[1] In 1976, Andrei Tropillo first attempted to set up a small record factory in a room rented from the Geophysics department of Leningrad State University.
[2] Tropillo took a part-time job supervising a sound recording program and giving guitar lessons at the Second House of Pupils and Pioneers in Okhta in order to gain access to the institution's studio facilities.
[2] From 1980 to 1981, a studio collective started to form at AnTrop, consisting of musicians who were interested in recording work and able to step in at short notice when band members didn't show up.
[2] While at Melodiya, Tropillo took advantage of the copyright laws of that time to release classic albums of Western rock bands such as The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
The cover of the AnTrop release of Led Zeppelin IV features Dmitry Shagin, a member of the art group, Mitki.
Boris Grebenshchikov, Andrei Makarevich, Oleg Garkusha, and Padla Bear Outfit were among the musicians who performed to support Tropillo.