Label Guide: Discreet

DiscReet Records was founded by Frank Zappa and his manager Herb Cohen in 1973 when their previous companies Bizarre Records and Straight Records were discontinued. The name of the label was a pun derived from "disc" and the discrete (also known as "Quadradisc") method of encoding quadraphonic sound into phonograph records. DiscReet was distributed by the Warner Bros. Records.

DiscReet issued many albums by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Ted Nugent and Tim Buckley. From 1976 on, Zappa had major disagreements with his business partner Herb Cohen and distributor Warner Bros., which led to litigation and eventually the shut down of Discreet Records in 1979. Zappa moved on to create Zappa Records in 1979 and Barking Pumpkin Records in 1981.