Bruce S. Pavitt (born March 7, 1959) is the co-founder of independent record label Sub Pop.

[2] After briefly attending Blackburn College in Carlinville, Illinois and subsequently transferring to The Evergreen State College in Washington State, Pavitt started a fanzine entitled Subterranean Pop in Olympia, Washington in 1980, about American independent rock bands.

Pavitt wrote:[2] “We need diverse, regionalized, localized approaches to all forms of art, music, and politics…the most intense music, the most original ideas are coming out of scenes you don’t even know exist.

In 1983, Pavitt moved to Seattle and started a record store, Fallout, as well as writing a Sub Pop column for The Rocket, and hosting an independent-label specialty show on KCMU.

Bruce Pavitt has since written two books: Sub Pop USA and Experiencing Nirvana.