Sub Pop

Sub Pop Records
File:Sub Pop logo.gif
Founded	1986
Founder	Bruce Pavitt Jonathan Poneman
Genre	Alternative rock Grunge Indie rock
Country of origin	United States
Location	Seattle, Washington
Official website	http://www.subpop.com

Sub Pop is a record label in Seattle, Washington that achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the local Seattle music scene. They are often credited with taking the first steps towards popularizing grunge music, and have continued to achieve critical and commercial success in the new millennium, with popular indie bands such as The Postal Service and The Shins on their roster. Though often called an independent music label, Sub Pop is 49% owned by Warner Music Group, one of the largest major record labels in the world. They own a 5% stake in the Alternative Distribution Alliance, with Warner Music Group owning the other 95%.

History

Sub Pop was started by Bruce Pavitt in Olympia, Washington in 1979 as a fanzine called Subterranean Pop (shortened to Sub Pop after the first issue). Inspired by the cassette fanzine Fast Forward, Sub Pop began alternating issues with compilation tapes of underground rock bands. There were nine issues of Sub Pop in all: six magazines and three cassettes (the fifth, seventh, and ninth issues). After the ninth issue, the zine settled on an all-cassette format, but the project was soon cancelled. Sub Pop continued life as a column in the Seattle newspaper The Rocket for several more years.

In 1986, Pavitt moved to Seattle, Washington and released the first Sub Pop LP, the compilation Sub Pop 100. In 1987, Sub Pop released the Dry as a Bone EP by Green River. Later that year, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden introduced Pavitt to Jonathan Poneman. The pair decided to release the debut EP by Soundgarden entitled Screaming Life, effectively turning Sub Pop into a full-fledged record label. Over the next few years, Sub Pop released many influential records from independent rock artists such as Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Tad.

An important and notable aspect of the label's early days was the Sub Pop Singles Club, a subscription service that would allow subscribers to receive singles by independent bands on a monthly basis by mail. The club made Sub Pop a powerful force in the Seattle scene, and effectively made the label's name synonymous with the music of the Seattle area (much in the same way Motown Records was to Detroit). The first release of the Singles Club was also Nirvana's first single, Love Buzz/Big Cheese, in November 1988. The original series was discontinued in 1993, followed by Singles Club V.2, launched in 1998 and discontinued in 2002.

To further increase the label's popularity, Pavitt and Poneman flew journalist Everett True, then working for the British magazine Melody Maker, to Seattle to write an article on the local music scene.

After the mainstream success of Nirvana, many successful grunge bands had left Sub Pop for major record labels. Soon afterwards, a joint venture was formed with Warner Music.

In 1996, Bruce Pavitt left the label in order to spend more time with his family.

In 2006, Sub Pop Records became the first Green-e certified record label. Through work with the Green-e program and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Sub Pop "greened" their label by purchasing enough renewable energy certificates to offset 100 percent of the electricity they use in their office, showing their commitment to putting renewable energy in the mainstream as a way consumers can take action to do something about global warming.

Commercial Success

Sub Pop has one platinum record, Nirvana's Bleach, and two gold records, The Postal Service's Give Up and The Shins' Wincing the Night Away. The Shins' "New Slang" has gone gold digitally, and The Postal Service's digital single for "Such Great Heights" has also gone platinum. On January 31, 2007, Sub Pop announced that The Shins' third full-length for Sub Pop, Wincing the Night Away, debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, reporting first week sales of 117,991 (35K in digital sales). This is the first time any album in Sub Pop history has ever charted in the top ten or broken 100,000 in the first week of sales.

Artists who have worked with Sub Pop

Main article: List of artists who have worked with Sub Pop

Label compilations

The following are "various artists" compilations released by Sub Pop to promote the label's bands.

• Sub Pop 100 (1986)
• Sub Pop 200 (1988)
• Alice Cooper Tribute (1991)
• Fuck Me I'm Rich (1990)
• Sassy Single (1992)
• Say Hello to the Far East (1993)
• The Grunge Years (1994)
• Helter Shelter Box (1995)
• Stacked Up (1995)
• Up Next Comp (1998)
• Soundcheck (1998)
• Badlands - A Tribute to Bruce Springsteens Nebraska (2000)
• Give The People What We Want- Songs Of The Kinks (2001)
• Is It...Dead (2001)
• The Eagle is the Most Popular Bird (2001)
• Sub Pop Video Network Volume 1 (2003) (DVD)
• Patient Zero (2004)
• Now We Are Three!!! (2005)
• Acquired Taste DVD (2006) (DVD)
• This Delicious (2006)
• Spin
• Afternoon Delight
• Curtis W. Pitts
• John Peel Sub Pop Sessions
• Never Mind the Molluscs
• Trim Crusts If Desired Cinnamon Toast Records
• Selector Dub Narcotic
• Four Dots
• A Bitter Pill to Swallow Over the Counter Records
• Walkman Rotation
• Succour The Terrascope Benefit Album
• Their Original Sins
• Sub Pop 10th Anniversary Singles Compilation
• Up in Orbit
• Us
• YoYo-a-Go-Go
• Lutz, Employee of the Month

References

• SubPop.com - Singles Club, retrieved July 13, 2006
• The Story of Sub Pop, by Matt Olsen
• Michael Azerrad, Our Band Could Be Your Life, ISBN 0-316-78753-1
• Information on SubPop and Warner Music Group's partnership in the Alternative Distribution Alliance

See also

• List of record labels

External links

• Official Sub Pop site.
• subpoprecords.
• Akashic.com.
• Reviews, interviews, & podcasts of Sub Pop bands on Three Imaginary Girls.