The Hello CD of the Month Club, also known as the Hello Recording Club or simply Hello, was a subscription-only

record company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

that operated from

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

. Hello was organised by

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Common ...

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

and Marjorie Galen.Miller Rosenblum, Trudy.
Shoestring Label Provides an Outlet for Side Projects
. ''Billboard'', April 1994. Archived by Google. Retrieved 2012-12-25. Members of Hello received monthly issues of CD

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s, each containing four or five songs by a particular artist. These EPs were exclusive to Hello.The subscription model is explained in a Hello ad, which is archived

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

. Retrieved 2012-11-24.

Company history

founded the Hello CD of the Month Club with Marjorie Galen in 1993 as a way to provide an outlet for his solo material — Hello issued four

Mono Puff John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Commo ...

releases, as well as two EPs by Flansburgh's bandmate

John Linnell John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician, known primarily as one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwri ...

— while also providing a platform for both established musicians signed to other labels and new artists. Galen and Flansburgh originally intended Hello to be a standard independent label. However, this was not financially plausible, so Hello adopted a subscription model instead."Brain Child of a Giant". ''Creative Loafing''. 6 January 1994. Although Flansburgh and Galen had to seek out artists for Hello's first year of operation, by 1994, musicians were contacting the label themselves. In its first year, the label faced difficulties with understaffing.Flansburgh, John. "Partytime in the Summertime 1993". Summer, 1993 Hello Newsletter. Archived

. Retrieved 2012-11-25. Flansburgh has stated that the purpose of Hello was to produce and distribute music projects cheaply for the artist and the consumer. Hello only produced as many discs as the number of subscribers. It did not achieve outstanding financial success; however, Flansburgh reported that the label was in the black. Proceeds from

' 1985 Demo Tape, an optional addition to 1994 subscriptions, were donated to the

People With AIDS People With AIDS (PWA) means " person with HIV/AIDS", also sometimes phrased as, Person Living with AIDS. It is a term of self-empowerment, adopted by those with the virus in the early years of the pandemic (the 1980s), as an alternative to the p ...

Coalition.1985 Demo Tape. They Might Be Giants. Hello Recordings. 1994. The label dissolved after its 1996 subscription year due to a level of demand that the small label could no longer service. Some members did not receive the final 1996 releases till May 1997. For a brief time afterward, the Hello back catalogue was still available for purchase.Mono Puff FAQ
, including Hello information. MonoPuff.org Retrieved 2012-11-25. Over the span of Hello's existence, it issued releases from thirty-four different artists.

Release history

Hello produced thirty-nine EPs over four years, as well as two promotional samplers, a promotional copy of a full-length

album, and one compilation of original material by various artists. Hello also issued a live sampler from They Might Be Giants, and reissued their 1985 Demo Tape on cassette.

1993

1994

1995

1996

References

External links

* The Hello Recording Club article on

This Might Be A Wiki They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1993 Record labels disestablished in 1996 Alternative rock record labels