Green Linnet Records

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Green Linnet Records is an independent record label specializing in music loosely configured under the 'Celtic' label. Founded by Lisa Null and Patrick Sky in the early 1970s, it was initially based in Lisa's house before moving to Danbury, Connecticut after being taken over by Wendy Newton. The latter's inspiration for becoming involved had been a visit to Ireland, where she heard Irish traditional music for the first time in a small pub in County Clare. She signed Altan, Capercaillie, The Tannahill Weavers and many other significant bands and musicians to record for the label. An offshoot called Xenophile Records appeared in 1992, covering music from Madagascar, Nigeria, Cuba and other countries. In 1997 they launched Celtophile Records to offer budget-priced compilations.

From its foundation to its sale in 2006, Green Linnet was one of the most influential Celtic music labels, releasing hundreds of albums by a panoply of Irish, Scottish, Breton, Galician and Irish-American musicians. In 2002, it was the subject of claims for unpaid royalties instigated by a a number of bands, including Cherish the Ladies and Altan. Most artists were paid and most claims were settled in 2006. There remains, however, a number of outstanding claims that have yet to be resolved (and in one case has been actively ignored and blocked by Green Linnet) thus spoiling the legacy left behind by Green Linnet and its erstwhile owner Wendy Newton.

In May 2006 the label was sold to Digital Music Group, an aggregator of downloadable music; DMG in turn sold the rights to manufacture and distribute Green Linnet and Xenophile physical compact discs to Compass Records. The Green Linnet catalog remains available at www.greenlinnet.com.

[edit] Source of the Name "Green Linnet"

The label's name derives from the coded nickname that Napoleon Bonaparte had in the Irish rebel song tradition. In the early 19th Century, the Society of United Irishmen, the Irish independence organization led by Theobald Wolfe Tone and Robert Emmet, allied themselves with France against Britain, and believed that the French would assist the Irish in gaining independence from British rule