Photo Finish Records

Last updated

Photo Finish Records
Founded2006 (2006)
Founder Matt Galle
Distributor(s) Universal (via Virgin Music Label & Artist Services) [1]
Genre
Country of originUnited States
LocationNew York City
Official website www.photofinishrecords.com

Photo Finish Records is an American independent record label founded by Matt Galle in 2006. Based in New York City, the label specializes in alternative rock, pop, and electronic artists. It was first distributed through Atlantic Records, then Universal Music Group. Virgin Music Label & Artist Services is its current distributor. [2]

Contents

History

Atlantic Records (2006–12)

In 2006, Photo Finish and Matt Galle signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records. Their first release was the debut self-titled five-song EP from the New-York-based post-hardcore band Envy on the Coast, [3] followed by the debut EP and studio album from Washington-based rock band Danger Radio. [4]

The label garnered major success with the debut album from the Colorado-based duo 3OH!3, WANT , which peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, while their song "Don't Trust Me" went to #1 on the Top 40 Charts, eventually selling over 3 million digital copies. [5] [1] [6]

In August 2008, Photo Finish released the debut album by Anthony Green, Avalon , which debuted at number 44 on the Billboard charts, the label's most successful first-week performance for a release. [7] In 2010, the Virginia-based band The Downtown Fiction’s song I Just Wanna Run played on the season premiere of The Jersey Shore; the track ultimately went Gold. [8]

Universal Music Group (2012–15)

In 2012, Galle brought the label to Island Def Jam and Republic Records, distributed by Universal Music Group. [9]

In October of that year, Photo Finish released the EP Love’s Not Dead by The Mowgli's. The accompanying single “San Francisco” became iTunes’ Single of the Week, peaking at #12 on the Alternative Music Chart and #3 on the AAA Radio Chart. [10] Subsequent releases included their debut album Waiting for the Dawn in 2013 and the follow-up Kids in Love in 2014.

2014 also saw the release of Reflections, the debut EP of the New-York-City based band MisterWives, the title song of which became iTunes’ Single of the Week in January and peaked at #13 on the Billboard rock chart, [11] ultimately going Gold in the U.S. and selling 2 million (equivalents), followed by the band’s debut album Our Own House in 2015. That year, MisterWives was chosen as an MTV “Artist to Watch.” [12]

After being chosen for an Apple AirPods commercial, the song “Down” by Marian Hill went Platinum and sold nearly six million track equivalents worldwide, [13] reaching #10 on the Top 40, #13 at Rhythmic, #15 at Alternative, and #17 on Hot AC Radio, while at the same time becoming the most-Shazam’d song in the U.S., according to Rolling Stone magazine. [14]

Caroline Distribution/Virgin Music Label & Artist Services (2016–present)

In 2016, Photo Finish made a distribution deal with Caroline Distribution, establishing the label as an independent entity to work with artists including SHAED, ROZES, guardin, Joan, Handsome Ghost, and Lakeview. [1] [15]

In September 2016, Photo Finish released Just Wanna See, the debut EP by SHAED, [16] whose single "Name On It" was the featured track for a Victoria's Secret commercial. [17] SHAED’s single "Trampoline", from their follow-up EP Melt, was featured in a MacBook Air commercial in October, 2018, and was the #1 song on Alternative Radio for the entire year of 2019, garnering over 3 billion in US radio audience and over 7 million worldwide sales (equivalents). [18] [19] The song reached number one on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart [9] [20] and went double platinum in the United States, Canada, and India. [21]

In 2017, Photo Finish released the debut EP by ROZES. [22] [23] ROZES’s song "Halfway There" was the official anthem to the 2019 Women's March on NYC via The Women's March Alliance. [24]

Artists

Current artists

Former artists

Discography

Studio albums / EPs

2023 Bittersweet 16

2021 PAW Patrol: The Movie (Music from The Motion Picture)

2018 MELT EP

2018 I Don't Know Where I'm Going, But I'm On My Way EP

2018 AUTOP$Y EP

2018 Welcome Back

2017 Connect The Dots

2016 The Brilliant Glow

2016 Where'd Your Weekend Go?

2016 Just Wanna See EP

2015 Kids in Love

2015 Our Own House

2013 Snapshot

2013 Waiting for The Dawn

2013 Omens

2012 Beautiful Things

2011 Let's Be Animals

Studio albums

YearAlbum detailsChart positions
US AUS CAN
2011 Let's Be Animals
  • Artist: The Downtown Fiction
  • Released: Spring 2011
  • Genre: Pop punk
2010 Welcome to the Breakdown
2010 Race You to the Bottom
  • Artist: New Medicine
  • Released: September 27, 2010
  • Genre: Hard rock
104
2009Live Session EP (iTunes Exclusive)
2008 Avalon 44
2008 Want 44447
2008 Used and Abused
  • Artist: Danger Radio
  • Released: July 8, 2008
  • Genre: Power pop
198
2007 Punch Your Lights Out EP
2007 Lucy Gray 11 Heatseakers
2006 Envy on the Coast EP

Singles

YearArtistSinglePeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
US Hot 100 Billboard US Pop CAN AUS FIN NZ UK IREGER
20083OH!3"Don't Trust Me"716358211795 AUS: Platinum [27]
US: 2× Platinum
Want(and Deluxe Edition)
20093OH!3"Starstrukk" (featuring Katy Perry)6625314163US: Gold
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

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References

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