Sub Pop Totally Explained

Everything about Sub Pop totally explained

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 toward 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. Sub Pop is 49% owned by Warner Music Group. Sub Pop owns 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 1980 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). In 1983, Pavitt moved to Seattle, Washington where Sub Pop continued life as both a column in the Seattle newspaper The Rocket, as well as an independent-label specialty show on KCMU.
   In 1986, Pavitt 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 suggested that Pavitt team up with Jonathan Poneman. The pair then 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.
   In early 2007, Sub Pop started a sister label by the name of Hardly Art. The sub-label is run out of the same offices as Sub Pop, and its name comes from a lyric in a song by the Thermals.

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

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)
John Peel Sub Pop Sessions (1989-1993) (1994)
The Grunge Years (1994)
Helter Shelter Box (1995)
Soundcheck (1998)
Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's 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)
Infecting the Galaxy One Planet at a Time (2003)
Patient Zero (2004)
Now We Are Three!!! (2005)
Acquired Taste DVD (2006) (DVD)
This Delicious (2006)
Spin
Afternoon Delight
Curtis W. Pitts
Never Mind the Molluscs
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
Us
Lutz, Employee of the Month
Terminal Sales Vol. 3 Happy Birthday To Me (2008)

Record Store Day

Sub Pop participated in the nation-wide Record Store Day event on April 19, 2008 by issuing a new compilation sampler of Sub Pop artists. This CD, given away free at participating record stores, invites owners to send in an included card in celebration of the label's 20th Anniversary. The CD included songs by The Helio Sequence, The Flight of the Conchords, and a new song by grunge favorite Mudhoney.

Further Information

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