Chris Hansen, the record label's founder, started at the bottom of the music industry in an attempt to build up experience and knowledge of owning a label. He started at Smartpunk and Fearless Records doing Mail Order. No Sleep properly released their first album when a friend of Hansen offered to release an already fully-funded and complete album on his newly-constructed label. The release was the Our American Cousin EP, which in Hansen's opinion was "a good 90s style indie/emo record". In the first two years since No Sleep's foundation, Hansen worked as an art director at Trustkill, however was laid-off and moved back to California and focused entirely on the label.
Expansion and growth (2010s)
second studio albumThe Upsides in 2010 acted as a significant release for the record label as the album appeared on the United StatesBillboard album chart. No Sleep set up their own distribution wing for the United Kingdom and European Union due to the significant success in 2010. No Sleep Records won the 2011 Libby Award from Peta2 for being the "Most Animal Friendly Record Label" and so most No Sleep releases include a flyer on going vegan. Across 2012, as a promotional tool, No Sleep started to offer free music to get the attention of people. Starting with the offer of a subscription package to the label, which included all their current vinyl releases, they started various initiatives like “Free Album Tuesday” for some of their lesser known artists. They also released a string of free sampler albums featuring tracks from their included artists. While some, in the early stages of its development were part of a collection of short sampler downloads called "No Sleep Till Death" American online magazineAlter The Press exclusively announced one of these large releases. No Sleep's signed bands that were participating in Warped Tour 2012 were released on a Summer 2012 compilation album which included B-sides and rarities.
Artists and releases
No Sleep aspires to sign bands who contribute to a very diverse roster and for all the artists to stand out from each other. For the first pressing of an artist's debut album, No Sleep will typically put out 1,000–1,500 copies, either compact disc or vinyl. They also store a few hundred spare copies of some releases for selling in a few years when their value has increased. Vinyl has become a significant component to No Sleep's business model. Stemming from the fact that Hansen collects vinyl; most, if not all releases from No Sleep are offered in both disc and vinyl with die cut packaging, multiple color runs and etching. However, Hansen does describe it as a costly side to the label: "Vinyl is a niche thing, it's the cool thing to do, it's not a money making thing, you just do it because you love vinyl and you want it to strive and exist. No Sleep and all of our friends' labels are definitely mail order driven. That's how we sustain and keep going."
