Here’s something you don’t see every day: two of the most respected names in punk deciding to join forces, not to grow bigger, but to protect what they built.

Hopeless Records is taking over the Fat Wreck Chords catalog, but the real story is what’s not being carried over. Fat Mike and Erin Kelly-Burkett are erasing all unrecouped balances for the artists still signed to Fat Wreck. Every band on the label gets a clean slate. No strings attached.

Hopeless won’t be signing new bands under the Fat banner either. This is about preserving a catalog that shaped generations and a roster of bands that are still relevant. Mike and Erin will continue to stay involved with their brand through shows and pop-ups.

The history between Hopeless and Fat Wreck all traces back to 1992, when Louis Posen (who would go on to start Hopeless) cold-called Fat Mike to direct a NOFX video. A friendship started, a new label was born, and over the decades, they both helped define what punk looked like outside the mainstream.

This partnership isn’t a merger, per se. It’s a handoff between old friends who never lost sight of what they were doing it for. To celebrate the moment, Fat and Hopeless will release:

• Bad Cop Bad Cop’s first new album in five years, Lighten Up;
• NOFX’s A to H, a collection of rare, unreleased, and demo tracks;
• A 20th anniversary edition of Strung Out’s Exile in Oblivion with a new track, “Glass Houses”

And there’s more coming as Fat Wreck Chords gears up for its 35th anniversary this fall with special shows, events, and releases to follow.

For once, something about the music industry just feels right!