Granary Music

Granary Music is an independent music business and recording identity operated by American musician Bob Mould. It functions as both a record label and a publishing company, while also serving as the name of Mould’s home studio. The enterprise is closely tied to Mould’s post-Hüsker Dü career, his former band Sugar, and his electronic side project Loudbomb. Granary’s principal significance is its control and administration of music created or owned by Mould. As described in reference material, the label’s artist roster consists of Mould himself, Sugar, and Loudbomb. Granary controls the masters for the Sugar catalog and for Mould’s solo recordings made after Sugar ended in 1995. Rather than operating as a large conventional label with a broad roster, it has commonly licensed or leased recordings to outside companies for distribution. Rykodisc and Yep Roc are among the labels associated with releases handled through such arrangements. This structure allowed Mould to retain a measure of control over his recordings while using established companies for manufacturing, promotion, and distribution. Granary also administers publishing interests connected with Mould’s songwriting. The reference material states that the company controls publishing rights to Mould’s compositions, including songs he wrote and performed with Hüsker Dü, after the band’s publishing partnership was dissolved in 1988. This gives Granary importance beyond the release of albums: it is also part of the rights-management infrastructure surrounding one of alternative rock’s influential songwriters. The name has a physical and creative dimension as well. Mould first used Granary for a home studio in New York City, where portions of The Last Dog and Pony Show and the album Modulate were developed. After moving to Washington, D.C., he relocated the studio and continued using the Granary name. Most of the basic tracks for Body of Song were recorded there, apart from live drums. The studio-label connection reflects the highly personal and artist-controlled nature of the business. Granary’s directly issued catalog includes Mould’s 2002 solo album Modulate and the Loudbomb release Long Playing Grooves. Other recordings have reached listeners through partner labels, including Mould’s later work issued by Merge Records and material associated with Rykodisc or Yep Roc. Granary therefore operates less like a mass-market consumer brand and more like an artist-controlled catalog, publishing, and production platform. The available reference material does not identify a separately incorporated corporate structure, public listing, formal headquarters, or current staff beyond Mould’s role as operator and rights holder. Its activities are best understood in the context of independent American alternative rock, catalog ownership, music publishing, and artist-led recording. The brand remains associated with Mould’s continuing solo work and with the preservation and exploitation of recordings from Hüsker Dü, Sugar, and related projects.

Granary Music developed as Bob Mould’s artist-controlled framework for recording, publishing, and managing music outside the conventional structure of a major label. Its origins are connected to the period after Hüsker Dü, the influential Minneapolis alternative-rock band Mould formed with Grant Hart and Greg Norton in 1979. Hüsker Dü recorded initially for the independent SST Records and later signed with Warner Bros. Records, but the group dissolved acrimoniously in the late 1980s. The band’s publishing arrangement was also dissolved in 1988. According to the available reference material, Mould subsequently claimed publishing control over the songs he had written and performed with the group. That catalog became one of the important bodies of work administered through Granary. Mould began a solo career before Hüsker Dü’s breakup was fully complete. His first solo album, Workbook, appeared in 1989 through Virgin Records America, followed by Black Sheets of Rain in 1990. During this period he also co-founded the Singles Only Label with Steve Fallon, but that operation was separate from Granary. Mould then formed Sugar with David Barbe and Malcolm Travis. Sugar released Copper Blue, Beaster, File Under: Easy Listening, and other material before ending in early 1995. Copper Blue became Mould’s most commercially successful album and later acquired major critical influence. After Sugar ended, Mould’s continuing recordings and the Sugar catalog became central assets of the Granary operation. Granary is described as both a record label and a publishing company. It controls the masters for Sugar’s recorded output and for Mould’s solo work made after Sugar’s breakup. The label has generally used a flexible licensing model: selected recordings were made available through outside companies such as Rykodisc and Yep Roc, while Mould retained control through Granary. This approach is characteristic of an independent artist catalog business rather than a label seeking to sign and develop a large range of unrelated performers. The label’s direct-release activity includes Modulate, Mould’s 2002 album with a substantial electronic and programmed component, and Long Playing Grooves by Loudbomb, an electronic project whose name derives from an anagram of Mould’s name. Mould’s later albums were released through other labels, including Merge Records, but Granary remained relevant as the controlling or originating rights entity behind his work. The arrangement enabled external distribution without eliminating the artist’s ownership and administrative role. Granary is also the name of Mould’s home recording studio. The studio was first used in New York City for parts of The Last Dog and Pony Show and Modulate. When Mould moved to Washington, D.C., he moved the studio and label identity with him. He recorded most of the basic material for Body of Song there, with live drums as the principal exception. The shared name links the label’s publishing and master-rights activities to a personal production environment. Over time, Granary’s relevance has extended across several stages of Mould’s career: the preservation of his Hüsker Dü songwriting interests, ownership of Sugar recordings, direct release of experimental solo and electronic work, and administration of a continuing solo catalog. The reference material does not establish a separate public corporate history, incorporation date, employee roster, or formal headquarters. Granary is therefore best characterized as a private, artist-operated independent label and publishing platform whose identity is inseparable from Bob Mould’s creative and business activities.

