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Sub Pop Reveals Original Nirvana Contract

urlHow much do you have to shell out to get a contract with a seminal band in the Seattle grunge scene and one of the most popular and influential bands in general? Less than a month’s rent, apparently. Sub Pop, who posted their original contract with Nirvana on Tumblr, signed the famous band for only $600.

The contract also lists the early Nirvana band members as Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Chad Channing and Jason Everman. The contract outlines a first one-year term starting on Jan. 1, 1989 and ending on Dec. 31, 1989. The advance for the first option year is listed as $12,000, and the second year’s advance is listed as $24,000. The agreement also outlines the requirement that the band complete three album-length master tapes.

The label released Nirvana’s debut album, Bleach, in 1989, and the band switched to DGC for the release of Nevermind two years later. According to Sub Pop, they received a buyout for Nirvana’s contract and royalties on the band’s future albums from Geffen, which gave the label a hefty financial boost.

If you need some more Nirvana in your life, make sure to check out the 20th anniversary reissue of In Utero, which is set for release on Sept. 24. 

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