Sanctuary Records

Last updated

Sanctuary Records Group Ltd.
Sanctuary.gif
Parent company BMG Rights Management
Founded1979
Founder Rod Smallwood, Andy Taylor
Defunct2007
Distributor(s) Universal Music Group [1] (physical)
BMG Rights Management (digital)
Genre Rock, heavy metal, pop, electronic, hip hop
Country of originUnited Kingdom

Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is, as of 2013, a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. [2] Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest music management company in the world. [3] It was also the world's largest independent owner of music intellectual property rights, with over 160,000 songs. [4]

Contents

History

The company was formed in 1979 by Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor, who met as undergraduates at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1979, they discovered Iron Maiden in a London pub and went on to manage the group. They named the record company after the band's song "Sanctuary," which was released as a single in 1980, and later included on American pressings as well as the reissued CD version of their 1980 eponymous debut album.

Sanctuary Records has historically signed artists with long-term appeal that have had a long career and steady fan base.

Between 1989 and 1991, Sanctuary was co-owned by the Zomba Group, whose music publishing arm still held the music of Iron Maiden in 2001. [5]

In 1994, the company diversified. Amongst the new media interests included a joint venture with screenwriter and producer, Raymond Thompson, which evolved into the Cloud9 Screen Entertainment Group.

Iron Maiden's catalogue was re-issued by Sanctuary in conjunction with Columbia/SME Records in the US in 2002.

Kenny Rogers' 1980s catalogue (originally released on RCA Records) was re-issued by Sanctuary's Castle Music label in conjunction with Kenny Rogers' Dreamcatcher Records in the UK. The albums were only available as imports in the US. Rogers' 2003 release "Back to the Well" was released by Sanctuary in the UK.

Mayan Records was an imprint of Sanctuary Records, under which Lordi's UK album The Monster Show was released.

2006 saw Sanctuary's notable twentieth anniversary release of CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop , a reissue of the pivotal UK independent compilation C86 . [6]

The company incurred significant losses in its 2004 and 2005 fiscal years. Sanctuary's losses in 2005 increased to £142.6m from £26.7m in 2004. In October 2005, the company announced that one quarter of its staff, representing 175 positions, would be eliminated. [7] One such layoff was John Kalodner, [8] senior vice-president of A&R, with over thirty years of industry experience. [9]

The company partly blamed the loss increase on record release delays, while announcing, in early 2006, a £110m rescue deal. [10] These events, plus pressure from the UK financial and business leaders led to Smallwood becoming merely a general manager of the company, Taylor becoming Chief Executive and former British Airways chief executive Bob Ayling being installed as the new chairman. On 26 May 2006, Ayling dismissed Taylor, following a review of accounting practices prompted by inquiries from the Financial Reporting Review Panel. [10] The board's publicly stated reason for the dismissal was "that certain of the prior year adjustments made in the 2005 accounts should have been presented as a correction of fundamental errors and not as changes in accounting policy". [10] Taylor was replaced by Frank Presland, the chief executive of Sanctuary-owned Twenty-First Artists Management. [10]

In July 2006, it was reported that MAMA, the management group behind the Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand and headed by Mean Fiddler chief Dean James, had bid for the group. This proved unsuccessful, further depressing the share value of the company. In late 2006, Rod Smallwood left the company, taking with him Iron Maiden's management interests.

In April 2007, Billboard reported that Sanctuary Records would cease to exist as a new release label in the US that summer, though catalogue, licensing, and new media operations would continue. On 15 June 2007 Universal Music Group announced it had reached an agreement to buy Sanctuary Records for £44.5 million. [11] The agreement was completed in October 2007. By December 2007, it appeared that the Sanctuary name had begun to be phased out, with both Morrissey and Robert Plant being transferred to the Universal-owned Decca Music Group and Iron Maiden to Universal Music Enterprises (with distribution by Sony Music Entertainment, a successor to Sanctuary and Columbia's distribution partnership for the band's releases) for future releases.

