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Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell, and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Detroit, and Soho in London—with multiple entities expanding upon the offerings of a traditional record label, including multiple live music venues, vinyl pressing plant, film studio and dark room, guitar pedal and gear company, mastering studio, vinyl subscription service, and a publishing arm.
In 2001, while Jack White was gaining regional notice in the White Stripes in Detroit, he registered the label Third Man Records, proceeding to trademark the name in 2004. It wasn't until 2008 when the White Stripes stopped touring and recording, and after White had reclaimed the rights to the band's earlier music, that White turned his focus to the label.
White recruited his nephew, White Stripes archivist and Dirtbombs drummer Ben Blackwell and his lifelong friend, Ben Swank, then the drummer for the Soledad Brothers and a promoter in London, to create a working business on March 11, 2009. White conceived the expansion idea in October 2008, phoning Swank and Blackwell to say the venture should first concentrate on releasing White Stripes' back catalog on vinyl. Blackwell moved from Detroit and Swank from London to establish the business. The Nashville location is a record store, label and has publishing offices; The Blue Room live venue and bar; photo studio/darkroom, master recordings vault, and a fulfillment center. To commemorate the opening of Third Man Records in Nashville, White debuted his new project, the Dead Weather, performing a short set for the 150 invited guests and coining the label's motto, "Your Turntable's Not Dead."
The label's name incorporates several elements of personal significance to White. His fondness for the number three is well documented. It refers to Carol Reed's The Third Man starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. White's pre-White Stripes upholstering company, which he continues to maintain as a hobby and artistic outlet in the present day, is named Third Man Upholstery and is similarly identified by the colors yellow and black and the motto “Your Upholstery’s Not Dead.”
Third Man has since reissued all six White Stripes studio releases on vinyl. The label’s catalog has grown to over 800 releases including albums by White’s other acts, contributions from Billie Eilish, Neil Young, Sleep, Metallica, Margo Price, Coldplay, and Jay-Z, as well as many developing artists.
The label's headquarters is located in a less prosperous neighborhood which is home to the Nashville Rescue Mission, the largest homeless shelter in the city; a transitional housing and recuperation center, and an affordable healthcare clinic. White's presence has raised the area's prominence, motivating the city and business owners to rezone the area with more commercial ventures, including multiple mixed-use developments, a Ritz Carlton Hotel, and a members' club. White opposes the idea, calling the environment "a solid neighborhood [where] everyone looks out for each other." The location is organized around five dedicated sections: the record store, a "novelties lounge", the label's offices and distribution center, a live venue and bar (The Blue Room), and a darkroom/photo studio.
The Novelties Lounge, located within the record store, debuted on November 23, 2012. The space contains a collection of vintage novelty machines. "Among the attractions in the new wing is a Scopitone machine—a video jukebox using 16mm film that had its greatest prominence in the 1960s. Third Man has loaded their Scopitone with 36 videos from the label catalog, and bill it as 'the world's ONLY Scopitone machine fully loaded with modern music.' Other highlights include a "Wax-O-Matic machine", which makes bright red wax molds of White's Airline guitar, and a full-color photo booth." On April 20, 2013, in celebration of Jack White's role as Record Store Day Ambassador, The Third Man Recording Booth, "a refurbished 1947 Voice-o-Graph machine that can record up to two minutes audio and press it onto 6-inch phonograph discs" was introduced as an addition to the Novelties Lounge. This voice-o-graph was used in the creating of Apple's 2014 holiday ad as shown in the behind the scene video. In August 2017, Third Man celebrated the total solar eclipse happening event "Occulting the Sunn", in Nashville.
In 2015, White partnered with Shinola—a lifestyle brand most known as a watch manufacturer—to open a retail location in Detroit. Third Man opened its first branch location at the former Willy's Overland Motorland Company in Detroit's Cass Corridor by Record Store Day's Black Friday event on November 27, 2015.
