| Aegean Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Nobby's Hobbies Holdings |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder |
|
| Status | Active Independent |
| Distributor | Pinnacle Entertainment [1] |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Official website | aegean.net |
Aegean Records was an independent record label founded by George Michael and Andros Georgiou in 1996. [2] [3] The label was set up after Michael broke from Sony Music after his court case, which he eventually lost. [4] Andros Georgiou became the managing director of the label. [5]
Contents
The artists either signed or previously signed to Aegean Records include:
- George Michael; [6]
- Trigger; [6]
- Primitiva; [6]
- Joanna Bryant; [1]
- Bassey Walker; [7]
- Toby Bourke. [6]
Georgiou and Michael founded Aegean Net Ltd on 15 November 1996, [8] which was the internet business of Aegean Records. Michael and Georgiou were directors of the business, although Georgiou resigned as a director on 25 January 2000, he then became managing director of mezzmusic.com. [9] In May 1997, Aegean became the first European record label to adopt the Liquid Audio secure electronic music-delivery system via www.aegean.net, which was launched one year before BowieNet, [10] and 11 years before Spotify.
Aegean.net was the first artist-owned website to allow fans to:
- Chat with music artists (including Michael);
- Purchase merchandise;
- Purchase and download music (via Liquid Audio);
- Audio/video streaming (via RealVideo);
- Join the first online-only fan club;
- Receive news and updates from Michael and other Aegean Records artists.
