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Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by their band the Teen Idles.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Heller, Jason (November 18, 2014). "Primer: Where to Start with the Righteous Noise of Dischord Records". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 20, 2018.</ref> With other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, and SST Records, Dischord helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the 1980s indie rock scene.<ref name="Spin_21-1">Dolan, Jon (January 2005). "The Revival of Indie Rock". Spin 21 (1): 53.</ref> These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.<ref name = "Reynolds 2006">Template:Cite book</ref>
The label is most notable for employing the do it yourself ethic, producing all of its albums and selling them at discount prices without finance from major distributors.Template:Sfn Dischord continues to release records by bands from Washington D.C., and to document and support the Washington D.C. music scene.Template:Sfn As of October 2016, the label employs four people.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>
Dischord was a local label in the early days of hardcore, and is one of the more famous independent labels, along with the likes of Alternative Tentacles, Epitaph Records, SST Records, and Touch and Go Records.Template:Sfn
The logo of the label was created by Nelson, who has an associate degree in advertising design.<ref name="Spin_19-5">Beaujon, Andrew (May 2003). "Out of Step with the World". Spin 19 (5): 86.</ref>
HistoryEdit
Influenced by existing labels like Dangerhouse Records,<ref name="diffuser">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> MacKaye and Nelson took up residence in the now known "Dischord House" and ran the label out of its premises.<ref name="diffuser"/>
Dischord's first release was Minor Disturbance by Teen Idles<ref name="npr">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> released in 1980.<ref name="guardian">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The band members cut, folded, and glued the record packaging themselves to keep costs down.<ref name="npr"/> The label's first split 12" was Faith / Void Split by the bands the Faith and Void.<ref name="guardian"/>
Dischord limits itself to bands from the D.C. scene. The label offers the same basic deal to all artists: Dischord fronts a certain amount of money to record and manufacture<ref name="spin"/> and once those costs are recouped, the label's distributor takes 30 percent of the profit<ref name="washingtonpost">Template:Cite news</ref> and the band and label split the remainder.<ref name="spin">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost"/>
Jeff Nelson has claimed the venture was never intended to be profit-making but was instead simply a way to get their friends albums in fans’ hands.<ref name="washingtonpost"/>
In spite of criticism over the years about how the label is run, MacKaye claims everything works and will continue to operate in the same fashion of no contracts or lawyers.<ref name="bray">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2017, they put their catalog on Bandcamp for free streaming or purchase.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In May 2021, it was announced that Dischord would be re-releasing the label's first six 7" records in a remastered box set.<ref name="dischord200">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> With the catalog number "Dischord 200", it consisted of singles and EPs by Minor Threat, Government Issue, Teen Idles, SOA, and Youth Brigade.<ref name="dischord200"/>
RosterEdit
Template:Further Bands such as Minor Threat,Template:Sfn Government Issue,Template:Sfn the Faith,Template:Sfn Void,Template:Sfn Iron Cross,Template:Sfn Embrace,Template:Sfn Rites of Spring,Template:Sfn Nation of Ulysses,Template:Sfn Scream,Template:Sfn Soulside, S.O.A., the Teen Idles, Gray Matter, Jawbox,Template:Sfn Marginal Man,Template:Sfn Shudder to Think,Template:Sfn Dag Nasty,Template:Sfn Lungfish and FugaziTemplate:Sfn have released records on Dischord.
Additions to the Dischord roster as of the late 1990s and 2000s include Q and Not U,Template:Sfn Beauty Pill, Antelope, Soccer Team,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> French Toast, Faraquet, Black Eyes, the Aquarium, Title Tracks, Edie Sedgwick, Slant 6, and Andalusians. Many of these acts, notably Q and Not U and Black Eyes, are influential and experimental post-hardcore bands.
LegacyEdit
Dischord Records influenced many other labels such as Simple Machines,<ref name="spin"/> Lovitt Records and DeSoto Records.<ref name="spin"/>