Mother Earth: The Rolling Stones’ Unrealized Record Label Plan

By Marcelo Sonaglioni on January 31, 2026 • ( 1 Comment )

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The Rolling Stones’ Label That Never Was

In December 1967, the Rolling Stones were ready to build their own musical universe. With plans for the Mother Earth label and Marianne Faithfull signed as the first artist, the band looked poised to rival the Beatles’ Apple Records. But rock history loves a twist, and the project stalled before it could truly take off. The idea refused to die. First hinted at in Record Retailer in February 1968, the Stones’ label ambitions quietly evolved behind the scenes. By 1970, the dream finally roared to life as Rolling Stones Records—grittier, bolder, and entirely their own. What began as a delayed experiment became a declaration of independence, proving that when the Stones missed one turn, they simply carved a louder, wilder road forward.

December 16, 1967: The Stones announce that Marianne Faithfull was the first artist being signed signed to their Mother Earth label (planned along the Beatles’ Apple Records) But then the launching of the rumoured new label never happened, until the band started Rolling Stones Records in 1970. Later on, plans for the band to have its very own label were first mentioned in Record Retailer of the 21st of February 1968.

According to the article Charlie Watts was designing the logo, the company was intended to operate out of premises at 46A Maddox St, London W1. Record Retailer of the 16th of July 1969 quoted the Stones’ manager Allen Klein as saying that there was ‘a good possibility’ of the band launching its own label, which was still to be called Mother Earth. When the new label was eventually born, however, some two years or so later, the name had been dropped in favour of that of the band.

rolling stones beatles mother earth 1967

The Rolling Stones Didn’t Want an Apple — They Wanted the Whole Planet

*By Marcelo Sonaglioni

The Rolling Stones and The Beatles were always compared, but when it came to record labels, the Fab Four went Apple, while the Stones went… Mother Earth? Sounds fitting, right? Finally in 1970 the Stones launched their own label Rolling Stones Records after breaking free from Decca. But before settling on the now-iconic tongue-and-lips logo, they jokingly considered calling it Mother Earth—perhaps a nod to their rebellious, countercultural image. Meanwhile, The Beatles’ Apple Records had already been up and running, complete with its polished, business-like approach.

The Stones, never ones to follow trends, moved deliberately in the opposite direction—gritty, defiant, and proudly removed from anything resembling corporate polish. Where others chased tidy branding and utopian ideals, the Rolling Stones embraced mess, risk, and instinct. Rolling Stones Records wasn’t designed to look friendly or aspirational; it was built to feel dangerous, independent, and unapologetically real.

In the end, the label became the home of some of the band’s most enduring statements, including Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.—albums that sounded as unruly and free as the circumstances in which they were made. The message was clear: artistic control mattered more than image, and freedom mattered more than approval. The Beatles may have had Apple, polished and symbolic, but the Stones didn’t need a fruit. They claimed something bigger, rougher, and harder to contain—the whole damn planet.

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