Nuevos Medios was founded in 1982 by Cucha Salazar and Mario Pacheco. Both had acquired some experience through various occasional jobs in the world of pop music, flamenco, and jazz and were encouraged to join the powerful independent movement of the early eighties by friends such as Joe Boyd (Hannibal Records), Tony Wilson (Factory) and Manfred Eicher (ECM).

The company's intention was to produce Spanish popular music with an international accent. This philosophy was graphically expressed in its now popular logo kindly designed by Joan Miró. That anagram was the label's first success and became its illuminating mandala.

The initial choices were flamenco and jazz (Pepe Habichuela, Rafael Riqueni, Carles Benavent, Jorge Pardo…) but Nuevos Medios was also responsible for crucial recordings of the "movida" (La Mode, Golpes Bajos…) of great lyrical strength.

Another remarkable aspect during Nuevos Medios' early years of activity was its anticipation of what is now known as world music, starting to produce - as early as 1983 - a series of Cuban popular music classics (Beny Moré, Bola de Nieve, María Teresa Vera, El Trío Matamoros…). A line of work that continued with the compilation by Peruvian composer Chabuca Granda, Mexican singers and composers like Agustín Lara and Guty Cárdenas, the Argentine tango legend Roberto "Polaco" Goyeneche, and the co-production of the album Pacantó, by Colombian singer Totó la Momposina. In addition, the company recorded, together with Hannibal Records, the two volumes of Songhai: a pioneering project, involving musicians from Spain and Mali, acclaimed worldwide and considered one of the most outstanding and influential fusion albums of the nineties.

At the same time, Nuevos Medios distributed major musical releases in Spain from labels such as Factory, ECM, Hannibal Records, Rough Trade, One Little Indian, Play It Again Sam, Tommy Boy, Rykodisc, Fantasy/Stax, Vanguard, Disques Dreyfus, Stern’s Music, Crammed Discs, World Circuit, Melopea Discos, Fania, Cooperative Music, and more recently Stones Throw Records.

By the end of the nineties, Nuevos Medios was considered "The Tamla Motown of Flamenco," and its sound, as well as the proposals of Pata Negra, Ketama, Ray Heredia, Tomatito, La Barbería del Sur, Kiko Veneno, José el Francés, Martirio, Miguel Poveda, Juan Manuel Cañizares, Potito, etc., were regarded as decisive influences in the consolidation of a new, truly original form of popular music, with class, charm, and attitude. Nuevo Flamenco took to the streets and began to climb the charts, so multinational companies started signing the company's best-selling artists. This, plus the generalized crisis of independent labels and the sudden death of Cucha Salazar, threatened the label's stability.

Fortunately, Nuevos Medios reacted with new projects (Diego Carrasco, Tino Di Geraldo, Tabletom, Diego Amador, Menta de Agua, Josemi Carmona, Son de la Frontera, Tomasito, Mayte Martin, Las Migas…) broadening the boundaries of flamenco and showcasing the company's qualities: a decided tendency towards rhythmic originality, an open attitude, composure, unashamed Europeanism, and a rare ability to combine popular forms and sophistication.