Sub Pop Records Turns 30, Gets Co-Branded Airplane

By Charlie Amter

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Two Seattle-based companies, Sub Pop Records and Alaska Airlines, have teamed up to honor the 30th anniversary of the record label this year via a freshly wrapped jet featuring Sub-Pop’s iconic logo.

Megan Jasper, Sub Pop’s CEO, said “music and travel both have the power to transform us,” in a release touting the new co-branded plane, which debuted Thursday.  “We’re thrilled to celebrate 30 years of life-changing independent music with Alaska Airlines.”

Natalie Bowman, Alaska Airlines’ managing director of brand marketing and advertising, echoed the sentiment.

“We are thrilled to partner with Sub Pop to bring two iconic Seattle brands together in the skies,” she enthuses. “This partnership brings together two independent, local brands that are committed to doing things a little differently.”

The colorful Boeing 737-800 may not elicit quite as much global excitement as Eva Air’s ‘Hello Kitty’ jet did when it launched, but for Seattle locals of a certain age, the plane is sure to bring back warm memories, perfectly timed to celebrate the label’s 30th anniversary related activities this year, which includes SPF 30 , a two-day-event in Seattle kicking off August 10.

Sub Pop helped launch the grunge movement with Nirvana and Soundgarden and went on to work with artists including the Shins, the Postal Service, Iron and Wine and Father John Misty.

It’s not the first time the company has been associated with air travel — there’s an expansive Sub Pop store at the Seattle Airport offering vinyl, books, t-shirts and music gift items.

Speaking on the design of the plane, Sub Pop co-president/founder Jonathan Poneman said: “The jet’s wrapping makes it look like a Sub Pop musician’s instrument case, only in much better condition. It’s definitely the sickest jet on the tarmac.”