Jagjaguwar is an American

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

based in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in

Secretly Group Secretly Group is a family of American independent record labels based in Bloomington, Indiana. The group is made up of Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans. Secretly Canadian, the first of the labels, was formed in 1996 by brothers Chri ...

, which also includes

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Secretly Canadian is a label included in Secretly Group, which ...

and

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans is an American independent record label formed in 2007 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Dead Oceans is part of Secretly Group, which also ...

. Secretly Group includes the three record labels as well as a

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

known a
Secretly Publishing
representing artists, writers, filmmakers, producers, and comedians.

History

In 1996, in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

sixth-year senior

Darius Van Arman Darius Van Arman is an American businessman, co-founder, and co-owner of Secretly Group, an independent label group that is based in Indiana. Early life Van Arman's father was a math professor who grew up in Detroit. Education and early car ...

, Jagjaguwar founder, was a music director at UVA's WTJU radio station, a clerk at the Plan 9 Records store, art director at Charlottesville's C-Ville Weekly, an overnight supervisor for an adult-care facility, and booking shows at The Tokyo Rose. During this time, a friend, Adam Busch (who also would put music out on Jagjaguwar as Manishevitz), was part of a band called The Curious Digit. The band needed a label, and Van Arman made The Curious Digit's ''Bombay Aloo'' the first release under his new Jagjaguwar label. The name "Jagjaguwar" was generated using a ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' character name-generating computer program. Shortly thereafter, Richmond band Drunk learned about Jagjaguwar and Drunk member Rick Alverson reached out to Van Arman to see if there was room for one more band on the label. He booked them to play at Tokyo Rose and then signed them to the label on the spot. In 1999, Van Arman and

Chris Swanson Chris Swanson is the co-founder of Secretly Group, which includes independent record labels Dead Oceans, Jagjaguwar, The Numero Group and Secretly Canadian, as well as music publisher Secretly Publishing. These labels are home to such acts as Bon ...

, who was part owner of the record label

, became friends and soon partners. Fairly early on in those exchanges, Van Arman suggested a partnership in Jagjaguwar. Van Arman relocated to Bloomington in 1999, and Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian grew closer. Van Arman soon became a partner in Secretly Canadian, and other Secretly Canadian partners, Ben Swanson and Jonathan Cargill, joined Van Arman and Chris Swanson in a Jagjaguwar partnership. Jagjaguwar introduced their partnership with

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida Na ...

via a split 7-inch record with Secretly Canadian artist Songs: Ohia. In 2001, a demo from Austin, Texas-based folk band

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

was sent to Chris Swanson. With each Okkervil River release on Jagjaguwar—its debut ''

Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See ''Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See'' is the first full-length studio album from alternative folk-rock group, Okkervil River. Released on January 22, 2002 on the label Jagjaguwar, it contains the single, "Kansas City". Artist William Sc ...

'' (2002), ''

Down the River of Golden Dreams ''Down the River of Golden Dreams'' is the second full-length studio album by Okkervil River, released on September 2, 2003. William Schaff continued to create artwork for Okkervil River with this release. The record label Jagjaguwar released ...

'' (2003), ''

Sleep and Wake-Up Songs ''Sleep and Wake-Up Songs'' is the third EP by Okkervil River, released on November 2, 2004. This interim release was in anticipation of their subsequent full-length album, ''Black Sheep Boy ''Black Sheep Boy'' is the third studio album by Am ...

'' (2004) and ''

Black Sheep Boy ''Black Sheep Boy'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Okkervil River, released on April 5, 2005. The title is inspired by the song "Black Sheep Boy" by 1960s folk singer Tim Hardin. The album deals with Hardin's struggle with ...

'' (2005), the band's profile grew. Much of ''Black Sheep Boy'' was written at Van Arman's house in Bloomington when

Will Sheff Will Sheff (born July 7, 1976) is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River (1998–present). Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter (along with former Okkervil bandmate Jo ...

stayed with him for some months. Alongside Okkervil River's releases, Jagjaguwar also released the debut album from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

band Black Mountain. Following Black Mountain's debut, Jagjaguwar signed more artists to the label including

Wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

The Besnard Lakes The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboa ...

, and

Sunset Rubdown Sunset Rubdown is a Canadian art rock music group from Montreal. The band began as a solo project for Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, who released his debut, '' Snake's Got a Leg'', in early 2005. By the next year the project expanded to become a fu ...

. In 2007, Jagjaguwar signed

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the stat ...

project

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, ''For Emma, Forever Ago,'' independently in July 2007. The majority of the album was recorded while Vernon ...

(lead by

Justin Vernon Justin DeYarmond Edison Vernon (born April 30, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the primary songwriter and frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver. Known for his distinct falsetto voic ...

), whose self-recorded album ''

For Emma, Forever Ago ''For Emma, Forever Ago'' is the debut studio album by American indie folk band Bon Iver. It was first self-released in July 2007, and later saw wide release on the Jagjaguwar label in February 2008. The album is principally the work of singer-son ...

