"Loser" was first released in March 1993 as a 12" vinyl single on Bong Load, with only 500 copies pressed. Beck felt that "Loser" was mediocre, and only agreed to its release at Rothrock's insistence. "Loser" unexpectedly received radio airplay, starting in Los Angeles, where college radio station KXLU was the first to play it, followed by modern rock station KROQ-FM. The song then spread to Seattle through KNDD, and KROQ-FM began playing the song on an almost hourly basis. By the time stations in New York were requesting copies of "Loser", Bong Load had already run out. Beck was soon beset with offers to sign with major labels. Convinced that the song was a potential hit, Rothrock gave a vinyl pressing of the single to his friend Tony Berg, who had been working in the A&R department for Geffen Records. Berg said, "I just lost my mind when I heard it. He left my office, and I swear, by the time he got home, I had left a message asking him to introduce me to ". Beck, in spite of his hesitance to be on any major label, signed with Geffen subsidiary DGC. He explained, "I wasn't going to do anything for a long time, but Bong Load didn't have the means to make as many copies as people wanted. Geffen were involved and they wanted to make it to more of an organized place, one with a bigger budget and better distribution."