Legendary punk label, Dischord Records, puts entire catalog online for free
Punk rock label of note, Dischord, has made their entire 40-year catalog of music available on Bandcamp for free. While free, they're hoping listeners will chip in to support the artists. Bandcamp has waived their sales fees for three months so that all of the money will go to the artists.
From the piece on Farout Magazine:
While the foundations of punk music have multiple different influencers, seminal Washington DC punk label Dischord have always had their say. The independent label, co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, founded the company in 1980 in order to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles. From there, Dischord focused on a nationwide network of underground bands and continued to spearhead the punk movement with their uncompromising approach to the music industry.
We don't use contracts, lawyers, any of those kinds of things," MacKaye once commented on the ethos of Dischord Records. We are partners-they make the music, and we make the records."
Nelson, echoing MacKaye's sentiment, added: From the beginning of this label, people have said that the way we do things is unsustainable, unrealistic, idealistic, and we were just dreaming," he said. Well, the dream is now 35 years old, so they can go fuck themselves."
Read the rest here.
First Demo Tape by Minor Threat
Update: Just to be clear, the catalog is free to listen to online. If you want to download the records, you still have to pay. But hey, do that. Support artists!
Image: Dischord Records