Numero Group: Soul Revivers

In the taxonomy of the music industry, they are known as “crate diggers”—music obsessives who thumb through endless cartons of vinyl records in search of overlooked gems. The best DJs have always been crate diggers. The late Ahmet Ertegun, legendary founder of Atlantic Records, could scavenge with the best of them. And crate diggers are behind one of the most intriguing music labels operating today, the Chicago-based Numero Group.

In an industry struggling to stay afloat, Numero is an anomaly: It’s a growing and profitable record company. Dedicated to unearthing lost musical treasures—primarily in the realms of soul, funk, and gospel—the eight-year-old label has amassed legions of devoted fans, including rocker Robert Plant, author Michael Chabon, and actress Zooey Deschanel. Numero, which grossed more than $1 million in 2011, has a grand ambition that belies its modest size: to be the world’s greatest reissue label.