Mute records, home of Moby, sold to EMI

The suits conquered the T-shirts yesterday as one of Britain's longest surviving independent record labels was snapped up by EMI.

Mute has provided the angst-ridden soundtracks for generations of students and was a leading player in the creation of electronic music.

It has an artist roster including Moby, Depeche Mode and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, and some of the industry's most successful and trend-setting staff. But it is Daniel Miller, the T-shirt and jeans-wearing founder and executive chairman of Mute, who is the real catch for EMI.

He will receive a substantial portion of the £23m paid for his company, with the possibility of a further £19m in performance-related payments over the next four years.

The former producer founded the company in 1978 and has been personally involved in the development of all its artists.

Alain Levy, EMI's chairman, said: "Daniel is one of the most respected finders and nurturers of talent in the industry, and we're incredibly proud to be strengthening the relationship."

While Mute has remained one of the most influential record labels in the world EMI has had a terrible year, with falling sales leading to the sacking of 1,800 staff.

It has been forced to axe many of its established stars after a disastrous deal with the singer Mariah Carey which saw her receive a £19m pay-off after the flop of her only album with the company.