On July 6, the Small Business Administration released a list of all the businesses that have borrowed between $150,000 and $10 million as part of the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program loan program to help keep employees on payroll in the middle of the pandemic. The list includes multiple companies in the music industry, including several major and independent record labels.
Sub Pop Records, Third Man Records, and Knitting Factory Records each received a minimum of $350,000. Stones Throw Records received between $1 and $2 million. J. Cole’s Dreamville Records, ATO Records, Dim Mak, Rostrum, and Cleopatra each received at least $150,000. Other labels that received loans include the punk and hardcore label Equal Vision, the Americana label New West, Christian hip-hop label Reach Records, and metal labels Sumerian and Metal Blade.
Other sectors of the music industry received PPP loans, too, including numerous music venues, the Grammy Museum Foundation, the music publisher and label ABKCO, and vinyl pressing plants like Cleveland’s Gotta Groove Records. Record stores also received assistance, including Chicago’s Reckless Records and Austin’s Waterloo Records. Kanye West’s apparel company Yeezy LLC is the recipient of a loan for between $2 and $5 million.
Read “How Independent Music Venues Are Fighting for Their Existence,” “How the Coronavirus Crisis Is Devastating New York City’s Nightlife Community” and “Pitchfork Staffers Recommend 16 Great Indie Record Stores You Can Support Online” on the Pitch.