Merge Records

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Merge Records
Mergelogosmall.png
Founded1989 (1989)
Founder Laura Ballance
Mac McCaughan
Distributor(s)AMPED Distribution [1] (US)
PIAS (UK/Europe)
Selecta (Latin America)
FAB Distribution (Canada)
Genre Indie rock, alternative rock
Country of originU.S.
Location Durham, North Carolina
Official website www.mergerecords.com

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 an outlet for 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.

Contents

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' 69 Love Songs , and Spoon's Kill the Moonlight . [2]

The label's first album to reach the 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]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Neon Bible is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was first released on March 5, 2007, in Europe and a day later in North America by Merge Records. Originally announced on December 16, 2006, through the band's website, the majority of the album was recorded at a church the band bought and renovated in Farnham, Quebec. The album is the first to feature drummer Jeremy Gara, and the first to include violinist Sarah Neufeld among the band's core line-up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arcade Fire discography</span>

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<i>Transference</i> (album) 2010 studio album by Spoon

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<i>The Suburbs</i> 2010 studio album by Arcade Fire

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<i>Summer of the Shark</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Portastatic

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slack Motherfucker</span> 1990 single by Superchunk

"Slack Motherfucker" is a song by American rock band Superchunk. It was the first single released from the band's debut, self-titled album (1990). The song was penned by vocalist and guitarist Mac McCaughan in reference to an indolent co-worker he had at the time. Credited to all four band members, it was the band's second single and first to be released under the name Superchunk.

Beatnik Filmstars were a British Lo-fi pop group formed in Bristol in 1990. After splitting up in 1998, going on to side projects Kyoko and Bluebear, they re-formed in 2004, releasing several more albums before splitting again in 2008.

Bricks were an indie rock band founded in New York City in the late 1980s. The group was formed by Merge Records co-founder Mac McCaughan while he was studying at Columbia University, along with Nashville-born singer-songwriter Laura Cantrell, plus classmates Andrew Webster and Josh Phillips. The foursome recorded at least 18 lo-fi songs between 1988 and 1990, which they released on a cassette and two 7-inch singles before disbanding. Their first single, "Girl With The Carrot Skin", enjoyed college radio airplay and was also made into a music video. Shot on super-8 film, the video featured the band eating and playing with copious amounts of carrots.

<i>What a Time to Be Alive</i> (Superchunk album) 2018 studio album by Superchunk

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References

  1. ↑ "Labels".
  2. ↑ Grow, Kory (July 26, 2004). "Hart of the Matter". CMJ New Music Report . p. 14.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. ↑ "Arcade Fire's 'Neon Bible' Opens At No. 2". prod1.cmj.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Arcade Fire And Taylor Swift Sweep In With New No. 1s". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on August 16, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ "Touch and Go to cut staff, distribution services | Pop & Hiss | Los Angeles Times". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. February 18, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  9. ↑ Code18 Interactive. "Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records". Ournoisethebook.com. Archived from the original on July 16, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Malitz, David. "XX Merge: The Definitive List of 20 Things to Know - Post Rock". Voices.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Merge Records SCORE! Merge is 20!". Mergerecords.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Artists". Merge Records. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
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