Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman are co-founders of Sub Pop Records, discussing how they formalized their record deal with Nirvana.
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“John's true genius was to go to the library and photocopy a generic contract, use a little whiteout, and for you know, 20 cents worth of copies, we were able to get a contract with Nirvana that is essentially the reason why we're talking to you today.”
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More from Bruce Pavitt
AssertionSupported
Pavitt: Nirvana shopped their 1990 Butch Vig sessions secretly to major labels
“So we sent Nirvana there in 1990, I believe it was May. They were supposed to record their next album, and that tape wound up being a demo that got shopped to Majors, unbeknownst to myself and John.”
Bruce PavittJun 1, 2020▶ 53:50Sub Pop Records: Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman
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Pavitt: Sub Pop succeeded by shamelessly seeking publicity, unlike other punk labels
“Sub Pop is, is a known brand, in part due to the fact that we were relentless and shameless in seeking media attention. That was just what we did. Other indie slash punk labels would shy away from that, but we didn't.”
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Pavitt: Popularized 'grunge' in ad copy for a Green River record
“I wrote some ad copy for the first Green River record, and I wrote, ultra loose grunge that destroyed the morals of a generation. And I put grunge in all caps.”
Bruce PavittJun 1, 2020▶ 35:59Sub Pop Records: Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman
Opinion
Pavitt: Initial reaction to Nirvana's demo tape was a little 'ho-hum'
“And our response was a little ho-hum. The vocals sounded good. But we thought that some of the songwriting was a little busy.”
Bruce PavittJun 1, 2020▶ 40:46Sub Pop Records: Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman
AssertionSupported
Pavitt: Retaining royalty points on Nirvana's major-label records earned Sub Pop millions
“So, the way things played out, we had points because of the contract on Nirvana's records, so we went from having no money to actually having millions of dollars.”
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Insight
Pavitt: Intuitive founders excel at creation but suffer in corporate structures
“And a personality such myself that is somewhat intuitive and improvisational does very well in the birthing of a company, but when it comes to administrative, and when things become more departmentalized, it's a little bit soul crushing.”
Bruce PavittJun 1, 2020▶ 1:10:41Sub Pop Records: Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman
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