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The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by Universal Music Group. It consists of labels created under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordings.[1] On April 1, 2014, Universal Music Group publicly announced the disbandment of the Island Def Jam Music Group, leaving IDJMG and its affiliated subsidiaries as separate sister labels.[2]
Following the formation of Universal Music Group, on time for New Year's Day 1999, came the creation of the Island Def Jam Music Group, a new music label unit founded through the combination of 14 or more recording labels, including those consisting of Island Records, Def Jam Recordings and Mercury Records. Although IDJMG brought all three labels together, they continued to operate as separately autonomous labels under the unit, which was assumed presidency by Lyor Cohen.
In the United Kingdom, Island Records handled its own operations under Universal's Island Records Group, while Def Jam UK was created and distributed by Mercury, which also distributed its artists in that region under the banner, with U.S. distribution rescinded by IDJMG.
1999-2001: Success
The first official release through IDJMG was Biohazard's album New World Disorder, which was released by Mercury on June 8, 1999. By that time, the Rush Associated Labels portfolio (which had been a holding ground for Def Jam) was absorbed into Island Def Jam, with most of its labels joining forces including Def Soul, Roc-A-Fella and Murder Inc. Records, all of which had been a part of the Def Jam Label Group since its PolyGram era between 1996 and 1998. For Island, some of its divisions had been either sold off or folded into IDJMG; both of which being 4th & B'way Records and Island Black Music, with many of its artist rosters (including hip hop and R&B acts) being transferred into Def Jam.[8] For Mercury, its various artists of certain genres would later be drafted to either Motown (by then unrelated to IDJ until 2011), Def Jam (urban) or Island (pop, rock, alternative music and/or other non-urban genres).[7] Some of Mercury's non-urban roster would stay under the label by choice, while some of its international divisions either remained active or would be folded (including Mercury UK, which would oversee Def Jam or Island US releases).[6]
In 2000, the unit launched Def Jam Germany, the first international Def Jam label.[9] The following year, a country label, Lost Highway Records, was formed. The label operated as an imprint of Mercury Records, but had since been moved to Universal Music's Nashville division following the dissolution of IDJMG in 2014. In the summer of 2001, Island Def Jam acquired a controlling interest in the rock label, Roadrunner Records.[10]Edel SE & Co. KGaA, a German music distributor which owned 17% of Roadrunner at the time, threatened to take legal action against Universal.[11]
2002–2009: Restructure, Murder Inc. problems, Roc-A-Fella buyout and new leadership
In early 2002, the label won a bidding war to buy Mariah Carey's failed label contract with future UMG sister label Virgin Records.[13][14][15] That November, she released Charmbracelet, but the album didn't perform successfully, sending Carey on a downward spiral as she was struggling with her mental problems at the time, putting her relationship with Island Def Jam at stake.[16] In July 2002, Island Def Jam released Murder Inc. Records's second compilation album, Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc. The album peaked in the top 3 of the Billboard 200, and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
In 2003, Fefe Dobson, Everlast, and Patti LaBelle all became part of the unit.[17][18] On January 3, the label unit was forced to cut all ties with producer Irv Gotti and his label, Murder Inc. Records, after a federal investigation and office raid considering allegations of money laundering in connection to an illegal operation maintained by a drug lord.[19][20] That May, Island Def Jam received a cease and desist from Steve Gottlieb, founder of TVT Records, regarding the release of a Cash Money Click reunion album, which IDJMG restricted because of member Ja Rule's obligations with Def Jam. President Lyor Cohen obliged Gotti and Ja Rule not to record the album for TVT, but instead have IDJMG and UMG distribute it to avoid conflict of interest. TVT's lawsuit[21][22] cites copyright infringement, fraud and tortious interference.[23] Ultimately, TVT was awarded $132 million in damages with Cohen found liable for $56 million.[24] It was later reversed two years later as TVT's cash award was reduced to $126,000 after Island Def Jam successfully appealed the judgment with a claim of this situation not being fraud nor infringement, but instead, breach of contract.[25][26][27] At the end of the year, Dobson's self-titled debut was released on December 9, as was on the same date as Def Soul artists 112's Hot & Wet and Musiq Soulchild's Soulstar. Then, in May 2004, Everlast and LaBelle released their albums, White Trash Beautiful and Timeless Journey, under Island and Def Soul Classics respectively. At the same time, L.A. Reid was appointed president and CEO of the Island Def Jam Music Group after he was dismissed from Arista Records. Cohen left Island Def Jam to join Warner Music Group, bringing with him colleagues Kevin Liles and Julie Greenwald.[28][29]
