| Hello CD of the Month Club | |
| Founded: | 1993 |
| Defunct: | 1996 |
| Founder: | John Flansburgh Marjorie Galen |
| Status: | Inactive |
| Genre: | Alternative rock, alternative country, experimental rock |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | Palisades, New York |
The Hello CD of the Month Club, also known as the Hello Recording Club or simply Hello, was a subscription-only record company that operated from 1993 to 1996. Hello was organised by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants and Marjorie Galen.[1] Members of Hello received monthly issues of CD extended plays, each containing four or five songs by a particular artist. These EPs were exclusive to Hello.[2]
John Flansburgh 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 releases, as well as two EPs by Flansburgh's bandmate John Linnell - 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.[3] 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.[4]
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 They Might Be Giants' 1985 Demo Tape, an optional addition to 1994 subscriptions, were donated to the People With AIDS Coalition.[5]
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.[6] Over the span of Hello's existence, it issued releases from thirty-four different artists.
Hello produced thirty-nine EPs over four years, as well as two promotional samplers, a promotional copy of a full-length Mono Puff 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.
| Artist | Title | Format | Type | Month | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Dewan | Brian Dewan | CD | EP | March | First release | |
| Nelories | The Nelories | CD | EP | April | ||
| Flat Old World | Flat Old World | CD | EP | May | Included bonus cassette | |
| They Might Be Giants | 1985 Demo Tape | Cassette | Demo | May | Bonus reissue cassette sent with the May EP for an additional $5 | |
| Kurt Hoffman's Band of Weeds | Kurt Hoffman's Band of Weeds | CD | EP | June | ||
| Eugene Chadbourne | Eugene Chadbourne | CD | EP | July | ||
| The Residents | Prelude to "The Teds" | CD | EP | August | Later released as part of "Our Poor, Our Tired, Our Huddled Masses" | |
| Hello The Band | Hello The Band | CD | EP | September | ||
| Duplex Halloween Planet | Duplex Halloween Planet | CD | EP | October | ||
| Frank Black | Frank Black | CD | EP | November | ||
| The Minus 5 | Hello EP | CD | EP | December |
| Artist | Title | Format | Type | Month | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various Artists | Hello 1993 Sampler | CD | Promo | N/A | Included selections from 1993 catalogues | |
| Various Artists | A Hello CD of the Month Club Sampler | CD | Promo | N/A | Included selections from 1993, 1994, and 1995 catalogues | |
| Portastatic | Portastatic | CD | EP | February | ||
| Drink Me | Five Songs | CD | EP | March | ||
| The Jickets | The Jickets | CD | EP | April | ||
| Peter Stampfel | Peter Stampfel | CD | EP | May | ||
| John Linnell | State Songs | CD | EP | June | Later expanded to a full album | |
| Brian Dewan | Brian Dewan | CD | EP | September | ||
| Spanish Fly | Insert Tongue Here | CD | EP | October | ||
| Andy Partridge | Andy Partridge | CD | EP | November | ||
| Chaz and the Motorbikes | Chaz and the Motorbikes | CD | EP | December | Included bonus CD | |
| They Might Be Giants | Live!! New York City 10/14/94 | CD | Live | December | Elektra Records promotional CD sent with December EP |
| Artist | Title | Format | Type | Month | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Flansburgh's Mono Puff | John Flansburgh's Mono Puff | CD | EP | March | ||
| My Dad is Dead | My Dad is Dead | CD | EP | April | ||
| Alaska | Alaska | CD | EP | May | ||
| Spondee | Spondee | CD | EP | June | ||
| Freedy Johnston | Freedy Johnston | CD | EP | July | ||
| The Coctails | The Coctails | CD | EP | August | ||
| Philco Bendyx | Philco Bendyx | CD | EP | September | ||
| Amy Allison and The Maudlins | Amy Allison and The Maudlins | CD | EP | October | ||
| Dave Schramm | Dave Schramm | CD | EP | November | ||
| Various Artists | Hello Family Santa Special | CD | Compilation | December | Christmas-themed compilation |
| Artist | Title | Format | Type | Month | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gothic Archies | Looming in the Gloom | CD | EP | March | ||
| Will Rigby | Will Rigby | CD | EP | April | ||
| Mono Puff | Unsupervised | CD | Album | May | Special advance promo; not commercially available | |
| Soul Coughing | Soul Coughing | CD | EP | June | ||
| Laura Cantrell | Laura Cantrell | CD | EP | July | Later reissued independently | |
| John Linnell | House of Mayors | CD | EP | August | ||
| Hal Sirowitz | Hal Sirowitz | CD | EP | September | ||
| You Were Spiraling | You Were Spiraling | CD | EP | October | ||
| Mono Puff | The Hal Cragin Years | CD | EP | November | ||
| Mono Puff | The Steve Calhoon Years | CD | EP | December | Final release |
