Dead Oceans

Name: Tools 4 Music
Address: US
Price range: Free

United States • BloomingtonFounded 2007

Dead Oceans is an American independent label founded in 2007 by Jacob Waldorf, Ben Swanson, Chris Swanson, Darius Van Arman, and Jonathan Cargill. It is part of Secretly Group and is home to Phoebe Bridgers, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, Khruangbin, Bright Eyes, Slowdive, Bill Fay, Kevin Morby, and Durand Jones & The Indications. Dead Oceans focuses on bold and timeless recordings across indie rock, folk, and experimental pop.

Contact & HQ

Headquarters

Bloomington, IN, USA (Secretly Group offices across US and Europe)

Ownership & Distribution

Label Type

Independent Label

Parent Company

Secretly Group

Distribution

Secretly Distribution

Additional Details

Genres

Indie RockIndie FolkDream PopArt PopSoul

Signing Process

Dead Oceans runs its own A&R within Secretly Group. Unsolicited demos are not accepted. The label is highly selective and signs artists with distinct artistic identities. Dead Oceans' roster spans genre, age, and sense of place, unified by an underlying artistic aesthetic rather than a single sound.

Demo Policy

No unsolicited demos. Submit through representation or build a strong independent profile first.

Notable Artists

Phoebe Bridgers
Japanese Breakfast
Mitski
Khruangbin
Bright Eyes
Slowdive

Dead Oceans is an American independent label founded in 2007 by Jacob Waldorf, Ben Swanson, Chris Swanson, Darius Van Arman, and Jonathan Cargill. It is part of Secretly Group. Dead Oceans is home to Phoebe Bridgers, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, Khruangbin, Bright Eyes, Slowdive, Bill Fay, Kevin Morby, Durand Jones & The Indications, Cassandra Jenkins, and Danielle Ponder. The label focuses on bold and timeless recordings, and its name is lifted from the lyrics of a Bob Dylan folk ballad.

Dead Oceans has grown into one of the most respected indie labels in the world. Its diverse roster pushes forth a modern reimagining of the supposed indie-rock canon, an expansion and redefinition of what the "indie" genre even is. The earliest releases (including Phosphorescent's Pride, Dirty Projectors' Rise Above, and Akron/Family's Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free) ranged from folk to art punk to groove-y psych rock. The next several years yielded continued sonic diversity: Julianna Barwick's experimental ambiance, Mitski's anthemic rock, Ryley Walker and The Tallest Man on Earth's folk storytelling, Slowdive's remarkable return after a 22-year hiatus, and Khruangbin's global groove. The label's 2026 releases include Phoebe Bridgers' Puberty 2 (10th Anniversary Edition) and Danielle Ponder's Everything Has Changed.

How Dead Oceans Operates

Dead Oceans runs dedicated A&R within Secretly Group, with offices across the US and Europe. It is distributed by Secretly Distribution, giving it global physical and digital reach. The label's strength is its curatorial consistency across diverse genres, unified by an underlying artistic aesthetic. Its roster spans folk (Bill Fay, Kevin Morby), art pop (Mitski, Japanese Breakfast), soul (Durand Jones), and global groove (Khruangbin), all under one label umbrella.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you make indie rock, indie folk, art pop, or soul with a distinct artistic identity, Dead Oceans is one of the most respected independent labels in the world. Its roster of critically acclaimed and commercially successful artists (Phoebe Bridgers, Japanese Breakfast, Mitski, Khruangbin) shows it can develop artists who achieve both critical and commercial success. Its Secretly Group infrastructure provides global distribution and marketing.

Drawbacks and Things to Consider

Highly selective: Dead Oceans signs very few artists each year.
No unsolicited demos: Dead Oceans does not accept cold submissions.
Artistic aesthetic: The label has a distinct curatorial aesthetic. Music outside that aesthetic will not fit.
Secretly Group structure: Dead Oceans is part of Secretly Group. Deal structures involve the group's infrastructure.