In December, the unit acquired the remaining 50 percent interest in Roc-A-Fella Records in exchange for appointing co-founder Jay-Z president of Def Jam Recordings; the other 50 percent had been purchased by former Def Jam parent company, PolyGram, in 1997. As a result, fellow Roc-A-Fella cohorts Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke were forced off the label.[30][31] Then, in early 2005, the group extended a new label deal renewal with Ludacris' Disturbing tha Peace, making IDJMG a 50 percent stakeholder.[32] In April, with L.A. Reid's leadership, Mariah Carey returned from a two-year hiatus with The Emancipation of Mimi. The album sold 404,000 copies in its first week and opened to widespread acclaim from critics; a staggering improvement over her predecessor, Charmbracelet.[33] That same year, Island Def Jam reached a breaking point when they signed a newcomer, a Barbadian singer named Rihanna. Her debut single "Pon de Replay" was an instant hit.[34]
In 2006, IDJMG ended their partnership with Roadrunner Records, selling the label to Warner Music.[35]Shakir Stewart was appointed senior vice president of A&R in October.[36] A year later, Steve Bartels was appointed chairman and COO of Island Def Jam, reporting to L.A. Reid and then-CEO of Universal Music, Doug Morris.[37][38] On December 22, 2007, Jay-Z announced his vacancy from his presidency of Def Jam, invoking L.A. Reid to step in rather than find a replacement.[39][40][41] On November 1, 2008, Shakir Stewart committed suicide, vacating his positions as senior vice president of A&R at Island Def Jam and executive vice president of Def Jam.[42][43][44] He was posthumously replaced by Christopher Hicks, a former executive from Warner Music Group.[45]
Approaching 2009, IDJMG began to soar to new heights with Canadian pop sensation Justin Bieber. His single, "One Time", generated commercial success and iterated new generosity for the unit.[46]
2010–11: Motown induction and GOOD Music partnership
In 2011, former RCA/Jive Label Group chairman Barry Weiss was assigned to become the new chairman of the Universal Motown Republic Group, while at the same time, assuming the CEO position at the Island Def Jam Music Group.[47][48] Under Weiss' leadership, Motown Records became an imprint of the Island Def Jam Music Group shortly after the disbandment of the UMRG.[49] Kanye West's imprint, GOOD Music, was given a 10-year distribution partnership with IDJMG.[50][51] GOOD Music assumed marketing, while Def Jam took over the manufacturing and distribution of its releases. The first official album released under the new partnership was Big Sean's debut, Finally Famous. In May, Def Soul Records was folded into Island Def Jam as a part of a rearrangement of the Island Def Jam Music Group's multi-genre strategy.[citation needed]
That August, a Jay-Z and Kanye West collaborative album, Watch the Throne, was released under Island Def Jam's distribution. Producing 436,000 copies in its first week, it produced the biggest first-week sales of 2011 hip hop and also the highest for IDJ since Mariah Carey's 2005 album.[52]
The Island Def Jam Music Group's operations in the United Kingdom were also changed that year with Mercury UK being absorbed into the new Virgin EMI Records. With the absorption of Mercury UK also involved the end of Def Jam UK, with all of Island, Def Jam, Republic, Virgin and Motown's artists being distributed under the newly reiterated imprint in the region. It occurred following UMG's acquisition of the recording music division of EMI a year earlier.[55][56]
2014: Disbandment
On April 1, 2014, Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of the Universal Music Group, confirmed the disbandment of the Island Def Jam Music Group. The unit ceased to exist after East Coast label faction CEO Barry Weiss' departure.[57][58][59] Grainge explained:
No matter how much we might work to build 'IDJ' as a brand, that brand could never be as powerful as each of IDJ's constituent parts. At UMG, our labels are empowered to be entrepreneurial and take creative risks. By re-establishing Def Jam, Island and Motown as standalone labels within the UMG family, we're positioning them to recapture the uniqueness of their brands and serve artists with the singularity of vision, focus and creativity that was at the core of their original success. Barry is a terrific music executive who led our East Coast labels during a critical time of transition. I can't say enough about his contributions to our labels or to thank him enough. He has positioned Def Jam, Island, Motown and Republic to where they are today — poised for even greater levels of success — and we'd love to keep him in the family. He has stepped down in order to enter into discussions with UMG about a new venture together. Barry is an exceptional music executive, and I'm enormously grateful for all of his invaluable contributions during a time of transition for our East Coast companies.
