Description: Jumbo Records was a record label set up in Britain in 1908 as a subsidiary of the Italian company Fonotipia. The 10-inch 78 rpm records were initially manufactured in Frankfurt for marketing in the UK, and then in Tonbridge, Kent, but in 1913 manufacturing moved to a new factory at Hertford. The label released popular recordings by military bands, orchestras, solo singers, and many music hall performers of the time, including George Formby Sr., Ella Retford, Billy Williams, and Vesta Tilley.
Description: Neptune Records was a record label founded by Philadelphia writer-producers, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff in 1969. The label, distributed by Chess Records, lasted for only two years, releasing 20 singles and three albums. It was the precursor to the pair's Philadelphia International label, which they started in 1971 with Columbia Records. Neptune featured releases by artists such as Jeanette "Baby" Washington, The O'Jays, The Three Degrees and Billy Paul, all who later appeared on Philadelphia International. The biggest hit was the label's first release, "One Night Affair" by the O'Jays.
Description: Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his vinyl record shop, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metropolitan New York City. The IRD distribution name was later known as RED Distribution and again as RED Music. Relativity released music that covered a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered into a deal with Sony Music Entertainment, it became more known for its heavy metal and hip hop releases.
Description: Varsity Records was one of two labels that comprised the United States Record Company; Royale Records was the other. Eli Oberstein created the USRC in the summer of 1939, shortly after he left an executive position at RCA Victor. Varsity was considered a "budget" label, specializing in popular music and selling records for 35 cents each. Royale was more expensive, at 75 cents a record, and specialized in classical music.
Description: Tetrapod Spools was an Encinitas, California, USA based independent record label founded in Oak Park, Illinois in 1969 by Louie Easley Hanley and Mark Tucker. The label originally released music on reel-to-reel and cassette, later producing limited edition vinyl records. The best known release on Tetrapod Spools is undoubtedly Tucker's 1975 album "Batstew" which has achieved cult status and become a highly sought-after collectible. Tetrapod Spools relocated to Encinitas, California in 1980. The company stopped releasing vinyl records in 1983 but continued to produce albums on CD throughout the late 1990s.
Description: Prelude Records was a New York–based independent record label that was active from 1976 to 1986. At one time, François Kevorkian held an A&R position at Prelude. The label's owner was Marvin Schlachter. Prelude was first launched in 1976, renamed from Pye International Records, a US division of UK-based Pye Records which had begun in 1974. The name was derived from the music group Prelude, which recorded for Pye at the time.
Description: Nothing Records was an American record label specializing in industrial rock and electronic music, founded by John Malm Jr. and Trent Reznor in 1992. It is considered an example of a vanity label, where an artist is able to run a label with some small degree of independence within a larger parent company, in this case the larger company being Interscope Records.
Description: Pablo Records was a jazz record company and label founded by Norman Granz in 1973, more than a decade after he had sold his earlier catalog (including Verve Records) to MGM Records. Pablo initially featured recordings by acts that Granz managed: Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, and Joe Pass. Later, the label issued recordings by Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Milt Jackson, and Paulinho da Costa. The label also re-released 1950s recordings by Art Tatum, which Granz reacquired, and released unissued European live recordings of John Coltrane and his groups.
Description: Red Rooster is an "only on vinyl" records label founded by D’Arabia in 2016 with the help of his partner Dj Rou. The label was born in Bologna and it's strictly focused on raw samples and cuts with disco/funk/hiphop/house influences, giving a miscellaneous trick between old and new grooves.
Description: Ode Records (also known as Ode Sounds and Visuals) was an American record label, started by Lou Adler in 1967 after he sold Dunhill Records to ABC Records. It was distributed by CBS's Epic Records except between 1970 and 1976, when the label was distributed by A&M Records. The original incarnation was closed in 1978 and CBS took over most of catalog, often with Epic logos replacing Ode logos on reissues. Ode has the distinction of being the first non-CBS label to be distributed by CBS Records.