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Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an eclectic, vinyl-focused independent record label founded and owned by Jack White, Ben Blackwell, and Ben Swank. The company operates out of three locations—Nashville, Detroit, and Soho in London—with multiple entities expanding upon the offerings of a traditional record label, including multiple live music venues, vinyl pressing plant, film studio and dark room, guitar pedal and gear company, mastering studio, vinyl subscription service, and a publishing arm.
In 2001, while Jack White was gaining regional notice in the White Stripes in Detroit, he registered the label Third Man Records, proceeding to trademark the name in 2004. It wasn't until 2008 when the White Stripes stopped touring and recording, and after White had reclaimed the rights to the band's earlier music, that White turned his focus to the label.
White recruited his nephew, White Stripes archivist and Dirtbombs drummer Ben Blackwell and his lifelong friend, Ben Swank, then the drummer for the Soledad Brothers and a promoter in London, to create a working business on March 11, 2009. White conceived the expansion idea in October 2008, phoning Swank and Blackwell to say the venture should first concentrate on releasing White Stripes' back catalog on vinyl. Blackwell moved from Detroit and Swank from London to establish the business. The Nashville location is a record store, label and has publishing offices; The Blue Room live venue and bar; photo studio/darkroom, master recordings vault, and a fulfillment center. To commemorate the opening of Third Man Records in Nashville, White debuted his new project, the Dead Weather, performing a short set for the 150 invited guests and coining the label's motto, "Your Turntable's Not Dead."
The label's name incorporates several elements of personal significance to White. His fondness for the number three is well documented. It refers to Carol Reed's The Third Man starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. White's pre-White Stripes upholstering company, which he continues to maintain as a hobby and artistic outlet in the present day, is named Third Man Upholstery and is similarly identified by the colors yellow and black and the motto “Your Upholstery’s Not Dead.”
Third Man has since reissued all six White Stripes studio releases on vinyl. The label’s catalog has grown to over 800 releases including albums by White’s other acts, contributions from Billie Eilish, Neil Young, Sleep, Metallica, Margo Price, Coldplay, and Jay-Z, as well as many developing artists.
The label's headquarters is located in a less prosperous neighborhood which is home to the Nashville Rescue Mission, the largest homeless shelter in the city; a transitional housing and recuperation center, and an affordable healthcare clinic. White's presence has raised the area's prominence, motivating the city and business owners to rezone the area with more commercial ventures, including multiple mixed-use developments, a Ritz Carlton Hotel, and a members' club. White opposes the idea, calling the environment "a solid neighborhood [where] everyone looks out for each other." The location is organized around five dedicated sections: the record store, a "novelties lounge", the label's offices and distribution center, a live venue and bar (The Blue Room), and a darkroom/photo studio.
The Novelties Lounge, located within the record store, debuted on November 23, 2012. The space contains a collection of vintage novelty machines. "Among the attractions in the new wing is a Scopitone machine—a video jukebox using 16mm film that had its greatest prominence in the 1960s. Third Man has loaded their Scopitone with 36 videos from the label catalog, and bill it as 'the world's ONLY Scopitone machine fully loaded with modern music.' Other highlights include a "Wax-O-Matic machine", which makes bright red wax molds of White's Airline guitar, and a full-color photo booth." On April 20, 2013, in celebration of Jack White's role as Record Store Day Ambassador, The Third Man Recording Booth, "a refurbished 1947 Voice-o-Graph machine that can record up to two minutes audio and press it onto 6-inch phonograph discs" was introduced as an addition to the Novelties Lounge. This voice-o-graph was used in the creating of Apple's 2014 holiday ad as shown in the behind the scene video. In August 2017, Third Man celebrated the total solar eclipse happening event "Occulting the Sunn", in Nashville.
In 2015, White partnered with Shinola—a lifestyle brand most known as a watch manufacturer—to open a retail location in Detroit. Third Man opened its first branch location at the former Willy's Overland Motorland Company in Detroit's Cass Corridor by Record Store Day's Black Friday event on November 27, 2015.