formed in 1987 as No Man Is An Island by singer Tim Bowness and multi-instrumentalist Steven Wilson . The band has so far produced six studio albums and a number of singles/outtakes collections...

, Ozric Tentacles

Ozric Tentacles

Ozric Tentacles are an instrumental rock band from Somerset, England, whose music can loosely be described as psychedelic or space rock. Formed in 1983, the band has released 28 albums as of 2011, and become a cottage industry selling over a million albums worldwide despite never having major...

, Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

, W.A.S.P., Cradle of Filth

Cradle of Filth

Cradle of Filth are an English extreme metal band, formed in Suffolk in 1991. The band's musical style evolved from black metal to a cleaner and more "produced" amalgam of gothic metal, symphonic black metal, and other extreme metal styles, while their lyrical themes and imagery are heavily...

, Fish

Fish (singer)

Derek William Dick, better known as Fish, is a Scottish progressive rock singer, lyricist and occasional actor, best known as the former lead singer of Marillion.-Biography:...

, Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays

Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...

, 3 Colours Red

3 Colours Red

3 Colours Red were a rock band from the United Kingdom. They achieved their biggest chart success at the end of the 1990s, along with other Britrock bands such as Ash and Feeder. The band was named by sticking a pin in a London listings magazine, Time Out...

 and Amen

Amen (band)

Amen is a hardcore punk-influenced band formed in 1994.The band has an almost constantly rotating lineup, with founder Casey Chaos remaining as the only constant member throughout...

.

As well as having its own imprint, Snapper Music owns or distributes several sub-labels that deal in diverse musical styles - Peaceville (Metal), Kscope

Kscope

Kscope is a division or sub-label of independent record label Snapper Music dedicated to artists in the Post-Progressive genre.Artists that the label has issued albums for to date include Anathema, Anekdoten, Engineers, Lunatic Soul, No-Man, North Atlantic Oscillation, Nosound, Porcupine Tree,...

 (Post Progressive), Charly

Charly Records

Charly Records is a British record label which specialises in reissued material.-History:Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. Charly Records was founded in France in 1974 by Jean-Luc Young, who had been a promoter of...

(R&B, Jazz, Progressive and Blues music).