On 21 September 2012, regulators approved Universal Music Group's planned acquisition of EMI from Citibank for £1.2 billion. [12] However, due to conditions imposed by the European Commission, UMG was required to sell Sanctuary. [13] It was one of the two units of Universal Music, never fully owned by EMI, that were forced to be sold; the other unit was V2 Records. BMG Rights Management acquired Sanctuary for over €46 million. [14] In June 2013, BMG agreed to have INgrooves distribute the label's catalogue in North America, while the PIAS Group would handle international rights; however, Black Sabbath's catalogue remained at Universal until March 2014, when BMG took over the band's distribution. [15] In March 2017, BMG transferred the distribution rights of select Sanctuary artists to Warner Music Group's ADA division. [16]

In 2023, BMG signed a new distribution deal with Universal Music Group, Sanctuary's previous owner. [1]

Labels catalogue

Former artists

Iron Maiden was one of the last artists signed to Sanctuary, which released their album, The Book of Souls in North America, on 4 September 2015. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Records</span> British record label

Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. They grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, the Spice Girls, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertelsmann Music Group</span> American record label

Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) was a division of a German media company Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on 1 October 2008.

Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderman, Inspiral Carpets, Moby, New Order, Laibach, Nitzer Ebb, Yann Tiersen, Wire, Yeasayer, Fever Ray, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Yazoo, and M83.

ASV Records was a London-based record label set up by Harley Usill, founder of Argo Records, Decca producer and former Argo general manager, Kevin Daly, and producer Jack Boyce, after Argo's parent company Decca was bought by PolyGram in 1980. ASV stood for "Academy Sound and Vision". The label was bought by the Sanctuary Records Group in May 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skint Records</span> British dance music record label

Skint Records is a Brighton and Hove based dance music record label owned by JC Reid, Tim Jeffery and Damian Harris. It was created as a sublabel of Loaded Records, also founded by Reid and Jeffery. Along with Wall of Sound, the label was a leader in the big beat music scene of the mid to late 1990s.

Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk, soul, electronic, and pop. It is home to artists such as The 1975, Death Spells, Eels, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, CRUISR, Active Child, PJ Harvey, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, James Vincent McMorrow, Black Joe Lewis, Wake Owl, Blitzen Trapper, and Bombay Bicycle Club. Originally, Vagrant Records was mostly focused on emo bands such as Dashboard Confessional, Saves the Day, The Get Up Kids, Senses Fail, and Alkaline Trio. The label is considered one of the pre-eminent labels of the emo music scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pye Records</span> British record label

PYE or Pye Records is an independent British record label. It was first established in 1955 and played a major role in shaping rock 'n' roll and pop music history. The Pye name was dropped in 1980 due to trademark issues, after which it produced almost no music until the company name and trademark was acquired by the Scottish broadcaster and music producer, Tony Currie, in September 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EMI Records</span> British record label

EMI Records is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the successor to its Columbia and Parlophone record labels. The label was later launched worldwide. It has a branch in India called EMI Records India, run by director Mohit Suri. In 2014, Universal Music Japan revived the label in Japan as the successor to EMI Records Japan. In June 2020, Universal revived the label as the successor to Virgin EMI, with Virgin Records now operating as an imprint of EMI Records. In February 2024, UMG Philippines relaunched EMI as a successor to the former EMI Philippines label after 22 years.

Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name Trojan comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck that was used as Duke Reid's sound system in Jamaica. The truck had "Duke Reid - The Trojan King of Sounds" painted on the sides, and the music played by Reid became known as the Trojan Sound.

The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zomba Group</span> Former British record label

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Smallwood</span> Musical artist

Roderick Charles Smallwood is an English music manager, best known as the co-manager of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. With his business partner, Andy Taylor, whom he met while studying at Trinity College, Cambridge, he founded the Sanctuary Records Group in 1979, which became the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world until its closure in 2007. Prior to managing Iron Maiden, Smallwood managed Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel.

Noise Records is a German heavy metal record label founded in 1983 by German music industry personality Karl-Ulrich Walterbach as an expansion of his company Modern Music Records. It was sold to the Sanctuary Records Group in 2001 and ceased any activity in 2007 due to the bankruptcy of Sanctuary. The Noise catalogue was consequently acquired by Universal Music Group later on. In April 2016, BMG Rights Management, which had acquired Sanctuary Records in 2013, announced that it would revive the Noise Records label.

