Epitaph and Fat began releasing new editions almost every year—each of which featured signature artwork that made them stand out at record store counters—and would usually stick a mail-order catalog inside. The more comps they sold, the more their mail-order increased, driving sales of their bands’ LPs and T-shirts. The CDs became a Warped Tour staple, and other labels started following suit, including Hopeless Records, Nitro Records, Kung Fu Records, Vagrant Records, Hellcat Records (an offshoot of Epitaph), and Go-Kart Records, which released Expose Yourself, the first such compilation to be carried by Hot Topic.

“Back then, it was like: You can’t sell to Hot Topic, that’s not punk,” remembers Go-Kart founder, Greg Ross. But he saw the potential selling power of being available in a major chain store and made a deal with the mall retailer. “All of a sudden, all the labels jumped in, all the way up to Sony. They would have five to ten of these cheap-o samplers at any time, right next to the register. And they would account for, in some cases, 60 to 70 percent of your sales on a low-priced sampler. It was insane.”