Nettwerk Music Group

Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984.

The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett. Initially specializing in electronic music such as alternative dance and industrial, the label expanded its roster to include pop, rock and numerous singer-songwriters. Nettwerk has played an impactful role in many artists' careers, such as Coldplay, Sarah McLachlan, and Barenaked Ladies.

The label was named Billboard’s "Indie Power Players" list in 2024 and 2025.

In 1984, Terry McBride and his friend Mark Jowett attended—and both dropped out of—the University of British Columbia. As students, McBride studied civil engineering while Jowett took classes in creative writing, theater and English. The two met at a house party where Jowett's electronic music band Moev was performing.

Once out of college, McBride began managing Moev, for whom Jowett played guitar. Moev was signed to Go Records, a small San Francisco label that went bankrupt, leaving the band without distribution. McBride's small apartment became a hang out for their friends, which included members of the electro-industrial band Skinny Puppy; McBride and Jowett starting putting out their records, along with Moev's and The Grapes of Wrath.

Nettwerk Music Group officially opened its doors in 1985. Their first release was The Grapes of Wrath's self-titled EP followed by their full-length, September Bowl of Green. It piqued the attention of Capitol Records, and paved the way for a distribution deal for the band and Nettwerk as a label in 1986. In 1986, Nettwerk brought on Ric Arboit as a third partner and managing director.

Despite having an eclectic initial roster of artists, Nettwerk gained a reputation as an industrial music label, an assumption bolstered by the label's roster of homegrown and licensed industrial acts including Skinny Puppy, Severed Heads, SPK, Manufacture, and Single Gun Theory. George Maniatis, one of the label's early promotion managers, observed that "Remission (Skinny Puppy's mini-album), which was one of our first releases, grabbed everybody by the you-know-whats... Because of it, everybody assumed we were just industrial dance. But we never set out in that direction—it's just that they hit first."

Regardless of the intent, the industrial dance and electronic genres proved lucrative and resulted in many international cross-licensing deals. Among them: Belgium's Play It Again Sam label running the Nettwerk Europe imprint in exchange for Nettwerk licensing Front 242 in Canada; licensing Tackhead's North American distribution rights from England's On-U Sound; and cross-licensing with Australia's Volition label which brought Severed Heads and Single Gun Theory to North America. Cross-licensing, including distribution through the majors (Capitol for Skinny Puppy and Atlantic for Moev), and respectable club chart performances (including singles by Manufacture, Severed Heads, and Moev) all contributed to significant visibility and growth for the label at the close of the 1980s.