has steered the ship. His cool musical career began as a volunteer and DJ at Seattle’s KCMU , and he briefly managed Soundgarden before founding Sub Pop in 1987 with Bruce Pavitt, who’d pioneered the name for his fanzine.
Over the years, Sub Pop has sold an estimated 50 million records worldwide, donated $2 million to nonprofits, and even has a retail store greeting travelers in the Sea-Tac International Airport terminal in Seattle.caught up with him to talk about the honor and the label’s history and legacy, and he responded with characteristically carefully considered words.
References have been made to our emulating the great regional independent labels that are our contemporaries and predecessors. But the thing Sub Pop did after that initial era was we followed our hearts and our imaginations. I really believe the music we put out is driven very forcefully by our fandom as opposed to trying to figure out what’s going to entice the market.
I see my function principally as that of a custodian: I turn the lights on in the morning and off in the evening — not literally. But what I feel most proud of is creating a platform for talented, passionate people. And the talent I speak of is not picking the hits; it’s an ability to put one’s excitement and inspiration into a context where they can recognize how these qualities manifest in the artists we choose to work with.
subpop a2im
subpop a2im