CMC International was an American independent record label founded by Bill Cain and Tom Lipsky in 1991, focused mainly on classic rock, and classic heavy metal. The label was the haven of many hard rock, arena rock, thrash metal, glam metal, and AOR artists in the period when all the majors were investing all their financial efforts on grunge and alternative rock acts. In 1995 CMC started a partnership with BMG Entertainment, which in 1999 owned the majority of the company, with founder Tom Lipsky holding a minority stake.

Castle Communications, also known as Castle Music, was a British independent record label and home video distributor founded in 1983 by Terry Shand, Cliff Dane, and Jon Beecher. Its video imprint was called Castle Vision. The label's production ceased in 2007, and its remaining rights are now chiefly vested in BMG Rights Management. Castle also operated a subsidiary label, Essential Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative Distribution Alliance</span> Music distribution company

Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resources, relationships and experience required to share their creative vision with a global audience."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BMG Rights Management</span> International music company

BMG Rights Management GmbH is an international music company based in Berlin, Germany. It combines the activities of a music publisher and a record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paracadute</span> American record label

Paracadute is an independent record company owned by rock band OK Go. OK Go left their previous record company, EMI, because of a disagreement between the band and the label. OK Go reissued their album, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, with Paracadute taking care of the promotion and distribution of the album reissues. OK Go's lead singer, Damian Kulash, announced the new label in a video posted to the band's YouTube channel.

Round Hill Music is an American music publishing company founded in 2010 by Josh Gruss, Richard Rowe, and Neil Gillis. The company operates a music publishing division, a sync and royalty administration, a music production library business, a record label and label services division, and also a Nashville songwriter services group with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and London.

References

  1. 1 2 "BMG forms alliance with Universal Music Group; plans to move physical distribution to UMG's Commercial Services division". musicbusinessworldwide.com. 19 October 2023.
  2. ↑ BBC News, "Universal Music to buy Sanctuary" Archived 12 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine , 15 June 2007, accessed 16 June 2007
  3. ↑ BBC News, "Sanctuary may sell off some units" Archived 5 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine , 26 January 2007, accessed 16 June 2007
  4. ↑ "Corporate Information". Sanctuary Records Group Official Website. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  5. ↑ White, Adam. "The Untold Saga of the Zomba Group: Clive Calder's Empire is World's Largest Independent Music Firm" Billboard 113/18 (5 May 2001)
  6. ↑ Bob Stanley, sleevenotes to CD86
  7. ↑ BBC News, Sanctuary cuts a quarter of staff Archived 30 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine , 10 October 2005, accessed 29 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Melinda Newman, Kalodner looking forward with an eye on past. Billboard , 8 July 2006, p. 47, accessed 4 January 2017.
  9. ↑ Kalodner opted to leave the music business entirely. See Matt Wake, A&R Legend John Kalodner Talks Aerosmith and Why Rock Won't Reach the Masses Again Archived 21 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine . LA Weekly, 16 June 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  10. 1 2 3 4 BBC News, Sanctuary sacks boss over figures Archived 30 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine , 26 May 2006, accessed 29 December 2016.
  11. ↑ Kate Holton and Chris Wills, "Universal agrees to buy struggling Sanctuary" Archived 9 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Reuters, 15 June 2007, accessed 16 June 2007
  12. ↑ Joshua R. Wueller, Mergers of Majors: Applying the Failing Firm Doctrine in the Recorded Music Industry, 7 Brook. J. Corp. Fin. & Com. L. 589, 602 (2013).
  13. ↑ Sweney, Mark (21 September 2012). "Universal's £1.2bn EMI takeover approved – with conditions". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  14. ↑ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (14 February 2013). "Universal Music agrees to sell Sanctuary Records". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Universal, Sony, [PIAS] and InGrooves partner with BMG on Sanctuary and Mute catalogues - Music Business Worldwide". musicbusinessworldwide.com. 25 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "BMG moves distribution of 8,000 albums to Warner's ADA - Music Business Worldwide". musicbusinessworldwide.com. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  17. ↑ nickderiso (18 June 2015). "Iron Maiden Announces First-Ever Double Album, 'The Book of Souls'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.