Alternative_Records
Alternative Records
American independent record label
Alternative Records is an independent record label based in Eugene, Oregon. The label started in 1989.
Formed from its previous incarnation as a mail order record company starting in 1979, Randy Layton started the label as an outlet for former Exit Records artists Steve Scott and The 77s to release back catalogue and unreleased works. The label took on other artists over time, and after distribution deals with BMG and Word Canada ended, the company would begin to focus more on fan club releases and reissues.
Since 1998, Alternative Records has been known for its many collector's versions of its albums. More Miserable Than You'll Ever Be by The 77s was issued as a box set with a 7" single, a 3-track CD single, and a 4-track cassette as a numbered, signed edition of 1,000 before being reconfigured for CD with a different track listing.
A successful fundraising campaign allowed Layton to reissue the 1977 Pantano-Salsbury Hit The Switch album on CD in the early 2020s.[1] Despite poor health issues, Randy would also continue record sales through online sales forums. His speaking engagements would include TrueTunes podcasts[2] and others.[3]
Along with continued fundraising campaigns for reissue projects, Randy Layton announced in 2024 via social media that his son Matthias would be taking over direction of the label in the future.[4] Plans would include a future release of the previously unavailable Steve Scott LP Emotional Tourist (not the artist's retrospective by the same name.) [5]