'' (2008) had seen a grassroots groundswell based on just a handful of CD-R copies Vernon was selling at shows. The initial pressing of ''For Emma, Forever Ago'' sold out within the first few weeks. ''For Emma, Forever Ago'' received a sales certification of

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

in 2012, the same week Bon Iver's self-titled follow up album, ''

'', went gold. That album, released in June 2011, also led to two

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

wins for Bon Iver —

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

and Best Alternative Album. During his Grammy's speech in February 2012, Vernon thanked Jagjaguwar "for having transparency and friendship." Vernon also collaborated with other Jagjaguwar artists (

Sharon Van Etten Sharon Katharine Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums, the latest of which is '' We've Been Going About This All Wrong'' (2022). Early life Van Etten was born in Belleville, N ...

Lia Ices Lia Ices is an American singer-songwriter from Westport, Connecticut, currently living in Northern California. While she has been performing and recording for several years, Ices gained prominence when her song "Love is Won", from her second st ...

) and brought his other collaborative projects to the Jagjaguwar roster (

Volcano Choir Volcano Choir is an American indie rock band from Wisconsin, formed in 2005. It has released two albums, ''Unmap'' and ''Repave.'' History The band began as a collaboration between Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and members of Collections of Colonies ...

, GAYNGS). Soon, more artists signed with the label including

Small Black Small Black is an American indie band from Brooklyn, New YorThey are currently signed to the George Clanton, 100% Electronica record label. The band consists of Josh Kolenik (lead vocals/guitar), Ryan Heyner (guitar/keyboards), Juan Pieczanski (ba ...

Foxygen Foxygen is an American indie rock duo from Westlake Village, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado and vocalist Sam France. They have released six albums and a number of self-released EPs. History R ...

Unknown Mortal Orchestra Unknown Mortal Orchestra (UMO) is a New Zealand psychedelic rock band formed in Auckland, primarily composed of singer, guitarist, and songwriter Ruban Nielson, and bassist Jake Portrait. The band is currently based in Portland, Oregon, United ...

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

Preoccupations Preoccupations is a Canadian post-punk band from Calgary, Alberta, formed in 2012 under the name Viet Cong. The band consists of Matt Flegel (vocals, bass), Scott Munro (guitar, synth), Daniel Christiansen (guitar) and Mike Wallace (drums). Fle ...

, and

Angel Olsen Angel Olsen (born Angelina Maria Carroll; January 22, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter and musician from St. Louis, Missouri who lives in Asheville, North Carolina. To date, Olsen has released six studio albums: ''Half Way Home'' (2012), ...

. Van Etten released her Jagjaguwar debut, ''

Tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''t ...

'', in 2012 and her second album, ''

Are We There ''Are We There'' is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. It was released on May 27, 2014 via Jagjaguwar. Packaging Of the lack of a question mark in the album's title, Van Etten said it was "… open ...

'', in 2014. Unknown Mortal Orchestra signed to Jagjaguwar to release their sophomore album '' II'' (2013). In spring 2015, they released another album, ''

Multi-Love ''Multi-Love'' is the third studio album from the New Zealand band Unknown Mortal Orchestra. It was released on 26 May 2015. Frontman and primary contributor Ruban Nielson produced, mixed, and engineered the entirety of ''Multi-Love.'' He expl ...

'', which won multiple awards. In 2012, Jagjaguwar was awarded the American Association of Independent Music's (A2IM) Label of the Year. In 2007, the addition of

to Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar's partnership led to the formation of

. In 2015, Secretly Group began a partnership with

The Numero Group The Numero Group is an archival record label that creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums, and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. The label, known as Numero, was founded in 2003 b ...

as well. In 2018, Jagjaguwar was listed at number 4 on

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

's top 10 record labels of 2018.

was listed as number 7 and

was listed as number 8.

Artists

Notable awards and honors

Grammy Awards (US/global)

* 2020, Bon Iver, ''i,i'' - ''Hey, Ma'' - Record of the Year (nominated) * 2020, Bon Iver, ''i,i'' - Album of the Year (nominated) * 2020, Bon Iver, ''i,i'' - Best Alternative Music Album (nominated) * 2020, Bon Iver, ''i,i'' - Best Recording Package (nominated) * 2017, Bon Iver, ''22, A Million'' - Best Alternative Music Album (nominated) * 2017, Bon Iver, ''22, A Million'' - Best Recording Package (nominated) * 2012, Bon Iver - Best New Artist (won) * 2012, Bon Iver, "Holocene" - Song of the Year (nominated) * 2012, Bon Iver, ''Holocene'' - Record of the Year (nominated) * 2012, Bon Iver, ''Bon Iver'' - Best Alternative Music Album (won)

A2im Libera Awards (US)