It was believed that Weiss was valiantly dissatisfied with the fact that he would be demoted at Universal Music with Michele Anthony being promoted to executive vice president at the company's recorded music unit and John Janick replacing Jimmy Iovine as chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam's sister unit, Interscope Geffen A&M.[60][61] He was also in talks with Grainge to create a new joint venture with UMG.[62][63]
With Island Def Jam disbanded,[64][2] operations had been traced solely into all three label units: Def Jam Recordings will now act as its own label under Universal Music, as so Island Records, which Def Jam remains a sister label to, but with new farther relations. Meanwhile, Motown Records currently operates under the Capitol Music Group.[65][66] Mercury Records had folded into Island following the closure, but had since been reactivated in 2022 by Universal Music and later moved to Republic Records.[2][67][68]
In terms of corporate leadership, Steve Bartels was reassigned to CEO of Def Jam until 2018,[69][70]David Massey remained president and CEO of Island (also until 2018),[71][72][73] and Ethiopia Habtemariam was named president of Motown before leaving in 2022.[74][75][76][77] As of 2022, despite the shutdown, there is a Facebook and Instagram joint account and Universal Music France subunit called Island Def Jam France, taking the unit name and being maintained by UMG France to promote both labels' music altogether.[78] IDJ France also promotes and produces releases under sister labels Capitol, Motown, Virgin Music and Republic Records. Guenael "G.G." Fray has been appointed the deputy director of both IDJ and Polydor Records' French operations since January 2023.[79]
Awards and accolades
According to the 2012 radio airplay analysis of music industry service Mediabase, IDJMG became the number-one rhythmic label with seven number-one songs played on rhythmic radio stations, including songs from Rihanna, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, and Justin Bieber.[80]
Universal Music Group N.V. is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its operational headquarters are located in Santa Monica, California. The biggest music company in the world, it is one of the "Big Three" record labels, along with Sony Music and Warner Music Group. Tencent acquired ten percent of Universal Music Group in March 2020 for €3 billion and acquired an additional ten percent stake in January 2021. Pershing Square Holdings later acquired ten percent of UMG prior to its IPO on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. The company went public on September 21, 2021, at a valuation of €46 billion.
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released rock, funk, R&B, doo wop, soul music, blues, pop, rock and roll, and jazz records. In the United States, it is operated through Republic Records; in the United Kingdom and Japan, it is distributed by EMI Records.
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.
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group. The label has been dormant since 2006, due to Universal Motown and Universal Republic Records being formed and taking all of the artists from it. Those labels were eventually combined to form the latest iteration of Republic Records.
Universal Motown Republic Group (UMRG) was an umbrella label founded in 1999 by Universal Music Group to oversee the labels assigned to its unit. UMRG was formed in 1999 by pooling together Universal Records, Motown Records, and Republic Records,, but which gave way to the current incarnations of those labels at the time, Universal Motown Records and Universal Republic Records.
Dwight Equan Grant, better known by his stage name Beanie Sigel, is an American rapper from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is best known for his association with Jay-Z and his label Roc-A-Fella Records, to which Grant signed in 1998 and became a flagship artist. His debut studio album, The Truth (2000) was met with critical and commercial success, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200. Along with his solo career, Grant was the de facto leader of the Philadelphia-based hip hop collective State Property, which he formed with Roc-A-Fella labelmates, and who debuted in 2002 with a namesake film in which Grant starred. The group released two well-received studio albums.
