This page is Point of Interest page 7 of the Alternative Rock, Grunge and Seattle Tour,

click here to access the main tour page and introduction.

Sub Pop Records is located in the brown brick building at 2013 4th Ave

The entrance is located on 4th avenue adjacent to the parking lot on the north end of the building. Sub Pop Records is headquartered on the third floor in this building, but it is strictly for commercial activities, not for retail purposes. To cater to fans, Sub Pop Records has an online store, and has established a store at the Seattle airport, a testament to the impact the record label has had on the city of Seattle.

Disclaimer: copyright of this image rests with the original copyright holder, no infringement is intended. Image obtained from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub_Pop

One of the main factors that allowed Sub Pop to stay in business was the fact that Krist Novaselic had demanded a contract to secure himself, as well as Nirvana when they had started to work with Sub Pop. At the time, Sub Pop wasn't doing any contracts with bands because indie culture at the time was about handshake record deals, but because Krist demanded one, Co-founders Bruce Pavitt and Jonathon Poneman created a three-record contract for Nirvana to sign which would secure the band with Sub Pop from 1989 to 1991. When Nirvana signed a major label deal with Geffen in 1990, Geffen had to buy out Nirvana's existing contract with Sub Pop, as well as pay Sub Pop a percentage of sales from Nevermind. When Nirvana exploded with Nevermind, sales of Nirvana's debut album Bleach also took off. Bruce Pavitt said, "we went from not being able to pay our phone bill to getting a cheque for half a million dollars". In 1995, the label sold a 49% stake of the label to Time Warner Music Group. According to Bruce Pavitt, "Sub Pop started as a $20 investement. Fifteen years later, the company received a check for $20 million".

Continue walking down 4th Avenue, cross Virginia St and continue walking down 4th Avenue.

Cubarrubia, R. (2013, August, 21). Sub Pop Posts Nirvana's Original Contract. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/sub-pop-posts-nirvanas-original-contract-20130821

Nirvana (band). (2017). Retrieved (May 6, 2017) from the Nirvana (band) Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_(band)

Sub Pop. (2017). Retrieved (May 6, 2017) from the Sub Pop Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sub_Pop

Yarm, M. (2011). Everybody loves our town. Crown Publishing: New York, USA

This work was created by Kyle Huisman

Contact: seattlerock@outlook.com