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| East West Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Distributor(s) | ADA |
| Genre | Pop, rock, hip hop, electronic |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Kensington, London, England |
| Official website | eastwestrecords |
East West Records (stylized as eastwest) is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England.
Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with the Kingsmen's "Week End" and went into hibernation until 1990, when Atlantic revamped the imprint as EastWest Records America. In America, Atlantic senior VP Sylvia Rhone was appointed Chair/CEO of the fledgling label. Under Rhone's leadership, EastWest Records America shot to mega success with several multiplatinum acts such as En Vogue, Pantera, Yo-Yo, Adina Howard, Das EFX, Snow, Gerald Levert, AC/DC, The Rembrandts, Dream Theater, Missy Elliott and MC Lyte. EastWest also distributed other imprints, such as Interscope Records, Motor Jams Records, Mecca Don Records and The Gold Mind Inc. Meanwhile, over at the Electric Lighting Station in London (headquarters [1] of WEA International in the United Kingdom) artists such as The Beloved, [2] Tanita Tikaram, [3] Chris Rea, [4] Billy Mackenzie (as Associates) and Simply Red, who had ended up on WEA after divisions/labels such as Elektra, Sire and Magnet Records had been reorganized or closed down, found themselves on the new EastWest label, with newer signings such as The Wildhearts and Sabrina Johnston joining the label in the following years. [5] [6]
In 1994, Rhone was appointed Chairman & CEO of Atlantic's sister label Elektra Records in America. At the time, East West (along with most of its roster) also broke away from the Atlantic umbrella to continue to operate under Rhone at Elektra. By the new millennium, budget cuts at Warner Music Group resulted in East West being absorbed into Elektra, where some of its acts were shifted over as well. In 2004, Time Warner sold Warner Music Group to private investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. Subsequently, more budget cuts were made, this time resulting in Elektra to be absorbed into Atlantic.
In 2005, WMG reactivated the East West imprint as an in-house label, which primarily markets and distributes other rock music-based labels. East West today operates under Warner's Alternative Distribution Alliance, the successor to Independent Label Group. East West Records was revived in the UK in 2014 under the direction of Max Lousada, Chairman & CEO, Warner Music UK. The resurrected label was headed up by Dan Chalmers (as President for Rhino UK, East West Records and ADA UK) until being poached by former Warner Music Group CEO Lyor Cohen, [7] for YouTube Music in 2019. [8] By 2021, Jeremy Marsh was head of Rhino UK and East West Records, with Westlife being announced as new signings on St Patrick's Day. [9] [10] Other acts to have signed to the reactivated heritage label in the last six years include Bette Midler, Jools Holland, Beverley Knight, [11] Amelia Lily, Robert Plant, Si Cranstoun, Boyzone, [12] The Corrs and Busted, [13] while Simply Red returned after 15 years on their own label to release the Big Love album. [14]
Below is a selected list of musical artists signed under the East West Records label in the past and present.
Tanita Tikaram is a British pop/folk singer-songwriter. She achieved chart success with the singles "Twist in My Sobriety" and "Good Tradition" from her 1988 debut album, Ancient Heart.
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1950s and 1970s. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived as an imprint of Atlantic in 2009. In October 2018, Elektra was detached from the Atlantic Records umbrella and reorganized into Elektra Music Group, once again operating as an independently managed frontline label of Warner Music. In June 2022, Elektra Music Group was merged with 300 Entertainment to create the umbrella label 300 Elektra Entertainment (3EE), though both Elektra and 300 continued to maintain their separate identities as labels.
Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 after 14 years and later reunited in 2018.
Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City.
Warner Music Group Corp. is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "big three" recording companies and the third-largest in the global music industry, after Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment (SME). Formerly part of Time Warner, WMG was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 2005 until 2011, when it announced its privatization and sale to Access Industries. It later had its second IPO on Nasdaq in 2020, once again becoming a public company. With a multibillion-dollar annual turnover, WMG employs more than 3,500 people and has operations in more than 50 countries throughout the world.
Sire Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.
Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/Asylum Records.
ATCO Records is an American record label founded in 1955. It is owned by Warner Music Group and operates as an imprint of Atlantic Records. After several decades of dormancy and infrequent activity under alternating Warner Music labels, the company was relaunched by Atlantic Records in early 2020.
Sylvia Rhone is an American music industry executive. Since 2019, she is the chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment.
A&E Records is a United Kingdom-based record label imprint, owned by Warner Music Group (WMG). It operates under the WEA International group of labels at WMG.
Atlantic Records Group LLC is an umbrella label owned by Warner Music Group. It oversees several labels assigned to its Atlantic Records unit. In total, the label group has nearly three hundred artists on its roster.
"Good Tradition" is a song, written and originally recorded by British pop/folk singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, released as the first single from her debut album, Ancient Heart (1988). When it was released, it went largely unnoticed and attracted little media attention. The song therefore did not get much airplay, but weeks after its release, the single started climbing up the charts and finally reached #10 at the UK Singles Chart in August 1988.
Ancient Heart is the debut studio album by British pop/folk singer-songwriter Tanita Tikaram, initially released by Warner Music Group on 12 September 1988. The album had huge success and was a hit globally, launching 19-year-old Tikaram's mainstream career. Guest musicians include Rod Argent, Mark Isham, Peter Van Hooke, Paul Brady, and Brendan Croker; Argent and Van Hooke also produced the album. Four singles were released from the album: "Good Tradition", "Twist in My Sobriety", "Cathedral Song" and "World Outside Your Window".
The Best of Tanita Tikaram is the first compilation by pop singer Tanita Tikaram, released in 1996 by East West Records. Containing fifteen songs from 1988 to 1995, it also included one new track "And I Think of You - E penso a te" which was released as a promotional single and a special remix of her biggest hit "Twist in My Sobriety" which was also released as a single in UK.
Can't Go Back is the eighth studio album released by the British singer Tanita Tikaram. Released in September 2012 through Ear Music, the album marked Tikaram's first album in 7 years, after 2005's Sentimental.
Max Lousada is CEO of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group. He previously was the chairman and CEO of Warner Music UK where he found success working with artists such as Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa. Before moving over to Warner Music UK in 2013, Lousada was successively head of A&R, managing director, president, then chairman of Atlantic Records UK.
Theory Entertainment LLC, doing business as 300 Entertainment, is an American record label founded by Lyor Cohen, Kevin Liles, Todd Moscowitz, and Roger Gold. The label's roster includes acts across multiple genres such as hip hop, rock, pop, electronic, alternative, and country. Current artists include Young Thug, Fetty Wap, YNW Melly, Megan Thee Stallion, No Savage, Rejjie Snow, Cheat Codes, Highly Suspect, Tee Grizzley, Famous Dex, Shy Glizzy, Cobi, Meg Mac, Dae Dae, The Hunna, Maggie Lindemann, Bailey Bryan, OMB Peezy, Ice Prince, $not, Des Rocs, Savage Gasp, TLE Cinco, and Mary J Blige. It is based in New York City. The label also acts as distributor for Young Thug's record label YSL Records, whose roster includes rappers Gunna and the late Lil Keed.
Closer to the People is the ninth studio album by the British singer Tanita Tikaram. The record was released on 11 March 2016 through Ear Music, an imprint of German-based label Edel Music. The album also produced two singles: "Glass Love Train" and "The Way You Move".
"You Make the Whole World Cry" is the only single to be released from the album Eleven Kinds of Loneliness by British musician Tanita Tikaram. The record was issued on 10 February 1992 via East West Records label. In 1996 the song was included in her album The Best of Tanita Tikaram.
