 |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music publishing |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | 3 York House, Langston Road, Loughton, Essex, IG10 3TQ |
Area served | UK and worldwide |
Key people | Ellis Rich (Chief Executive) Andy Bailey (Director of A&R) |
| Products | Music publishing |
| Website | IMG |
The Independent Music Group or IMG is one of the UK's larger independent publishers.
It was founded in 1989 by Ellis Rich, who had worked in the international division of EMI Music Publishing (managing EMI's UK catalogue overseas and international catalogues in the UK from 1975 to 81). It acquired publishing catalogues and small publishers. The company deals with smaller publishers and artists to get their work to a larger international network and market.
The internet has since helped smaller music publishers to affordably reach a global market, at the same time as helping many people to illegally share (distribute) copyrighted music, to the chagrin of the mainstream music industry.
Ellis Rich, the Chief Executive, was Chairman of PRS He was also a director of the Music Publishers Association and the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS). He had formed E&S Music with Simon Cowell in the 1980s - Cowell's first commercial venture.
Virgin Records Ltd is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally launched as an independent record label and was founded by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman in 1972. It grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers such as Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, Lenny Kravitz and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records.
EMI Group Limited was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 2012, it was the fourth largest business group and record label conglomerate in the music industry, and was one of the "Big Four" record companies. Its labels included EMI Records, Parlophone, Virgin Records, and Capitol Records, which are now owned by other companies.
A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers. The term "record label", derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer's name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry, recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and promote their singles on streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists, who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets.
Chrysalis Records is a British record label that was created in 1968. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ellis-Wright Agency.
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English television personality, entrepreneur, and record executive. He has judged on the British television talent competition series Pop Idol (2001–2003), The X Factor UK and Britain's Got Talent (2007–present), and the American television talent competition series American Idol (2002–2010), The X Factor US (2011–2013), and America's Got Talent (2016–present). Cowell is the principal, founder and chief executive of the British entertainment company Syco.
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Sony Music Publishing is an American music publisher, part of the Sony Music Group owned by Sony Entertainment. The company was formed as Sony/ATV in 1995 with the merger of the original incarnation of Sony Music Publishing and ATV Music, which was owned by entertainer Michael Jackson. Jackson had purchased ATV Music, which included the Lennon–McCartney song catalog, in 1985.
The Zomba Group of Companies was a music group and division owned by and operated under Sony Music Entertainment. The division was renamed to Jive Label Group in 2009 and was placed under the RCA/Jive Label Group umbrella. In 2011, the RCA/Jive Label Group was split in half. Multiple Jive Label Group artists were moved to Epic Records while others stayed with Jive as it moved under the RCA Music Group. In October 2011 Jive Records was shut down and their artists were moved to RCA Records.
Terry Ellis, is an English record producer and manager best known for his early work with band Jethro Tull, and as co-founder of music company Chrysalis Records in 1969.
Hussain Yoosuf, better known by his stage name Spek, is a Canadian hip hop musician. He is best known for his singles "Smell the Coffee" and "I'm a Hippie". He is a former member of the Canadian hip hop pioneers, Dream Warriors, and, more recently, known for his work as an entrepreneur and music publisher.
Bucks Music Group, founded in 1967, is an independent, international music publisher. The company has worked with many music artists, including Black Sabbath, David Bowie, The Move, Procol Harum, The Rolling Stones, and T. Rex.
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Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries.
EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
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An independent record label is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented by trade associations in their country or region, which in turn are represented by the international trade body, the Worldwide Independent Network (WIN).