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| Teen-Beat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1984 (1984) |
| Founder | Mark Robinson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Official website | teenbeat |
Teen Beat is an Americanindependent record label, originally based inArlington, Virginia, now based inCambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded byMark Robinson (ofUnrest) in 1984 atWakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth (of Unrest), Andrew Beaujon (ofEggs), Tim Moran (of Unrest), and Ian Zack (Thirsty Boys).
In 1984, when Mark Robinson was in high school, he started the label as a kind of lending library. Only one copy of each album existed and his classmates could borrow one for a few days. The albums were mostly unedited rehearsals of Robinson's bandUnrest.[1] They were not numbered but lettered (A, B, C, etc.). Only one of these early albums is known to still exist: Unrest'sThis Side, Numskull; catalogue number "J" (the 10th TeenBeat release); dated December 14, 1984.[citation needed]
The first public release was a compilation cassette calledExtremism In the Defense of Liberty is No Vice on February 23, 1985. This was catalog number "TeenBeat 1". This audiocassette was dubbed into multiple copies by Andrew (Riley) Beaujon and Mark Robinson, by hooking up two separate cassette machines.[1]
Robinson's original intention was to release music from the local area, inspired byDischord Records. Before the label had any distribution deal Robinson would leave a few cassettes at records stores when he visited different cities.[1]
As with its influenceFactory Records, Teen Beat prominently numbered its releases,[2] with some releases known only by catalog number (e.g., theTEENBEAT 100 compilation, 1993); numbers have also been assigned to non-musical items, includingT-shirts,coffee mugs, events, its offices, andinterns.
Teen Beat (or "Teen-Beat" or "Teenbeat") has been home to a number of prominentindie bands, includingUnrest,+/-,Versus,Gastr del Sol,Eggs,Aden,True Love Always and a large number of other bands and side projects. Along withDischord Records, TeenBeat was an important early independent label; while Dischord focused on punk and hardcore, TeenBeat's bands were more typically guitar-based "indie-pop". Both labels almost exclusively work with bands from theWashington, D.C. area.
