Dis went back to Steve Albini's basement to record the second full-length release on Twelve Inch. This record sold out of its first run of 1000 very quickly. When it came time to repress the CD the band demanded that they get the profit rather than let us invest it back into the repressing. We bowed to the pressure, ponied up the cash for the next 1000 CDs ourselves, and sold approximately 5 more copies in the next 5 years. This was probably the only time in history that a band made more money than their label.
After growing weary of calling up stores directly to distribute our records, Twelve Inch signed a distribution deal (or was it a Mephistophelean pact?) with Cargo Records.
TIN007: Hum - Electra 2000 (1993)
The first appearance of the classic Hum lineup. Tim Lash joins up on guitar and the band went back to IDFUL to record with hipster engineer Brad Wood. The first Twelve Inch release that actually came out on 12" vinyl. This album, along with a healthy diet of touring, set the stage for the band's breakthrough two years later. Unfortunately when "You'd Prefer an Astronaut" went ballistic and "Electra 2000" started selling like hotcakes, Cargo decided that they no longer needed to pay us. An indie label's greatest dream is that one of their bands will go on to great success and the back catalog will start selling and the wealth generated can be used to release more great indie records. But did I mention that Cargo never paid up? I hope they used the money to put out more records...
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