The Ledger
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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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
Pavitt: Sub Pop signed Nirvana using a 20-cent photocopied library contract
“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.”
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.”
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.”
Pavitt: Firing four key employees triggered departure and co-founder estrangement
“The firing of four employees that I thought were very valuable to the company, and I was very traumatized by that. I was very, I can't even put it into words, but . I couldn't process that, and I was very upset, and I think that was really what led to our estr…”
Pavitt: Sub Pop had under $100 the week 'Teen Spirit' shipped
“There was a point in time in August of 1991 where we literally did not have a hundred dollars in the bank, ok? And that's the week that Smells Like Teen Spirit got shipped out to radio.”
Pavitt: Borrowed $5,000 from a customer to press Sub Pop 100
“I borrowed 5000 bucks to put it out. It did wind up selling 5000 copies and Those were really good numbers at that time.”
Pavitt: Borrowed $3,000 from his father to release Green River's debut
“I called up my dad, and borrowed 3000 dollars, and got Dry as a Bone, the first Green River record, out.”
Pavitt: John Peel said Sub Pop had most distinctive sound since Motown
“He literally said Sub Pop has the most distinctive regional sound since Tamla Motown.”
Pavitt: Sub Pop's Lamefest was Moore Theater's first local sellout
“The record release Party for Bleach was actually our Lamefest showcase at the Moore Theater with you know, seating 1500 people. It sold out, it was the first show in the history of the Moore Theater that had sold out a local show.”
Pavitt: Nirvana's debut album Bleach sold 40,000 copies through word of mouth
“It eventually sold up to around 40,000 copies, and there was just a lot of word of mouth.”
Pavitt: Nirvana's Sub Pop debut album Bleach has sold two million copies
“Yes, and then our Bleach album, I think at this point it sold like two million copies”
Pavitt: KAOS Radio mandated 80 percent indie music playlists
“It uniquely prioritized independently produced records, so 80% of your show had to be from small regional independent labels.”
Pavitt: Sub Pop took off in 1987 via dual record promo
“This decision was made in spring of 87, and when the Green River Record Release Party happened in June of 87, by that time we had the Soundgarden single pressed, so when we mailed out the Green River EP to radio stations and press and so forth. We included the…”