The label was created with the intention of focusing specifically on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial signings were Broken Social Scene and Stars with their breakthrough albums You Forgot It in People and Heart, respectively. The label helped launched the careers of controller.controller, Tokyo Police Club and Austra, amongst many others. For two years in a row, Paper Bag Records had been given the title of 'Best Label' from Toronto's Now Magazine in each of NOW's 2008 and 2009 issues. Another highlight, in the August 2007 issue of US publication XLR8R, Paper Bag Records was voted #14 "Best Indie Label".' In 2011, four releases were long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize; Austra's Feel It Break, PS I Love You'sMeet Me at the Muster Station, The Rural Alberta Advantage's Departing and Young Galaxy's Shapeshifting, with Feel It Break grabbing a nomination for the shortlist. Paper Bag Records launched their "Paper Bag Digital" online store in June 2008, which features their entire catalog for purchase and download in mp3 and FLAC formats. The Paper Bag Records series of vinyl releases are produced in very limited quantities, with each run between 300-500 copies. To make the vinyl even more of a collector's item, they are released on coloured 180-gram vinyl with silk-screened artwork. Since the switch in management in 2009, Trevor Larocque, the only original founder still part of the company, made significant changes to the label's identity and improved its image. The Toronto Star in 2011 is quoted with a mention that the label is "having one of the best years of its existence" and in early 2012, Toronto's weekly paperThe Grid'' recognized the label as a "cornerstone of Canadian music" and in September 2012, CBC Radio said the Paper Bag Records "could be the most influential label in Canada". Under this management, new bands joined the label; Elliott BROOD, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Born Ruffians, Young Galaxy, Cuff the Duke, PS I Love You, and are all enjoying success on an international level. In the summer of 2012, the label announced the addition of Montreal artists Tim Hecker, Moonface, Yamantaka // Sonic Titan and The Luyas to its roster. In an effort to have the independent labels of Toronto come together on a project, Paper Bag Records played host to the first Independent Label Market event in Canada during NXNE 2013.
