I wrote the below profile
about local label Hardly Art for Crosscut. The full
article can be read after the jump.
Hardly Art is hardly your typical indie record label.
How can it be when it boasts the distinction of being an imprint label connected to Sub Pop Records? However, the label hasn’t banked on its Sub Pop roots to ensure success. Sure it has financial support and help in the distribution department from papa Sub Pop, but after nearly three years in business Hardly Art is turning itself into the big little label that could and starting to make a name for itself outside of the Sub Pop legacy.
At the rate Hardly Art is growing it could almost be considered more of a sister label than an imprint. Think of Sub Pop as the punk-rock-loving big brother with a GED and Hardly Art the hipper younger sibling who attends art school. The analogy isn’t much of a stretch given Sub Pop’s history with the g-word and the stable of current scene favorites The Dutchess & The Duke, The Moondoggies, Arthur & Yu and others who call Hardly Art home.
“Basically Sub Pop wasn’t able to work with a lot of smaller bands and wanted an outlet for that so they could get back to what’s going on on a smaller level locally,” said Sarah Moody, Hardly Art’s general manager. “All of the things we do are geared towards those smaller bands and we create a more welcoming label environment for them instead of this big scary label experience.”
