A major feature throughout Patton's career has been to collaborate with and promote many relatively unknown musicians, either via direct projects or releases through his own label. In 1999, he and manager Greg Werckman of the Dead Kennedys co-founded Ipecac Recordings, a label that serves as hotbed for "misfit" artists and only makes one-record licensings (i.e., unlike traditional contracts, the artists can leave at any time they want). In its first year, Ipecac released music by noise music artist Merzbow, special education children band The Kids of Widney High, and Patton's avant-garde grindcore band Fantômas. The label grew from Patton's discontent with his previous label experiences and the underhanded nature of the music industry. "I'm a musician first and a businessman second," he stated. "I got tired of working with labels who didn't understand anything other than giant rock albums. There's so much interesting music that deserves to be heard; all those artists deserve to be treated with respect." In relation to multi-record contracts, the singer added, "How can labels own a musician? I don't pay attention to the rest of the industry. We just focus on what we like. ... We wanted to find a place where we could find interesting music controlled by the own musician." Ipecac gives entire creative and release control to the artists, keeps minimal overhead costs and instead focuses on efficient recordings. They put major emphasis on giving royalty checks to artists, which, as a result of their approach, are higher than the average, and exceedingly so when their records sell well. Since the establishment of Ipecac, Patton has self-produced and self-released most of his catalog, including his new albums with Faith No More and Mr. Bungle.