* 2019, Moses Sumney, "Quarrel" - Video of the Year (finalist) * 2018, Moses Sumney, ''Aromanticism'' - Best Outlier Album (won) * 2018, Jamila Woods, ''Heavn'' - Best R&B Album (finalist) * 2018, Jamila Woods, ''Heavn'' - Breakthrough Artist (finalist) * 2017, Angel Olsen, "Shut Up Kiss Me" - Video of the Year (finalist) * 2017, Bon Iver, ''22, A Million'' - Marketing Genius Award (finalist) * 2017, Jagjaguwar - Label of the Year (won) * 2017, Bon Iver, ''22, A Million'' - Creative Packaging (finalist) * 2017, Sharon Van Etten (2016 Volvo XC90 TV Commercial) - Best Sync Usage (finalist) * 2017, Bon Iver, ''22, A Million'' - Best Live Act (finalist) * 2017, Angel Olsen, ''My Woman'' - Best Live Act (finalist) * 2017, Angel Olsen, ''My Woman'' - Album of the Year (won) * 2017, Bon Iver, ''22, A Million'' - Album of the Year (finalist) * 2016, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Multi-Love'' - Groundbreaking Album of the Year (finalist) * 2016, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Multi-Love'' - Album of the Year (finalist) * 2015, Viet Cong - Breakthrough Artist of the Year (finalist) * 2014, Angel Olsen, ''Burn Your Fire for No Witness'' - Up and Comer Award (won) * 2012, Jagjaguwar - Label of the Year (won) * 2012, Bon Iver, "Holocene" - Independent Video of the Year (finalist) * 2012, Bon Iver, ''Bon Iver'' - Independent Album of the Year (won) * 2012, Okkervil River, ''I Am Very Far (Deluxe Edition)'' - Creative Packaging Award (finalist)

Brit Awards (UK/global)

* 2017, Bon Iver - Best International Male Solo Artist (nominated) * 2012, Bon Iver - Best International Male Solo Artist (nominated) * 2012, Bon Iver - Best International Breakthrough Act (nominated)

Aim Independent Music Awards (UK)

* 2019, Sharon Van Etten, "Seventeen" - Best Independent Track (nominated) * 2018, Moses Sumney, "Doomed" - Video of the Year (nominated) * 2018, Moses Sumney- Independent Breakthrough Artist (nominated) * 2017, Angel Olsen - Independent Breakthrough Artist (nominated) * 2015, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "Multi-Love" - Independent Track of the Year (nominated) * 2014, Secretly Group - Independent Label of the Year (nominated)

Polaris Music Prize (Canada)

* 2016, Black Mountain, ''IV'' (shortlist) * 2015, Preoccupations, ''Viet Cong'' (shortlist) * 2010, The Besnard Lakes, ''The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night (shortlist) * 2008, Black Mountain, ''In the Future'' (shortlist) * 2007, The Besnard Lakes, ''The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse'' (shortlist) * 2007, Julie Doiron, ''Woke Myself Up'' (shortlist)

Juno Awards

* 2016, Preoccupations, ''Viet Cong'' - Alternative Album of the Year (nominated) * 2010, Julie Doiron, ''I Can wonder What You Did with Your Day'' - Alternative Album of the Year (nominated) * 2009, Black Mountain, ''In the Future'' - Album of the Year (nominated)

New Zealand Music Awards

* 2018, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Sex & Food'' - Album of the Year (nominated) * 2018, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Sex & Food'' - Best Alternative Artist (won) * 2018, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "Hunnybee" - Single of the Year (nominated) * 2018, Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Best Group of the Year (nominated) * 2015, Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Best Male Solo Artist (nominated) * 2015, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "Multi-Love" - Single of the Year (nominated) * 2015, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Multi-Love'' - Best Alternative Album of the Year (won) * 2015, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Multi-Love'' - Album of the Year (nominated) * 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Best Male Solo Artist (nominated) * 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, "So Good at Being in Trouble" - Single of the Year (nominated) * 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''II'' - Best Alternative Album of the Year (won) * 2013, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''II'' - Album of the Year (nominated)

Taite Music Prize (New Zealand)

* 2019, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Sex & Food'' (shortlist) * 2016, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Multi-Love'' (shortlist) * 2014, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''II'' (shortlist)

Apra Silver Scroll Award (New Zealand)

* 2018, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Hunnybee'' - Ruban Nielson, Kody Nielson, Jacob Portrait Songwriters (nominated) * 2015, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ''Multi-Love'' - Ruban Nielson, Kody Nielson Songwriters (won)

Making Vinyl Packaging Awards (US)

* 2019, Jamila Woods, ''Legacy! Legacy!'' - Best Vinyl Album LP Cover: Photograph (nominated) * 2019, Lonnie Holley, ''Mith'' - Best Vinyl Album LP Cover: Photograph (nominated)

Music + Sound Awards (UK/global)

* 2018, Moses Sumney, "Doomed" placement in ''Save Me'' - Best Sync, Television Programme (Single Scene) (won)

References

External links

* {{Authority control American independent record labels Indie rock record labels Companies based in Indiana American companies established in 1996 1996 establishments in Virginia