Editing Sub Pop (section)

==History==
===Formation===
The origins of Sub Pop trace back to the early 1980s, when [[Bruce Pavitt]] started a [[fanzine]] called ''Subterranean Pop'' that focused exclusively on American independent record labels. Pavitt undertook the project in order to earn course credit while attending [[Evergreen State College]] in [[Olympia, Washington]]. By the fourth issue, Pavitt had shortened the name to ''Sub Pop'' and began alternating issues with compilation tapes of underground rock bands. The ''Sub Pop #5'' cassette, released in 1982, sold two thousand copies.<ref>Azerrad, p. 413.</ref> In 1983, Pavitt moved to [[Seattle, Washington]], and released the ninth and final issue of ''Sub Pop''. While in Seattle, he wrote a column for local music magazine ''[[The Rocket (music magazine)|The Rocket]]'' titled "Sub Pop U.S.A.", a column he ended in 1988.<ref>Azerrad, p. 414.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070208195505/http://ogami.subpop.com/history/subpopUSA/ Sub Pop USA - The original articles by Bruce Pavitt] from the Sub Pop website.</ref>

In 1986, Pavitt released the first Sub Pop [[Gramaphone record|LP]], the compilation ''[[Sub Pop 100]]'', which featured material by artists including [[Sonic Youth]], [[Naked Raygun]], [[Wipers (band)|Wipers]], and [[Scratch Acid]]. Seattle group [[Green River (band)|Green River]] chose to record their ''[[Dry as a Bone]]'' [[Extended play|EP]] for Pavitt's new label in June 1986; Pavitt couldn't afford to release it until the following year. When finally released, ''Dry as a Bone'' was promoted by Sub Pop as "ultra-loose grunge that destroyed the morals of a generation".<ref>Azerrad, p. 420.</ref> Also in 1987, Jonathan Poneman provided $20,000 in funding for Sub Pop to release the debut [[Soundgarden]] single "Hunted Down"/"Nothing to Say" in July 1987, followed by the band's first EP ''[[Screaming Life]]'' that October.<ref>Azerrad, p. 422.</ref> Poneman soon became a full partner in the label. Pavitt focused on the label's artists and repertoire aspects, while Poneman dealt with the business and legal issues.<ref>Azerrad, p. 423.</ref> Both men decided they wanted the label to focus on "this primal rock stuff that was coming out," according to Pavitt.<ref>Azerrad, p. 423-24.</ref>

===The "Seattle sound"===
[[File:Sub Pop Singles Club Promo.jpg|200px|thumb|Advertising card to subscribe to Sub Pop's single club.]]
In early 1988, Pavitt and Poneman quit their jobs to devote their full attention to Sub Pop.<ref name=":1" /> Raising $43,000, they incorporated on April 1, 1988.<ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine |last=Roberts |first=Kevan |date=June 6, 1998 |title=Radio Unfriendly Unit Shifters |magazine=[[Kerrang!]] |publisher=[[EMAP]] |issue=702 |pages=40–43}}</ref> "Of course that was spent in, like, thirty days", Pavitt recalled. "We almost went bankrupt after a month".<ref name=":1">Azerrad, p. 425.</ref> That August Sub Pop released the first single by [[Mudhoney]], a band featuring former members of Green River. Sub Pop released the Mudhoney single "[[Touch Me I'm Sick]]" in an intentionally limited first pressing of 800 copies to create demand. The strategy was later adopted by other independent labels.<ref>Azerrad, p. 426-27.</ref>

Pavitt and Poneman studied earlier independent labels ranging from [[Motown]] to [[SST Records]] and decided that virtually every successful movement in rock music had a regional basis. The pair sought to create a cohesive brand identity for Sub Pop. The label's ads promoted the label itself more than any particular band. The label also sought to market a "Seattle sound", which was accomplished with the help of producer [[Jack Endino]], who produced 75 singles, albums, and EPs for Sub Pop between 1987 and 1989. Endino recorded cheaply and quickly; in order to operate this way, he utilized some consistent studio techniques, which gave the records a similar sound.<ref>Azerrad, p. 436.</ref>

Endino, in a 1989 article featured in ''[[The Rocket (music magazine)|The Rocket]]'', explains:

