Researching music institutions

1. Researching institutions with
similar products
By Masie Thumwood.

2. Subpop Records:
About Subpop:
Subpop is a record company that was founded by Bruce
Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in 1988. It is a medium-sised
independent record label which is based in Seattle.
The record label is usually associated with ‘the grunge
movement’ due to the early releases by Nirvana,
Mudhoney, Soundgarden and TAD. Due to this label, the
association of grunge has proven to be financially
positive. The label went on to release albums from well
known moderate artists. The record label is best known
for ending the record careers of Sleater-Kinney, Dead
Moon and The Jesus and Mary Chain.

3. The ‘Seattle Sound’
• In early 1988 Pavitt and Poneman quit their jobs to devote their full attention to Sub Pop. Raising $43,000, they
incorporated that April. "Of course that was spent in, like, thirty days", Pavitt recalled. "We almost went
bankrupt after a month". 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.
• 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.
• In November 1988 Sub Pop released "Love Buzz", the debut single by Aberdeen, Washington 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. 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. The original series was discontinued in 1993, followed by Singles Club V.2, launched in
1998 and discontinued in 2002.
• 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 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.“ Poneman explained the label's success: "It could have happened anywhere, but there was
a lucky set of coincidences. 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."

4. Commercial Success
• Sub Pop has three platinum records, Nirvana's Bleach;
Flight of the Conchords's Flight of the Conchords; and
The Postal Service's Give Up, as well as one gold record,
The Shins' Wincing the Night Away. The Shins' "New
Slang" has gone gold, and The Postal Service's digital
single for "Such Great Heights" has gone platinum. On
January 31, 2007, Sub Pop announced that The Shins'
third full-length for Sub Pop, Wincing the Night Away,
debuted at number two 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.

5. How can we do this?
After researching Subpop records, our group decided that with their
success throughout their releases, we now have an idea of how and
what we want to do to achieve this. For example, the same people
own it are the ones that started the company. Our group want
Rubicon Records to be similar as it means that with each song
indicating a message, this will be done with the right intentions.
Along with this, the company wasn’t overly successful, this means
that they were releasing songs for the messages that they are
communicating, an idea our group all like and wish to achieve.
The research has also given us an idea of how we want to distribute
and promote our products. They had done this by taking inspiration
from other bands along with gaining professional attention to help
the records sell cheaply and quickly.
The idea of using subscriptions for our fans was also appealing as it
meant they can keep updated on the albums and songs that are
being released, keeping the demand from their audiences.