Universal Music Group Nashville is Universal Music Group's country music subsidiary. It was officially opened on New Year's Day 1945 as MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville which on New Year's Day 1950 as Capitol Nashville. Some of the labels in this group include MCA Nashville Records, Mercury Nashville Records, Lost Highway Records, Capitol Records Nashville and EMI Records Nashville. UMG Nashville not only handles these imprints, but also manages the country music catalogues of record labels Universal Music and predecessor companies acquired over the years including ABC Records, Decca Records, Dot Records, DreamWorks Records, Kapp Records, MGM Records and Polydor Records.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
Ernest Dion Wilson, professionally known as No I.D., is an American record producer, DJ and songwriter from Chicago, Illinois. He is also a former recording artist, having released his only studio album, Accept Your Own and Be Yourself (1997) through Relativity Records. He is best known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common, as well as his career mentorship of rappers Kanye West, J. Cole and Logic. Wilson first gained success for his role as an in-house producer for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings—leading to largely uncredited work on Dupri's productions "My Boo" by Usher, "Outta My System" and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow—before reaching commercial success with his solo productions. He worked with Jay-Z to produce his singles "Run This Town" and "Holy Grail,". He also worked with Kanye West to produce "Heartless," and Drake to produce "Find Your Love" and "Nonstop"—each have peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Lyor Cohen is an American music industry executive and entrepreneur. He has been actively involved in hip hop at various record labels for more than 30 years. He started by managing rappers for Rush Productions, then led Def Jam. After Def Jam, Cohen took on a leadership role at Warner Music Group. In September 2012, Cohen resigned from Warner and started his own independent label, 300 Entertainment. On September 28, 2016, Cohen was named YouTube's Global Head of Music.
Universal Motown Records was an American record label that operated as a division of Universal Motown Republic Group. It was the contemporary incarnation of the legendary Motown Records label, and the "urban" half of UMG, although there were some rock artists on the label as well.
Christopher Francis Ries, known professionally as Young Chris, is an American rapper. He rose to fame as one-half of the Philadelphia-based hip hop duo Young Gunz, which he formed with rapper Neef Buck in 2001. That same year, the duo joined the larger Philadelphia-based hip hop group State Property; both acts were signed to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records by the same time.
Capitol Music Group (CMG) is an American front line umbrella label distributed by Universal Music Group which oversees handling of record labels assigned to UMG's Capitol Records division. It was inherited from UMG's acquisition of EMI's catalog. It is one of seven umbrella labels distributed by UMG, the other six being Interscope Geffen A&M, Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, Republic Records, Verve Records, and Decca Records. The current chair and CEO is Michelle Jubelirer.
Malik Yusef El Shabazz Jones is an American spoken word artist, poet, rapper, music producer, and director based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
This page lists a discography of albums and extended plays released under or distributed by Def Jam Recordings, a division of Universal Music Group, which had been created in 1984. Records distributed by another label, but released under Def Jam, are also included or otherwise reviewed. Also included are albums or EPs that were released under Rush Associated Labels and subsidiaries like Original Black Recordings, DJ West, Def Soul, Disturbing tha Peace, Def Jam South, Roc-A-Fella Records, Murder Inc. Records, and GOOD Music.
Barry Weiss is an American music executive. He co-founded the record label RECORDS in 2015, an imprint of Sony Music Entertainment which specializes in young recording artists.
Gimel Androus Keaton, professionally better known by his pseudonym Young Guru, is an American audio engineer, record producer, disc jockey, and record executive from Wilmington, Delaware. In 2019, Young Guru won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album for mixing the album Everything Is Love by The Carters. He has worked with many leading recording artists, most notably Jay-Z and Kanye West, and an April 2015 The Wall Street Journal profile called him "the most famous and successful engineer in the history of hip-hop".
Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records.
↑ Billboard,AP, Mike Boyle; Billboard, Mike Boyle; AP (September 14, 2007). "Island Def Jam Music Group ups Bartels". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
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