• 2005

  Granary studio used for Body of Song

  [1]Bob Moulden.wikipedia.org

  After the studio moved with Mould to Washington, D.C., most of the basic recording for Body of Song was completed there, excluding live drums.

• 2002

  Direct release of Modulate

  [1]Bob Moulden.wikipedia.org

  Mould released Modulate directly through Granary, making the label an explicit outlet for his electronically oriented solo work.

• 1995

  Sugar ends and its catalog becomes part of Mould’s independent rights structure

  [1]Bob Moulden.wikipedia.org

  After Sugar broke up, Granary became associated with control of the band’s masters along with Mould’s subsequent solo recordings.

• 1988

  Hüsker Dü publishing partnership dissolves

  [1]Bob Moulden.wikipedia.org

  Following the dissolution of Hüsker Dü’s publishing partnership, Mould claimed publishing rights to compositions he had written and performed with the band; those rights later formed part of Granary’s publishing activity.

• Long Playing Grooves released under the Loudbomb name

  [1]Bob Moulden.wikipedia.org

  Granary directly issued the CD associated with Mould’s electronic dance project Loudbomb.

Artist-controlled independent label and publishing operation focused on Bob Mould’s recordings, songwriting catalog, and related projects.

• Recorded music and master rights · 1995

  Bob Mould catalog

  Granary is associated with master rights for Mould’s solo work recorded after Sugar ended in 1995. The catalog spans guitar-driven alternative rock, acoustic and electronic material, and later solo albums. Individual releases have often been distributed through partner labels rather than issued solely by Granary.

• Recorded music and master rights · 1992

  Sugar catalog

  Granary controls the master recordings of Sugar, the trio Mould formed with David Barbe and Malcolm Travis. Sugar released two albums, an EP, and a collection of B-sides before breaking up in 1995, with Copper Blue becoming the group’s most prominent commercial and critical release.

• Electronic music

  Loudbomb — Long Playing Grooves

  Long Playing Grooves is the identified release by Loudbomb, Mould’s electronic side project. Unlike many Granary-associated recordings that were licensed to outside labels, this CD was released directly through Granary.

• Music publishing · 1988

  Granary publishing

  Granary administers publishing interests connected with Mould’s compositions, including material written and performed during his Hüsker Dü years. The publishing function complements the label’s ownership or control of master recordings.

• Recording studio

  Granary Studio

  Granary is also the name of Mould’s home studio. It was used in New York and later relocated to Washington, D.C., supporting work on The Last Dog and Pony Show, Modulate, and the basic tracks for Body of Song.

• 2002

  Issue Modulate directly through GranaryProduct launch

  Background

  Mould pursued an electronic and programmed sound on Modulate after a period that included dance-music collaboration and work under the Loudbomb name.

  Action taken

  The album was released directly through Granary rather than relying exclusively on an outside label.

  Aftermath

  The release established Granary as a vehicle for Mould’s more experimental projects, alongside its catalog and publishing functions.

  Source

• Use licensing partnerships for catalog distributionStrategy

  Background

  Granary retained control of Mould- and Sugar-related recordings while operating without the scale of a major record company.

  Action taken

  Selected masters were leased or licensed to outside labels, including Rykodisc and Yep Roc, for release and distribution.

  Aftermath

  The model combined artist control with the reach and infrastructure of established independent distributors.

  Source

1. 1Bob Moulden.wikipedia.org