99 Records

99 Records
Founded	1980
Founder	Ed Bahlman
Defunct	1986
Genre	Post-punk, no wave
Country of origin	United States
Location	Greenwich Village, New York

99 Records (pronounced Nine Nine) was an American independent record label, active from 1980 to 1984. The label was home to several seminal musical artists in the no wave, post-punk, post-disco and avant-garde scenes in New York City.

British designer Gina Franklyn sold British fashions out of her shop 99, located at 99 MacDougal Street in New York's Greenwich Village. She began dating Ed Bahlman, who sold independent singles out of the store. During trips to England, he and Franklyn brought back suitcases of music, particularly from Rough Trade. They focused on independent and punk music, becoming a successful rival to Bleecker Bob's in the West Village. They also had a selection of funk and reggae. The store's arty appeal stood in contrast to many of the local businesses, which Bush Tetras member Dee Pop called "real Bob Dylan territory".Vivien Goldman described the store as "a milieu...[with] a very creative atmosphere."

Musician Glenn Branca approached Bahlman to see if he would be interested in starting a label and releasing a record by Branca. Bahlman knew little about recording, pressing, and distributing records, but Branca had some experience with Theoretical Records. Bahlman agreed and made Lesson No. 1 the first release by 99 Records. The label distributed primarily through its own store but also through Jem, Important, and Sky Disk. In 1980 and 1981 the label released several records for local bands, some of which had crossover success in dance clubs. Bush Tetras and ESG appeared on the disco charts, and 99 had its most successful releases with ESG and Liquid Liquid.

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