How much did Nirvana album ‘Bleach’ cost to make?
Funding a debut album is no easy feat. Between studio rates and producer fees, the cost of recording can really add up, and that’s before you even consider pressing onto vinyl.
Independent bands have struggled with these rising prices for years, working overtime in their day jobs or, more recently, enlisting the help of fans with GoFundMe pages. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to fund a debut record, but some of the greatest first albums in music history have been recorded on a budget. Take Nirvana, for example.
The Seattle-born grunge band had attracted the attention of independent label Sub Pop in the late 1980s, releasing their cover of ‘Love Buzz’ with the label. In 1989, they continued their partnership with Sub Pop and released their debut record, Bleach, via the label. It was a sludgy collection of heavy guitar tunes informed by the grassroots DIY scene that had spawned them. But it wasn’t funded by Sub Pop.
Instead, the record was funded by Jason Everman. Although he wasn’t a part of the iconic trio we now know as Nirvana, Everman did perform a brief stint with the band, using his guitar talents to increase the intensity of their live sound. But Everman’s impact on the band extended far beyond the run of tour dates he played with them. The guitarist also paid for the recording of their debut.
So, how much did Nirvana’s Bleach cost to make?
With Everman’s financial support, Nirvana recruited Seattle-based producer Jack Endino, a vital name in the local scene, and ventured to Reciprocal Recording Studios in 1988 to get started on their debut album. It took them just 30 hours to record. Or, at least, that’s all they were billed for by Endino. Their total came to just $606.17, according to Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana by Michael Azerrad.
The record was released in the summer of the year following, on June 15th, 1989, kickstarting Nirvana’s unparalleled legacy in the world of grunge. It wasn’t a commercial hit, but that didn’t matter. The record introduced audiences to their grunge, grassroots-influenced sound and featured their first single, ‘Love Buzz’, as well as ‘About A Girl’, which would be rereleased years later following Cobain’s death.
In the years that followed Bleach, Nirvana gained more and more traction, pushing into the mainstream by linking up with David Geffen and putting out signature tracks like ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. They began pairing that initial, sludgy sound with a newfound catchiness, with pop melodies that made their way onto the radio and into the hearts of kids seeking a new form of guitar music.
They unveiled Nevermind in 1991, which put them on the map outside of Seattle. Their decision to begin mixing DIY sounds with more mainstream leanings served them well, as Nevermind found them award-season success and a mammoth audience. In Utero experienced the same trajectory, selling millions of copies.
Bleach might not be quite as iconic as the records that followed it, perhaps overshadowed by their huge commercial success, but it’s no less essential to Nirvana’s catalogue. The $600-dollar debut record birthed their dark, heavy sound and welcomed the world into it. It remains an intriguing look at a more lo-fi, scuzzy Nirvana in the earliest iteration of their sound.
