Steve Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician, record producer, audio engineer, and music journalist. He was the founder, owner and principal engineer at Electrical Audio, a recording studio complex in Chicago. It has been estimated that he worked on several thousand albums over his career. He worked with acts such as Nirvana, Pixies, Bush, the Breeders, PJ Harvey, the Jesus Lizard, and former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. He also played in various bands, most notably Big Black and Shellac.
Albini was critical of the music industry, arguing that it exploited and stylistically homogenized artists. As a part of his opposition he refused to take royalties from artists he worked with, arguing that it was unethical.