<blockquote>The sound that I hear coming from bands that are walking in my door comes from fuzzy guitars, bashing drums, screaming vocals, no keyboards, and a general loud intent. There's a scrupulous avoidance of any mainstream musical trends, and an avoidance of [[MIDI]], or anything remotely hi-tech. I don't get people with thousand-dollar effects racks coming in.<ref>{{cite news|title=Studio whiz Jack Endino twists the dials of our sound|magazine=The Rocket|page=31|last1=Allen|first1=Robert |date=September 1, 1989}}</ref></blockquote>

In November 1988, Sub Pop released "[[Love Buzz#Nirvana version|Love Buzz]]", the debut single by [[Aberdeen, Washington]] band [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], as the first entry in the Sub Pop Singles Club, a subscription service that would allow subscribers to receive singles by the label on a monthly basis by mail. At its peak in 1990, the club had two thousand subscribers.<ref>Azerrad, p. 439.</ref> 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]]—and helped to secure the label's cash flow.<ref name="Jelbert">Jelbert, Steve (2008) "Labelled With Love", [[The Times]], August 2, 2008.</ref>  The original series was discontinued in 1993, followed by ''Singles Club V.2'', launched in 1998 and discontinued in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|title=Singles Club V.2 is Dead 2002|publisher=Sub Pop Records|url=http://www.subpop.com/scripts/main/mega_singles_club.php|access-date=November 24, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209142012/http://subpop.com/scripts/main/mega_singles_club.php|archive-date=December 9, 2006}}</ref>

Some commentators have argued that Sub Pop reframed the history of Seattle's music scene as part of their marketing campaign. Even in the late 1980s, the peak of [[grunge]] as a regional scene, Seattle's bands could not easily be confined to a single genre, since groups often blended musical styles and techniques, drawing, for example, on [[folk rock]], [[psychedelic rock]], [[garage rock]], and [[Hook (music)|pop hooks]]. The "Seattle sound" cultivated and marketed by Sub Pop became known as grunge, while other Seattle bands like [[The U-Men]], who preceded Sub-Pop, became pioneers of [[avant garde]] [[post-punk]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Tow|first=Stephen|title=The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge|year=2011|publisher=Sasquatch Books |location=Seattle|isbn=9781570617874|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ES5PBAAAQBAJ}}</ref>

Mindful that garnering the attention of the American mainstream music press was difficult for all but the largest indie label, Pavitt and Ponemen took inspiration from alternative bands like Sonic Youth, [[Butthole Surfers]], and [[Dinosaur Jr.]] and sought to publicize the label via the [[United Kingdom|British]] music press. In March 1989, Pavitt and Poneman flew ''Melody Maker'' journalist [[Everett True]] to Seattle to write an article on the local music scene.  As Pavitt had anticipated, the British press became enamoured with Sub Pop and the grunge sound. Pavitt said, "I really felt that the Brits and the Europeans wanted to see something that was unruly and that was more of an American archetype -- something that was really primal and really drew from the roots of rock & roll, which was very American."<ref>Azerrad, p. 441.</ref> Poneman explained the label's success: "It could have happened anywhere, but there was a lucky set of coincidences. [[Charles Peterson (photographer)|Charles Peterson]] was here to document the scene, Jack Endino was here to record the scene. Bruce and I were here to exploit the scene."<ref name="Jelbert"/>

By 1991, Sub Pop were in financial difficulties, leading [[Mudhoney]] and [[Tad (band)|Tad]] to depart the label and delaying the release of [[The Afghan Whigs]]' ''[[Congregation (The Afghan Whigs album)|Congregation]]'' (1992).<ref name=":2" /> When [[Geffen Records]] bought Nirvana's contract from Sub Pop for $72,000, it was agreed that the former would pay the latter a percentage of any profits from the band's major label debut, ''[[Nevermind]]'' (1991).<ref name=":2" /> A stipulation was also implemented where selected future Nirvana studio LPs were required to carry the Sub Pop logo alongside Geffen's.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}} The album's subsequent commercial success quickly brought Sub Pop out of their financial difficulties.<ref name=":2" /> Pavitt noted: "By Christmas [1991], ''Nevermind'' had sold 2 million. We went from not being able to pay our phone bill to getting a check for half a million bucks."<ref name="blender" /> Sales of ''[[Bleach (Nirvana album)|Bleach]]''  helped keep the label going for years afterwards.<ref name="Jelbert" /> The mainstream success of Nirvana also brought Poneman and Pavitt worldwide media attention as the self-stylized "creators of the grunge scene".<ref name=":2" /><ref name="blender" /> After the [[suicide of Kurt Cobain]] and the subsequent decline of grunge, Poneman began signing acts that were "not typically Sub Pop-ian", such as [[5ive Style]], [[Combustible Edison]] and [[Eric Matthews (musician)|Eric Matthews]].<ref name=":2" /> In 1995, the label signed a $20 million<ref name=":2" /> joint venture with [[Warner Bros. Records]] (which had distributed Geffen since that label was founded in 1980; after 10 years under Warner, Geffen was sold to [[MCA Inc.|MCA]] [[MCA Records|Music Entertainment Group]]), who acquired 49% of the label's stock.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" />

