Epic Records
| Epic Records | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parent company | Sony Music Entertainment |
| Founded | 1953 |
| Distributor(s) | Columbia/Epic Label Group (In the US) |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | US |
| Location | New York City, NY |
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment, which currently operates under the umbrella of the Columbia/Epic Label Group. It is a premiere label for Sony Music. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres.
Contents |
History
Beginnings
Epic Records was launched in 1953 by CBS for the purpose of marketing jazz and classical music that did not fit the theme of the more mainstream Columbia Records. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. This has included such notables as the Berlin Philharmonic, Charles Rosen, the Juilliard String Quartet, Antal Doráti conducting the Hague Philharmonic and George Szell conducting the Cleveland Orchestra.
Expansion of genres and mainstream success
By 1960, the label's musical base had been expanded to include all genres. This was done in part to prevent the roster of Columbia Records (which, at the time, had a reputation for releasing material by more established acts) from being overstuffed with newer artists. Subsequently, Epic became better known for its signing of newer, fledgling acts. By the end of the 1960s, Epic earned its first gold records and had evolved into a formidable hit-making force in rock and roll, R&B and country music. Among its many acts, it included Roy Hamilton, Bobby Vinton, The Dave Clark Five, The Hollies, Tammy Wynette, Donovan, The Yardbirds, Lulu, July and Jeff Beck. Several of the British artists on the Epic roster during the 1960s were the result of CBS's Epic/Okeh units' international distribution deal with EMI; Epic recordings were issued by EMI on the Columbia label before the contract with EMI expired, at which point CBS Records began issuing Epic label material on the CBS label until Epic UK was established in 1971 as a CBS imprint.[1]
Also during the 1960s, Epic oversaw the smaller subsidiary CBS labels including: Okeh Records and Date Records.
Epic's commercial success continued to grow in the 1970s with releases from ABBA, Boston, Cheap Trick, The Clash, Charlie Daniels, Heart, The Isley Brothers, The Jacksons, Labelle, Johnny Nash, Ted Nugent, REO Speedwagon, Charlie Rich, Sly & the Family Stone, Steve Vai and Edgar Winter. Also contributing to the labels success was its distribution of Philadelphia International Records, which produced additional hit records by acts such as The Three Degrees and McFadden and Whitehead.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Epic's mainstream success further escalated with such acts on its roster as Adam Ant, Cry Before Dawn, Culture Club, Céline Dion, Gloria Estefan, Europe, Cyndi Lauper, Ozzy Osbourne, Sade, Luther Vandross and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The label's greatest pay-dirt achievement came with the release Thriller, the 1982 album by Michael Jackson, which went on to achieve eighty million in international sales, becoming the biggest selling album in history.
More recently, other successful acts on the label have included Paloma Faith, Mudvayne, Chevelle, The Fray, Jessica Simpson, Shakira, Korn, Fiona Apple, Olly Murs, Jennifer Lopez, Rage Against the Machine, and B2K.
Today
Epic Records is today owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Sony bought CBS Records in 1987 and the company was renamed Sony Music in 1991. In February 2009, Sony Music appointed singer/songwriter Amanda Ghost president of Epic Records.[2]. Later in the year, Sony Music (during a reconsolidation of labels) merged Epic's operations with Columbia Records, and subsequently formed the Columbia/Epic Label Group — under which both labels continue to operate as separate brands. Sony Music's Legacy Recordings, in the meantime, reissues the label's classic and historical titles.
Imprint labels
The following is a list of labels Epic Records has distributed:
Current
- Beluga Heights (2008-present)
- Daylight Records (2000-present)
- DC Flag Records (2004-present)
- E1 Music (2007-present)
- Glowworm Records (?-present)
Former
- 550 Music (1993-2000)
- Beluga Heights Records(2006-2008)
- Cold Chillin' Records (1993-1999)
- Data Records (1960s)
- Epic Records Nashville (? - May 2006)
- Epic Street (1993-1998)
- Epic Dance (?-?)
- CBS Associated/Epic Associated (1983-1995)
- Hidden Beach Records (1998-2007)
- Immortal Records (1994-2006)
- MJJ Music (1991-1999)
- Modern Art Records (?-?)
- Ode Records (1967-1969, 1976-1979)
- OKeh Records (1965-1970, 1994-2000)
- Philadelphia International Records (1976-1984)
- Portrait Records (1976-1992)
- Private-I Records (?-?)
- Ruthless Records (late 1990s)
- SOLAR Records (1989-1993)
- Tabu Records (1987-1991)
- Work Records (1994-2000)
Epic Records artists
Epic Records Executives
- Amanda Ghost - Epic Records President
- Nick Raphael — Epic UK Managing Director
- Jo Charrington — Epic UK Head of A&R
See also
- List of record labels
Former logos
 Original "radial sound" logo. |
 Classic "radial sound" sunburst logo, used in the 1960s and the early 2000s. Now used on Japanese operations. |
 Logo used in the 1970s. |
Script logo, used from late 1979 to 1991; revived in 2006, it is the present day logo. |
 Logo used from 1991 to 2000. |
References
External links
- Epic Records – Official website
- Sony Music, Parent Company of Epic
- Epic Records on Myspace
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||