Description: Onyx Records, Inc., was a small, independent American record label based in Manhattan, New York, co-founded on July 15, 1971, by Joe Fields (1929–2017) and Don Schlitten (born 1932) and managed by Gentry McCreary (born 1941). Its address was at 160 West 71st Street on the Upper West Side. Other labels with a similar name Onyx Records, an American rockabilly label from the late 1950s, owned by Jerry Winston. The label was known for having recorded The Velours. Onyx International Records, a gospel label
Description: Black Swan Records was an American jazz and blues record label founded in 1921 in Harlem, New York. It was the first widely distributed label to be owned, operated, and marketed to African Americans. Founded by Harry Pace with W.C. Handy, Black Swan Records was established to give African Americans more creative liberties. Eighteen months earlier, in 1919, the Broome Special Phonograph Records was the earliest label owned and operated by African American George W. Broome in Medford, Massachusetts, featuring Black classical musicians including Harry T. Burleigh and Edward Boatner. Black Swan was revived in the 1990s for CD reissues of its historic jazz and blues recordings.
Description: Tetragrammaton Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by music industry executives Roy Silver, Bruce Post Campbell, Marvin Deane, and comedian Bill Cosby. Silver, at the time, was also Cosby's manager. The term "Tetragrammaton" refers to the Hebrew name of God considered by some to be unspeakable (YHWH, or "Yahweh", translated as "Jehovah" in English). The label's most successful act was rock band Deep Purple.
Description: The United States version of Tiger Lily Records was a record label that was run by Roulette Records founder Morris Levy. Purportedly it was a tax scam created by Levy and was never intended to make a profit. Tiger Lily's primary modus operandi was to acquire demo tapes from artists or studios and then release them without the artists consent and sometimes without even the artist's knowledge. Other albums released by Tiger Lily have been identified as bootlegs of albums released in the early 1970s by Artie Ripp's Family Productions and two cases of performers who were actually signed to Tiger Lily Records have been identified.
Description: The United States version of Tiger Lily Records was a record label that was run by Roulette Records founder Morris Levy. Purportedly it was a tax scam created by Levy and was never intended to make a profit. Tiger Lily's primary modus operandi was to acquire demo tapes from artists or studios and then release them without the artists consent and sometimes without even the artist's knowledge. Other albums released by Tiger Lily have been identified as bootlegs of albums released in the early 1970s by Artie Ripp's Family Productions and two cases of performers who were actually signed to Tiger Lily Records have been identified.
Description: One Day Savior Recordings was an American independent record label founded in 1997 by Christopher Tzompanakis. The record label was most prominent in the hardcore and indie rock communities, releasing metalcore, post-hardcore and emo by such bands as Boys Night Out, Dearly Departed, Embodyment, Hopesfall, The Juliana Theory, The Killing Tree, The Movielife, Onelinedrawing, Paulson, Skycamefalling, The Sleeping and Tabula Rasa. One Day Savior Recordings was originally headquartered in Williston Park, Long Island, New York, where it remained until it was put under hiatus in 2008. The company was eventually sold to Tommy Melissen in 2010, its operations relocating to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Description: Radioactive Records was an American record label. It was formed as a joint venture between talent manager Gary Kurfirst (who managed such acts as the Ramones, Big Audio Dynamite, Deee-Lite and Deborah Harry) and MCA Records, and it is now out of business. Its catalogue is now owned by Geffen Records and licensed through Universal Music Enterprises.
Description: Thelma Records was a record label in Detroit, Michigan from 1962 until 1966. Recordings included Emanuel Laskey, Eddie Hill, Rose Battiste, Richard Street & the Distants, Alberta Adams, The Fabulous Peps and Martha Star. The label was formed by Hazel Coleman, mother of Berry Gordy's first wife Thelma Coleman.
Description: Refuge Records was a contemporary Christian music record label founded in 1980 by Greg Nelson, Jack Hafer and Ray Nenow. One imprint of Refuge was Pure Metal Records, although Star Song Communications bought out that branch in 1990. The label had Doug Mann, future founder of R.E.X. Records, as an employee.
Description: Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label and music management company founded by record executives and entrepreneurs Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1994. Carter issued his debut album, Reasonable Doubt (1996) as the label's first release, in a joint venture with Priority Records. The label has signed and released albums for acts including Kanye West, Cam'ron, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, Juelz Santana, Freeway, Jadakiss, Teairra Marí, State Property, and The Diplomats before its dissolution in 2013.
