Merge Records
Merge Records | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Founded | 1989 |
Founder | Laura Ballance Mac McCaughan |
Distributor(s) | AMPED Distribution[1] (US) PIAS (United Kingdom) Selecta (Latin America) FAB Distribution (Canada) eOne (North America) |
Genre | Indie rock, alternative rock |
Country of origin | U.S. |
Location | Durham, North Carolina |
Official website | www |
Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world, with records reaching the top of the Billboard music charts.
History[]
After releasing a number of 7" records and cassettes, the first Merge Records full-length CD release came on April 1, 1992, with MRG020 Superchunk—Tossing Seeds, the band's first collection of singles.
Merge's early successes included Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane over the Sea, The Magnetic Fields's 69 Love Songs, and Spoon's Kill the Moonlight.[2]
The label's first album to reach the USA Billboard 200 was Arcade Fire's Funeral, a 2004 release.[3] Arcade Fire gave the label its then highest-charting release with their follow-up, 2007's Neon Bible, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200,[4] and, later, reaching #1 with their third album, 2010's The Suburbs.[5] Other Billboard Top Ten releases include Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Transference, along with She & Him's (actress/musician Zooey Deschanel along with M. Ward, a popular Merge folk musician) Volume Two. Other notable Merge releases include Caribou's Polaris Prize-winning Andorra, M. Ward's Hold Time, Camera Obscura's Let's Get Out of This Country, and She & Him's Volume One.
In February 2009, due to adverse market conditions it was announced that Touch and Go Records would no longer manufacture and distribute records for Merge and many other independent record labels;[6] Merge had been "under the Touch and Go umbrella" ever since its 1992 release of Tossing Seeds.[7] Merge quickly reached an agreement with the Alternative Distribution Alliance to continue distribution of its releases.[8]
In September 2009, Algonquin Paperbacks released Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, a book chronicling the label's history.[9] This followed a 6-day music festival in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC, featuring over 40 Merge acts from around the world[10] celebrating the 20th anniversary of the label's first release. The label also released a subscription-only 17-disc box set SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records[11] throughout the 20th anniversary year curated by pop culture tastemakers such as David Byrne, Amy Poehler, Zach Galifianakis, Jonathan Lethem, Peter Buck, David Chang, Mindy Kaling and more, with all proceeds going to charities.
In August 2010, Merge Records released Arcade Fire's The Suburbs to critical acclaim, preceding the band's headlining appearance at Lollapalooza. The album went straight to number one on the U.S. and U.K. charts. Famed director and Monty Python member Terry Gilliam also directed a live online broadcast of the band's concert from the historic Madison Square Garden in New York following the album's release, which was streamed live by an estimated 1.8 million unique viewers. The Suburbs won the Grammy for Album of the Year at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on February 13, 2011.
Artists[]
List of artists adapted from Merge Records website.[12]
- The 3Ds
- The 6ths
- A Giant Dog
- American Music Club
- Amor De Días
- Angels of Epistemology
- Apex Manor
- Arcade Fire
- Archers of Loaf
- Ashley Stove
- Eric Bachmann
- Lou Barlow
- Barren Girls
- Beatnik Filmstars
- Dan Bejar
- Big Dipper
- Breadwinner
- Bricks
- The Broken West
- Richard Buckner
- Will Butler
- Butterglory
- Buzzcocks
- Cable Ties
- The Cakekitchen
- Camera Obscura
- Caribou
- The Clean
- The Clientele
- Hollie Cook
- Mikal Cronin
- Crooked Fingers
- Allison Crutchfield
- Daphni
- Destroyer
- Dinosaur Jr
- Divine Fits
- Drive Like Jehu
- East River Pipe
- Mark Eitzel
- Matt Elliott
- Erectus Monotone
- The Essex Green
- Ex Hex
- The Extra Lens
- Flesh Wounds
- Flock of Dimes
- Martin Frawley
- Eleanor Friedberger
- Fruit Bats
- Fucked Up
- Future Bible Heroes
- Ganger
- Gauche
- The Gothic Archies
- Guv'ner
- Coco Hames
- Annie Hayden
- HeCTA
- Hiss Golden Messenger
- Honor Role
- Hospitality
- Benji Hughes
- Ibibio Sound Machine
- Imperial Teen
- The Karl Hendricks Trio
- David Kilgour
- King Khan and the Shrines
- Julian Koster
- Mike Krol
- The Ladybug Transistor
- Lambchop
- Let's Wrestle
- Little Scream
- The Love Language
- The Mad Scene
- The Magnetic Fields
- Mac McCaughan
- H.C. McEntire
- Stephin Merritt
- Bob Mould
- Mount Moriah
- The Mountain Goats
- Mt. Wilson Repeater
- The Music Tapes
- Neutral Milk Hotel
- Oakley Hall
- Conor Oberst
- Ought
- Pipe
- Robert Pollard
- Polvo
- Portastatic
- Pram
- Radar Bros.
- Redd Kross
- Reigning Sound
- Dawn Richard
- The Rock*A*Teens
- The Rosebuds
- Sacred Paws
- Saint Rich
- Seaweed
- Shark Quest
- She & Him
- Shout Out Louds
- Sneaks
- Spaceheads
- Spent
- Spider Bags
- The Spinanes
- Spoon
- Sugar
- Matt Suggs
- Superchunk
- Swearin'
- Sweet Spirit
- Teenage Fanclub
- Telekinesis
- Tenement Halls
- The Third Eye Foundation
- Tracey Thorn
- Times New Viking
- Titus Andronicus
- Torres
- Tracyanne & Danny
- Twerps
- William Tyler
- Versus
- Vertical Scratchers
- Volcano Suns
- M. Ward
- Waxahatchee
- White Whale
- Wild Flag
- Wwax
- Wye Oak
See also[]
References[]
- ^ [1]
- ^ Grow, Kory (July 26, 2004). "Hart of the Matter". CMJ New Music Report. p. 14.
- ^ "Pitchfork e-zine tells indie fans what's hot and not | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper". The Honolulu Advertiser. May 8, 2005. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=32547263 Archived July 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Arcade Fire And Taylor Swift Sweep In With New No. 1s". Billboard.biz. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ "Pitchfork says: Touch and Go Records will stop releasing new music. | WKNC 88.1 FM Raleigh". Wknc.org. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ "On the Beat: David Menconi on music - The record business implosion is touch and go | newsobserver.com blogs". Blogs.newsobserver.com. February 19, 2009. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ "Touch and Go to cut staff, distribution services | Pop & Hiss | Los Angeles Times". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. February 18, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ Code18 Interactive. "Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records". Ournoisethebook.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ Malitz, David. "XX Merge: The Definitive List of 20 Things to Know - Post Rock". Voices.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ "Merge Records SCORE! Merge is 20!". Mergerecords.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
- ^ "Artists". Merge Records. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
External links[]
- Merge Records
- American independent record labels
- Record labels established in 1989
- Alternative rock record labels
- Indie rock record labels
- Companies based in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina
- Music of North Carolina
- 1989 establishments in North Carolina