Sub Pop +20
Sub Pop records may have been operating as the SUBTERRANEAN POP fanzine since 1979, but 1988 is the official start-date for the label so 2008 has being designated as the official 20th birthday.
The celebrations will be varied, but highlights include an fundraiser outside Seattle on July 12th & 13th, featuring bands past and present (Green River, Flight of the Conchords, Foals, Iron & Wine, Kinski, Low, Mudhoney, Pissed Jeans and more) and a series of re-releases for high profile albums from the label, starting with Mudhoney's Superfuzz Bigmuff: Deluxe Edition on My 22nd....
As noted by chimpovich, in the pre-internet days 'anything on Sub Pop' used to be a pretty solid recommendation for new music, so pull your weight and get involved.
Some Numbers:
Highest position on the Billboard 200 Albums chart #2, The Shins, Wincing the Night Away (2007)
Best-selling album 1.6 million copies, Nirvana, Bleach (1989)
Most releases by a single artist 17, Mudhoney
Number of releases through June 2008 777
Sub Pop Singles Club releases, first incarnation, 1988-1993 62
Sub Pop Singles Club releases, second incarnation, 1998-2002 47
Sub Pop Singles Club releases, third incarnation, 2008-2009 12
Singles Club members at peak of first incarnation 4,500
Grammy nominations 4
Children assigned Sub Pop Records catalog numbers 2
Percentage new releases sold by download in 2007 21
Free downloads of The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” on subpop.com 11,655,300
Employees as of March 2008 27
Dogs roaming the halls of Sub Pop HQ 3
Cost in cents for 12 oz. Ranier beer in lunch room soda machine 75
Corporate charitable donations in US dollars for 2007 250,000
Highest winning online auction bid in US dollars for Nirvana “Love Buzz” single 3,451
17th Apr 2008 - Tumblr