A terribly depressing day for many of us—local label Touch and Go Records, which has released records by Jesus Lizard, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Shellac, beloved not only in Chicago but around the world as well—has announced it’s reducing its business and effectively ceasing distribution and manufacturing, services it provided for several independent record labels, including Merge, Flameshovel, Kill Rock Stars, Drag City and Jade Tree. Such a move will drastically hinder those labels’ ability to release material, but according to label owner Corey Rusk, it was necessary for survival.
“Unfortunately, as much as we love all of these labels, the current state of the economy has reached the point where we can no longer afford to continue this lesser known, yet important part of Touch and Go’s operations,” Rusk said in an official statement.
Rusk insists his label is not completely coming to an end, only “returning to its roots and focusing solely on being an independent record label.”
A terribly depressing day for many of us—local label Touch and Go Records, which has released records by Jesus Lizard, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Shellac, beloved not only in Chicago but around the world as well—has announced it’s reducing its business and effectively ceasing distribution and manufacturing, services it provided for several independent record labels, including Merge, Flameshovel, Kill Rock Stars, Drag City and Jade Tree. Such a move will drastically hinder those labels’ ability to release material, but according to label owner Corey Rusk, it was necessary for survival.
