Disciple Records

Early years (2013-2014)

Disciple was founded by Ross Jonathan Burr (aka Myro, and a member of Astronaut: an electro house duo) and Arthur Robin Talbott (aka JVST SVY YES, and a member of Dodge & Fuski: a dubstep duo). Burr and Talbott became friends six months before Dodge & Fuski would be dropped from Never Say Die Records. Burr had prior experience running a record label, so Talbott repeatedly asked him to create one initially as a place for Dodge & Fuski to release music. With financial backing and networking help from Never Say Die's two co-founders: SKisM and Nicholas Sadler (aka Mobscene), the label was incorporated, in London, as a limited company (LTD) on October 25, 2012.^[1][2][3]

The etymology behind Disciple's logo and brand was "drawn over a pint in the pub one day" that communicated "in a dark and sinister way" where the fan is "part of the clan for life and there's no escape" once one becomes a fan of the label.^[4]

Like notable independent record labels such as Monstercat, and unlike other notable labels like the Big 4 record labels, Disciple signs artists on a non-contractual basis which gives the artist more autonomy on releasing their music because the label "wanted a chance to prove that what the artist was committing to was worth their while" and to "create a home for an ever growing family of producers where they feel safe and their music is well looked after.^[4] Disciple also offers exclusive signings which meant that artists would have the freedom to create "whatever direction you want to go".^[5]

In 2013, the label moved locations twice: First from London to Bristol,^{[disc 1][6]} and then from Bristol to Los Angeles. The reason for the move to the US was to capitalize on the growth of the dubstep genre in North America, a scene that was simultaneously declining in the UK.^[1][5] In 2014, Disciple was nominated for UKF's Label of The Year Award.^[7]

Peak years (2015-2020)

Despite Burr and Talbott emigrating to the US with "$100... and a seemingly valid US working visa", "crash[ing] on a friend's couch for about six months", and "living off of 7/11 dollar slice pizza just to survive.", the duo have built the label from the ground up. Between 2015 and 2020, the record label was at its peak such as selling out the Hollywood Palladium twice and Belasco Theater (promoted by Insomniac), andcreating a nationwide tour called "Disciple Kingdom".^[1][5][8]

On March 23, 2016, both SKisM and Sadler relinquished all shares of the label to Burr and Talbott.^{[disc 1]} In December 2016, Disciple was nominated as one of the fifteen record labels, by UKF for "push[ing] hard to find new talents, sounds and ideas and encourage new perspectives and fusions."^[9] In 2018, Disciple was nominated as one of eighteen "most exciting imprint[s]" by UKF.^[10]

In 2017, Disciple launched a sublabel called Disciple Round Table with 12th Planet as the head A&R. The label was founded to as an outlet for underground artists to release music, while the more established, big-brand artists would release on the primary label. 12th Planet used to run his own record label called SMOG Records which used to put out bass music from bass music artists, so Disciple Round Table serves as an extension of him to "champion the artists he believe[s] in". The etymology and branding for the sublabel and its album covers were inspired by the book: King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table.^{[2][11][12][13]}

In January 2019, Disciple filed Articles of incorporation to the California Secretary of State to become an incorporation. In September 2019, Disciple dissolved its business entity in the UK. According to an April 2024 statement of information, Founder and Chief executive officer of Create Music Group: Jonathan Strauss was listed as the CEO of the label and as one of the two employees on the statement. All this suggests that both Burr and Talbott relinquished all shares and control of the label to Create Music Group as early as September 2019.^{[disc 1][14]}

In 2020, the record label has hosted "virtual festivals" within popular video game Minecraft due to the COVID-19 pandemic preventing in-person attendance to music festivals. Instead of participants attending and tuning into the DJ's performance in-person, the participant would join the record label's Minecraft server and partake in the identical amount of festivities there.^[15] The label advised its artists to use their own music and "only music released by [the record label]" to ensure that the label doesn't encounter any copyright problems.^[8]

Compilation albums and EPs

The record label released a total of 38 compilation albums and EPs on its primary label and Disciple Round Table l to showcase music by its artists.