The company was first founded in 1966 by Ginn at age 12 as Solid State Transmitters,[2] a small business through which he sold electronics equipment.

Music writer Michael Azerrad wrote, "Ginn took his label from a cash-strapped, cop-hassled store-front operation to easily the most influential and popular underground indie of the Eighties".

[3] Along with other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, Epitaph, Alternative Tentacles, and Dischord, SST helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the pre-Nirvana indie-rock scene.

[4] These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.

Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Dinosaur Jr., and the Meat Puppets have reclaimed the rights to their respective SST material after leaving the label.

[9] Ginn claims undercover police posing as homeless people sat close to SST's front door.

The band were unable to hire a lawyer because of a lack of money; Ginn later explained: "I mean, we were thinking about skimping on our meals.

Minutemen bassist Mike Watt recalled, "It was at that point we realized all you had to do was pay for the pressings, that records weren't a gift from Mount Olympus .

"[11] Facing hostility towards hardcore punk, SST groups like Black Flag and the Minutemen played wherever they could, mainly at house parties and in basements early on.

[12] Black Flag began traveling up the California coast to play Mabuhay Gardens in San Francisco, making seven trips in total.

Ginn and Black Flag bassist Chuck Dukowski (who had become a co-owner of SST) were found in violation of the injunction and were sent to the Los Angeles County Jail for five days.

[15] Despite its legal troubles, SST continued to release records by artists including Minutemen, Saccharine Trust, and Meat Puppets.

Awarded critical acclaim by several mainstream media outlets, Zen Arcade sold out quickly and remained out of print for months.

[17] Ginn decided to cut the promotional costs of the Black Flag albums by issuing them in quick succession and having the band tour solidly behind the releases.

[18] During the mid-1980s Hüsker Dü became SST's star attraction, their strong songwriting and increasingly melodic music becoming the key link between hardcore and the developing sound of college rock.

[24] SST's roster was further diminished by the 1985 demise of the Minutemen (the result of the death of guitarist D. Boon) and the 1986 breakup of Black Flag.

The second, the short-lived Issues Records, concentrated on spoken-word releases, including a double album by former NBA player Bill Walton with music by Ray Manzarek.

SST went into near-hibernation in the mid-90s, deleting much of its jazz output, and releasing little new material apart from Ginn's projects (including Confront James, Mojack), but still keeping the catalogs of Black Flag, the Minutemen, Firehose, Hüsker Dü, the Descendents, and Bad Brains in print.

Several artists formerly on the label, including Sonic Youth and the Meat Puppets, sued SST to reclaim their master recordings, claiming unpaid royalties.