Record Label Cards
Description: Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its US label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp (the first president of the Decca Record company of the USA) and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president too. The name dates back to a portable gramophone called the "Decca Dulcephone" patented in 1914 by musical instrument makers Barnett Samuel and Sons.
Description: Man's Ruin Records was an independent record label owned and founded by San Francisco Bay Area artist Frank Kozik. In total, the record label released over 200 singles and albums, with most of the artwork designed by Kozik. After the 1995 release of Man's Ruin's first record, Experimental Audio Research, Kozik worked with artists whom he wanted to release. He also designed all of the sleeve-art for the releases. The catalog of Man's Ruin is vast, including relatively famous bands such as the Hellacopters, Nebula, Kyuss, High on Fire, Entombed, Turbonegro, 13eaver, Queens of the Stone Age, and the Sex Pistols; and also lesser known bands such as FuckEmos, Soulpreacher, Angel Rot, and the Cowslingers.
Description: Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
Description: Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot specialized in artists from Tennessee. Then it branched out to include musicians from across the U.S. It recorded country music, rhythm and blues, polkas, waltzes, gospel, rockabilly, pop, and early rock and roll.
Description: Swan Song Records was a London-based label that was launched on May 10, 1974. The logo that adorned the label's record center stickers featured an Icarus symbol. This was heavily based on a drawing done sometime around 1870 by American painter, William Rimmer. Rimmer’s drawing is called Evening (The Fall of Day), and is said to be a depiction of the God Apollo, though others have considered it to be a depiction of Lucifer, or Icarus. Unfortunately, nobody can ask him, so it's anybody's guess. Regardless, Swan Song ceased operations in 1983, and the label's catalog was absorbed by a larger label.
Description: Grand Royal was a vanity record label founded in 1992 by rap group Beastie Boys in conjunction with Capitol Records after the group left Def Jam Recordings. It was based in Los Angeles, California. Grand Royal was also the name of a magazine written and published by the group. Described as a publication that "came to define part of Generation X," the total distribution of the six issues of Grand Royal was estimated at 300,000 copies.
Description: Founded in 1980, quintessential New York City label, 99 Records (pronounced “nine-nine,” not “ninety-nine”), was among the most influential independent labels of its time, with an influence still reverberates today. The label’s sound was every bit as distinct and as it was diverse, touching on post-punk, disco, dub reggae and even avant-classical, highlighted by exhilarating experiments in minimalist art-funk, and polyrhythmic grooves. Despite being a shoestring operation run out of a record store, 99 sold an unbelievable number of records with minimal distribution, and was at one point the most successful indie label in New York City.
Description: Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The name came from the "Kama Sutra," an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment in life. In 1965, the record label itself was started and a distribution deal with a multinational record label was later signed. Unhappy with the distribution deal, but locked into a contract, Buddah Records was started in parallel in 1967 to become the label for new artists as the Kama Sutra label continued to fulfill their contractual obligations by releasing existing acts under Kama Sutra though 1969, though now with Buddah Records sub-branding.
Description: Flying Fish Records was a record label founded in Chicago in 1974 that specialized in folk, blues, and country music. In the 1990s the label was sold to Rounder Records. Bruce Kaplan, the label's founder, was a native of Chicago and the son of a president of Zenith Electronics. He studied anthropology at the University of Chicago and became president of the school's folklore society. He began Flying Fish in 1974 to concentrate on traditional and contemporary folk music, though the catalog grew to include blues, bluegrass, country, jazz, reggae, dancefloor and rock.
Description: The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became the RCA Victor Division of the Radio Corporation of America.
Description: Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and its subsidiaries, which was the highest-earning African-American business for decades.
Description: The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American record company and phonograph manufacturer. The company was founded by engineer Eldridge R. Johnson, who had been manufacturing gramophones for inventor Emile Berliner, to play his disc records. After a series of legal issues between Berliner, Johnson and their former business partners, the two joined to form the Consolidated Talking Machine Co. in order to combine Berliner's patents for the disc record and Gramophone, along with Johnson's patents for improving its performance and fidelity. The Victor Talking Machine Co. was incorporated officially on October 3, 1901 shortly before an agreement with Columbia Records to share their various disc record patents.
Description: Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll, and jazz and comedy recordings, released on the Chess and its subsidiary labels Checker and Argo/Cadet. The Chess catalogue is owned by Universal Music Group and managed by Geffen Records and Universal Music Enterprises.
