Island Records may refer to the following music industry record labels:
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France. Current key people include Island US president Darcus Beese, OBE and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.
American Recordings is an American record label headed by producer Rick Rubin. The label has featured artists such as Slayer, the Black Crowes, ZZ Top, Danzig, Trouble, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, The Mother Hips, and System of a Down.
Universal Music Group N.V. is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation. 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.
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical music label in 1953, but later expanded its scope to include a more diverse range of genres, including pop, R&B, rock, and hip hop.
Mercury Records was an American record label that had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Later Mercury was owned by Philips, PolyGram, and Universal Music Group. In the United States, it operated through Island Records; in the United Kingdom, it was distributed by EMI Records.
Def or DEF may refer to:
Roc-A-Fella Records was an American hip hop record label founded by rapper/entrepreneur Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon "Dame" Dash, and Kareem "Biggs" Burke in 1995.
The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American record label group formed in 1998 by combining the operations of 14+ record labels including Island Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Mercury Records. In 2011, Motown Records was split from The Universal/Motown Records Group and subsequently became a division of the Island Def Jam Music Group. On April 1, 2014, Universal Music announced that Island Def Jam's operations would be split between three entities: Island Records, Motown Records, and Def Jam Recordings.
Disturbing Tha Peace (DTP) is an American record label founded by Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Def Jam South Recordings, a division of Universal Music Group.
4th & B'way Records is a US-based subsidiary of Island Records that specialised in street-oriented music such as hip hop. Established in 1984, it was the flagship label of the Island Trading Company, the independent-distribution parent company of Island's other record labels that operated in the US. However, 4th & B'way was not distributed through major-label channels—the flagship Island label was distributed by Atlantic Records at that time—until the label and distribution company were acquired by PolyGram Records in 1989, when Island Trading became a unit of PolyGram Group Distribution and was renamed Independent Label Sales (ILS). It was also one of several US-based Island labels that were named after nearby New York City streets when Island's US headquarters were located at 14 East 4th Street in Manhattan, the same building that held the legendary East Village branch of Tower Records, and also nearby at 400 Lafayette Street. When Island moved its headquarters to the Worldwide Plaza Building at 825 8th Avenue in 1995, where PolyGram's US headquarters were also located, the empty 4th Street offices became the headquarters of V2 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.
S. Carter Records was a record label formed by Jay-Z. The label included Foxy Brown. The label was formed after The Island Def Jam Music Group, holding a 50% stake in the Roc-A-Fella Records, bought the last 50% of the company. They also appointed Jay-Z the president of Def Jam Recordings, soon after Damon "Dame" Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke were released as the co-founders of Roc-A-Fella Records. Dash and Burke have started up Dame Dash Music Group since, which was also distributed by Island Def Jam. In 2009, S. Carter Records dissolved and went out of business after Jay-Z created Roc Nation in 2008, which was actually a 10-year contract agreement between him and concert promotion company Live Nation. Despite the closure, the name still bears copyright on later Jay-Z releases, albeit as "S. Carter Enterprises".
GOOD Music is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with The Island Def Jam Music Group in 2011. In 2012, the label released its debut compilation album Cruel Summer. In 2015, Pusha T was appointed the president of the label by West, while record executive Steven Victor was appointed COO.
Def Jam Recordings is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group and based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly on hip hop, pop and urban music.
Ernest Dion Wilson, professionally known as No I.D., is an American hip hop and R&B record producer from Chicago, Illinois. Wilson is also a disc jockey (DJ), music arranger and rapper, having released an album in 1997, titled Accept Your Own and Be Yourself , under Relativity Records. He is perhaps best known for his early work with Chicago-based rapper Common. He has since become a heavily sought-out and high-profile producer, producing hit singles such as "Smile" by G-Unit, "Outta My System" and "Let Me Hold You" by Bow Wow, "Heartless" by Kanye West, "D.O.A." by Jay-Z, "My Last" by Big Sean, and “New Light” by John Mayer.
Lyor Cohen is an American music industry executive. Cohen 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.
Russell Simmons Music Group or RSMG is a record label founded by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons in a joint venture with Universal Music's Island Def Jam Music Group. Its president is Austin, Tony.
Pilot Talk is the third studio album by rapper Curren$y. It was to be the first released under the newly re-launched Roc-A-Fella Records by Damon Dash and distributed through Def Jam Recordings. It was later revealed that the album would be released under Damon Dash's DD172 record label division, BluRoc Records. The album was originally scheduled to be released on March 23, 2010. However, when the Def Jam deal was acquired, the album was given a June 15, 2010 release. The album was then pushed back and released on July 13. The entire album is solely produced by Ski Beatz except "Prioritize", which is produced by Nesby Phips, and "Roasted", which is produced by Monsta Beatz. Ski Beatz also remixed the song "Breakfast" for the album which was originally produced by Mos Def. Several music videos were shot for the album promotion and can be found on CreativeControl.tv
Maybach Music Group (MMG) is a record label imprint founded by American rapper Rick Ross. Maybach Music Group albums are distributed by Atlantic Records, a division of the Atlantic Records Group. Atlantic took over distribution following the expiration of a deal with Island Def Jam. As of December 12, 2012, the label releases are now distributed by Atlantic Records. 19 solo and three compilation albums have been released by Maybach Music Group, including five certified Gold albums. Maybach is home to many successful artists such as Ross himself, Wale, Meek Mill, Omarion, Gunplay and Torch, among others. The label has also had seven albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200 such as Deeper Than Rap, God Forgives, I Don't, and Mastermind by Rick Ross, The Gifted and The Album About Nothing by Wale and Dreams Worth More Than Money and Championships by Meek Mill.