Label of the Month · October 2026
Sub Pop Records
“The Seattle-based independent label that ignited the grunge revolution and has consistently championed fearless, era-defining alternative music since 1988.”
Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 in Seattle by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often credited with helping popularize grunge music. The label's roster includes Fleet Foxes, Tad, Beach House, The Postal Service, Sleater-Kinney, Flight of the Conchords, Foals, Blitzen Trapper, Father John Misty, clipping., Shabazz Palaces, Weyes Blood, Guerilla Toss, Bully, La Luz, Low, METZ, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Kiwi Jr., Built to Spill, Sunn O))), TV Priest and The Shins. In 1995, the owners of Sub Pop sold a 49% stake of the label to the Warner Music Group.
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