Description: Roc-La-Familia was an American record label founded by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This sub-label focused on signing international artists, including reggaeton artists, much like Bad Boy Latino. "OG" Juan Perez was appointed the president of the label Robert Castillo EVP and Cipha Sounds was the senior vice president of A&R (until he got a job at MTV in 2006). Roc-La-Familia was an extension of Roc-A-Fella Records and headquartered in New York City. Roc-La-Familia featured a broad array of artists encompassing such musical genres as Latin hip hop, reggae, reggaeton, pop, rock and more.
Description: Roto Records was a record label based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The name "Roto" was chosen simply because "it goes round and round." The label's first releases were in 1956 by local artists Bobby Lowell and The Rock-a-Boogie Boys. The label continued releasing recordings by Lowell and other local artists through the mid-1980s.
Description: Ariola Eurodisc GmbH was founded in 1958 as a music outlet of Bertelsmann. It set up several foreign subsidiaries. Leveraging acqusitions by its parent company, Ariola positioned itself to become a strong contender in the German record industry in the mid-1960s. It acquired both Arista Records and German rival label Hansa Records in 1979. It sold 50% of Arista to RCA Records in 1983; after a brief joint venture between RCA and Ariola, RCA (including its record division) was acquired by General Electric who promptly sold RCA's stake in the venture back to Ariola. Ariola America also had a sister label called Ocean Records, which included on its roster actress/entertainer Ann-Margret. It was active 1979 through 1980.
Description: Ariola Eurodisc GmbH was founded in 1958 as a music outlet of Bertelsmann. It set up several foreign subsidiaries. Leveraging acqusitions by its parent company, Ariola positioned itself to become a strong contender in the German record industry in the mid-1960s. It acquired both Arista Records and German rival label Hansa Records in 1979. It sold 50% of Arista to RCA Records in 1983; after a brief joint venture between RCA and Ariola, RCA (including its record division) was acquired by General Electric who promptly sold RCA's stake in the venture back to Ariola. Ariola America also had a sister label called Ocean Records, which included on its roster actress/entertainer Ann-Margret. It was active 1979 through 1980.
Description: Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment.
Description: Parrot Records was an American record label, a division of London Records, which started in 1964. The label usually licensed (or leased) recordings made by Decca Records, England, for release in the United States and Canada, most notably by the Zombies, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Them, Jonathan King, Hedgehoppers Anonymous, Lulu, Savoy Brown and Alan Price. Other artists included the Detroit-based Frijid Pink, Love Sculpture (reissued from EMI) and Bobby "Boris" Pickett (reissued from Garpax). Parrot's biggest hit was "She's A Lady" by Tom Jones, peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts in early 1971.
Description: Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola Express, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerate Sony Music Entertainment.
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: The Standard Talking Machine Company was an American record label created in October 1901 and operated until March 1918. The Chicago, Illinois based company distributed several models of phonographs from Columbia Graphophone Company parts and issued single-sided and double-sided disc records from Columbia Records masters. Despite the label name, the discs were not quite ’Standard’; the spindle hole at the center of the discs was 9/16 inch, larger than the industry standard. This made discs produced by other companies such as Victor and Columbia unable to be played upon Standard Disc phonographs, entrapping the buyer into purchasing only Standard Disc records.
Description: Rialto Records was a record label based in Chicago, Illinois in the 1920s. It was owned by the Rialto Music House (330 S State St), sold at their stores at promotional prices. The records themselves were pressed by Marsh Recording Laboratories (Suite 625 Kimball Building, 306 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, Illinois). The most famous record they produced was the only release known of Jelly Roll Morton's unaccompanied recording of "London Blues," made in 1924.
Description: Soma Records was an American record label, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and owned by wholesale record distributor Amos Heilicher. The Soma name was "Amos" spelled backwards. Heilicher, along with his brother Danny, was also in the jukebox and wholesale record distribution businesses, and owned the Musicland chain of retail music stores.
Description: Rising Tide Records was a record label started by Doug Morris, former head of Warner Music Group, and Daniel Glass, who became President. The label had success in breaking new artists, including the multi-platinum debut of Erykah Badu, Billie Myers and Lost Boyz. Recognizing the changing landscape of the industry, Glass strategically aligned Universal with such independent record labels as Kedar Entertainment, home to Erykah Badu, and Mojo Records, home to platinum artist Reel Big Fish and the Cherry Poppin' Daddies.
