Roadrunner Records
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Roadrunner Records | |
|---|---|
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| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder(s) | — |
| Distributing label | The Island Def Jam Music Group (In the US) |
| Genre(s) | Rock, Metal |
| Country of Origin | US |
| Website | Official site of Roadrunner Records |
Roadrunner Records is a major record label that concentrates heavily on metalcore and nu-metal bands (with exceptions). The label was launched in the Netherlands in 1980 and was originally called "Roadracer Records". Roadrunner's initial business was importing North American metal into Europe. In 1986 Roadrunner opened its US headquarters in New York City and later opened offices in England, Germany, France, Japan and Australia. Early successes included albums from King Diamond (the first Roadrunner artist to enter the Billboard Top 200 albums chart) and Annihilator. The end of the 1980's saw the release of two albums that are now considered classics of their respective genres: Obituary's Slowly We Rot and Sepultura's Beneath The Remains.
The 1990's saw the arrival of acts such as Deicide and Type O Negative. As the 90's went on, several of Roadrunner's bands managed to make an impact on the mainstream, most notably Sepultura and Type O Negative. Sepultura's 1993 album, Chaos A.D., became the first Roadrunner band to crack the Top 40 on the Billboard album chart. Type O Negative became the first Roadrunner band to receive a certification from the RIAA. This was a Gold award for the 1993 album, Bloody Kisses, which was certified in late 1995. The band also became the first Roadrunner band to receive radio play. In 2000, SIipknot became the 1st Roadrunner band to go Platinum. Some consider their later switch of band types for more commercial fare to be a fall from grace. Roadrunner is distributed by the Universal Music Group through a share of the label owned by The Island Def Jam Music Group. This deal has been in place since 2001.
Some of their current most successful artists include Cradle Of Filth, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Machine Head, Nickelback, Opeth, Slipknot, Soulfly, DragonForce, 3 Inches of Blood and Stone Sour. Some of their most recent acquisitions include Black Label Society, Betzefer, The Dresden Dolls, Megadeth, New York Dolls, Porcupine Tree, and CKY.
Notable former artists include Biohazard, Annihilator, Coal Chamber, Deicide, Fear Factory (still signed to Roadrunner's international divisions), King Diamond, Life Of Agony, Obituary, Sepultura and Type O Negative.