===Post-Pavitt===
Poneman and Pavitt had a disagreement about the direction the label should take, with Poneman wanting the label to become larger and make more money.<ref name="Jelbert"/> In 1996, unable to take the new corporate culture following the Warner partnership, Pavitt left the label and was able to spend more time with his family.<ref name=blender>{{cite magazine|last=Yarn|first=Mark|url=http://www.revolutioncomeandgone.com/articles/7/sub-pop-history.php|title=Sub Pop Oral History: "Going Out of Business Since 1988!|date=July 2008|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]}}</ref> The split between Pavitt and Poneman was not amicable, and they did not speak for seven years.<ref name=blender/>

The label opened offices worldwide and began major investment in new artists, but without achieving great commercial success, prompting a scaling down and a return to Seattle.<ref name="Jelbert"/>

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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.resource-solutions.org/where/pressreleases/2006/SUBPOP-BEF-JOINTRELEASE.7.31.06.htm|title=Green-e certification (press release)|date=July 31, 2006|access-date=2007-12-07|publisher=Bonneville Environmental Foundation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015101021/http://resource-solutions.org/where/pressreleases/2006/SUBPOP-BEF-JOINTRELEASE.7.31.06.htm|archive-date=October 15, 2007}}</ref>

In early 2007, Sub Pop started a sister label by the name of [[Hardly Art]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sub Pop founder starts new label, Hardly Art|url=https://www.prefixmag.com/news/new-label-hardly-art/9654/|magazine=Prefix|author=Justin Sheppard|date=March 9, 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008022614/https://www.prefixmag.com/news/new-label-hardly-art/9654/|archivedate=October 8, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sub Pop Launches Hardly Art Imprint|url=http://www.billboardbulletin.com/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i4d77772ac31465dc58263663e3ef91ae|work=Billboard.biz|publisher=Billboard|access-date=September 10, 2012|author=Todd Martens|date=March 9, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721232930/http://www.billboardbulletin.com/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i4d77772ac31465dc58263663e3ef91ae|archive-date=21 July 2012}}</ref> This label is also partially owned by Warner Music. In August 2008, Sub Pop relaunched the singles club for one year to celebrate its twentieth anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sub Pop Singles Club 3.0|publisher=Sub Pop Records|url=http://www.subpop.com/releases/sub_pop/misc/sub_pop_singles_club_3_0|access-date=July 3, 2008|archive-date=July 5, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705022556/http://www.subpop.com/releases/sub_pop/misc/sub_pop_singles_club_3_0|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2009, they signed their second [[hip-hop]] group, Seattle-based [[Shabazz Palaces]] – the first being The Evil Tambourines in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.subpop.com/artists/the_evil_tambourines|title=The Evil Tambourines|work=Sub Pop Records|access-date=August 21, 2021}}</ref> Ishmael Butler, one half of Shabazz Palaces and former member of jazz rap group [[Digable Planets]] became [[Artists and repertoire|A&R]] for Sub Pop.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/5646101/sub-pop-signs-shabazz-palaces-ishmael-butler-to-ar-team|title=Sub Pop Signs Shabazz Palaces' Ishmael Butler to A&R Team (Exclusive)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=August 23, 2013|archive-date=August 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826003107/http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/record-labels/5646101/sub-pop-signs-shabazz-palaces-ishmael-butler-to-ar-team|url-status=dead}}</ref>