Secretly Group is a family of American independent record labels based in Bloomington, Indiana. The group is made up of Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, and Dead Oceans, as well as a 50% stake in Merge Records. Secretly Canadian, the first of the labels, was formed in 1996 by brothers Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic. Weddle later left to form label Family Vineyard; the remaining trio were joined by Darius Van Arman, as well as his label Jagjaguwar, in 1999. The two labels had worked closely before Jagjaguwar's offices moved to Bloomington to work alongside Secretly Canadian's.Secretly Canadian: Mythological Proportions . Spacelab, August 8, 2007. Accessed September 30, 2008.
In February 2007, the partners behind Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar, along with Phil Waldorf, former label manager of Misra Records, announced a third label, Dead Oceans. The three labels share offices and staff in Bloomington, IN; however, they maintain distinct and separate aesthetic visions. In June 2013, The Numero Group, an existing re-issuer out of Chicago, joined forces with Secretly Canadian and the collection of labels known as Secretly Group. In 2025, it acquired a 50% stake in the influential independent label Merge Records.
All five labels are distributed by Secretly Group's in-house distribution arm, Secretly Distribution.
Artists
A number of artists have appeared on the four labels over the years.
Secretly Canadian
Antony and the Johnsons Anohni Alasdair Roberts Alex Cameron Ativin Ben Abraham Bobb Trimble Bodies of Water BLK JKS Cayucas Catfish Haven Cherry Glazerr Damien Jurado Danielson David Vandervelde Don Lennon Dungeonesse Early Day Miners Electric Youth Faye Webster Foreign Born Frida Hyvonen Gardens & Villa Havergal The Horns of Happiness The Impossible Shapes Instruments of Science & Technology Jason Molina jj Jens Lekman Jorma Whittaker June Panic I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
Little Scream Luke Temple Magnolia Electric Co. Major Lazer Marmoset Molina and Johnson Music Go Music Nightlands Nite Jewel Songs: Ohia Porcelain Raft Porridge Radio Racebannon Richard Swift Scout Niblett serpentwithfeet Shura Simon Joyner Stella Donnelly Steven A. Clark Suuns Swearing at Motorists Swell Maps Taken By Trees Throw Me The Statue Tig Notaro Tomas Barfod The War on Drugs Whitney Windsor for the Derby Woman's Hour Yeasayer Yoko Ono
Jagjaguwar
Angel Olsen Aspera The Besnard Lakes Black Mountain Bon Iver Briana Marela S. Carey The Cave Singers Company Robert Creeley The Dead C Diana Dinosaur Jr. Foxygen Fuck Gayngs Gordi Jamila Woods Julie Doiron Ladyhawk Lia Ices Lightning Dust Lonnie Holley Love Life Manishevitz
Minus Story Moonface Moses Sumney Mustafa the Poet Nad Navillus Nagisa ni te Nap Eyes Odawas Okkervil River Pink Mountaintops Preoccupations Richard Youngs Sarah White Simon Joyner Sharon Van Etten Small Black Sunset Rubdown Supreme Dicks Swan Lake Unknown Mortal Orchestra Volcano Choir Wilderness Wolf People Women
Dead Oceans
A Place to Bury Strangers Akron/Family Alex Lahey Bear in Heaven Better Oblivion Community Center Bill Fay Bishop Allen Bleached Bowerbirds Brazos Bright Eyes Califone Citay Destroyer Dirty Projectors The Donkeys Dub Thompson Durand Jones & The Indications Evangelicals The Explorers Club Frog Eyes Gauntlet Hair Japanese Breakfast
John Vanderslice Julianna Barwick Khruangbin Kevin Morby The Luyas Mark McGuire Marlon Williams Mitski Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band Nurses On Fillmore Phoebe Bridgers Phosphorescent Ryley Walker Shame Slowdive Strand of Oaks Sun Airway The Tallest Man on Earth These Are Powers Tom Rogerson Toro y Moi White Hinterland
Numero Group Trevor Dandy Duster Syl Johnson Luxury Caroline Peyton Shoes
All Flowers Group The All Flowers Group is a label group which is part of the Secretly Group family of record labels.
drink sum wtr drink sum wtr is an American independent record label founded in 2022. It operates under the All Flowers Group. drink sum wtr was founded in May 2022 by music executive Nigil Mack, Chris Swanson and Sam Valenti IV. It primarily releases music in genres such as hip hop and R&B. Its first signing was Queens-based rapper Deem Spencer in 2022, followed by poet Aja Monet.
In 2023, drink sum wtr signed Annahstasia, who later released the album Tether and the EP Surface Tension under the label.In 2025, the label signed Yaya Bey, and released her album Do It Afraid. Other artists the label has signed include Gareth Donkin, Your Grandparents, JEMS!, Seafood Sam, Halima, St. Panther, Kari Faux, THEY., Elujay, Aundrey Guillaume, and Say She She.
See also List of record labels
References