Virgin Records

2016-10-30T10:35:47Z

2600:8800:FF10:A00:E523:BEDC:F1D6:AB2A: /* Rebranding */

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{{infobox record label
| image_name = Virgin Records.svg
| parent = [[Capitol Music Group]] (U.S.)
[[Virgin EMI]] (U.K.)
| founded = {{unbulleted list|'''European company'''<br>{{start date and age|1972}} (as Virgin Records and Tapes)|'''Virgin Records America''' {{start date and age|1986}}}}
| defunct = March 2013 {{small|(U.K. only)}}
| founder = {{hlist|[[Richard Branson]]|Simon Draper|[[Nik Powell]]|[[Tom Newman (musician)|Tom Newman]]}}
| status = {{hlist|Active in the U.S.|Defunct in the U.K.}}
| distributor = {{hlist|[[Virgin EMI Records|Virgin EMI]] {{small|(UK)}}|[[Capitol Music Group]] {{small|(US)}}|[[Universal Music Distribution]] {{small|(Int'l)}}}}
| genre = Various
| country = {{hlist|United Kingdom|[[United States]]}}
| location = {{hlist|[[London]]|[[Hollywood]]}}
| url = {{unbulleted list|{{URL|http://virginemi.com|Virgin EMI}}|{{URL|http://virginrecords.com|Virgin Records America}}}}
}}

'''Virgin Records''' is a major record label first founded by English entrepreneur [[Richard Branson]], Simon Draper, [[Nik Powell]] and musician [[Tom Newman (musician)|Tom Newman]] in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide phenomenon over time with the success of its platinum performers such as [[Janet Jackson]], [[Roy Orbison]], [[Devo]], [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[Keith Richards]], [[the Human League]], [[Culture Club]], [[Simple Minds]], [[Lenny Kravitz]], [[dc Talk]], [[the Smashing Pumpkins]], [[Mike Oldfield]], [[Spice Girls]] and more on their list of artists.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/about/Virgin.html?id=reg8NAAACAAJ ''Virgin: A History of Virgin Records''] by Terry Southern, URL accessed 6 July 2011.</ref> It was later sold to [[Thorn EMI]] in 1992.

Currently wholly owned by [[Universal Music Group]] after its purchase of [[EMI]] in 2012, UMG absorbed Virgin's British operations, '''Virgin Records, Ltd.''', to create [[Virgin EMI Records]] in March 2013, which in turn absorbed [[Mercury Records]]' UK operations.<ref>[http://www.emimusic.com/blog/2013/universal-music-uk-launches-virgin-emi-records-2/ EMI Music | Universal Music UK launches Virgin EMI Records]</ref>

Today, the operations of '''Virgin Records America, Inc.''' (a unit of Virgin Records, Ltd.) are still active and headquartered in [[Hollywood, California]], as it operates exclusively under the [[Capitol Music Group]] since 2007.<ref>https://twitter.com/virginrecords</ref> A heavily minor amount of artists remain on Virgin Records America's roster, which today is mostly occupied with European artists such as [[Bastille (band)|Bastille]], [[Circa Waves]], [[Corinne Bailey Rae]], [[Ella Eyre]], [[Grizfolk]], [[Walking on Cars]], [[Seinabo Sey]], and [[Prides]]. US artists include Knox Hamilton, L'Tric and [[Rise Against]].

==History==
[[File:virginrecordlogo.jpg|left|200 px|thumb|Virgin logo designed by [[Roger Dean (artist)|Roger Dean]] for the fledgling Virgin Records label]]
Branson and Powell had initially run a small record shop called ''Virgin Records and Tapes'' on [[Notting Hill Gate]], London, specialising particularly in "[[krautrock]]" imports, and offering bean bags and free vegetarian food for the benefit of customers listening to the music on offer.<ref>{{cite news | last = Lott | first = Tim | title = The day my music died | publisher = ''[[The Guardian]]'' | date = 26 March 2004 | url = http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,1177956,00.html | accessdate = 17 September 2007 }}</ref> In fact the first real store was above a shoe shop at the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street.
After making the shop into a success, they turned their business into a fully fledged record label. The name '''Virgin''', according to Branson (in his autobiography), arose from [[Tessa Watts]], a colleague of his, when they were brainstorming business ideas. She suggested Virgin – as they were all new to business – like "virgins".<ref>[http://www.inc.com/magazine/19871101/6069_pagen_2.html ''Then Came Branson''] by Erik Larson at Inc Magazine Online, 1 Nov 1986, URL accessed 7 July 2011</ref> The original Virgin logo (known to fans as the "Gemini" or "Twins" logo) was designed by English artist and illustrator [[Roger Dean (artist)|Roger Dean]]: a young naked woman in mirror image with a large long-tailed serpent and the word "Virgin" in Dean's familiar script. A variation on the logo was used for the spin-off [[Caroline Records]] label.

The first release on the label was the [[progressive rock]] album ''[[Tubular Bells]]'' by multi-instrumentalist [[Mike Oldfield]], who was discovered by Tom Newman and brought to Simon Draper – who eventually persuaded Richard and Nik to present it as their first release
in 1973, produced by Tom Newman, for which the fledgling label garnered unprecedented acclaim.<ref name="timeline">{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=simon+draper+virgin+records&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8#q=%22virgin+records%22+company+history&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivns&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=m04WTpC8EY72swO-u8TsDQ&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CGUQ5wIwCg&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=47420160db229f25&biw=970&bih=772 |title=Simon Draper: Virgin Records – timeline |publisher=Google.com |date=12 August 1978 |accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref> This was soon followed by some notable krautrock releases, including electronic breakthrough album ''[[Phaedra (album)|Phaedra]]'' by [[Tangerine Dream]] (which went Top 20), and ''[[The Faust Tapes]]'' and ''[[Faust IV]]'' by [[Faust (band)|Faust]]. ''The Faust Tapes'' album retailed for 49p (the price of a 7" single) and as a result allowed this relatively unknown band to reach number 12 in the album charts{{Citation needed|reason=no UK top 40 chartings for artists named Faust as per everyhit.com|date=March 2012}}. Other early albums include [[Gong (band)|Gong]]'s ''[[Flying Teapot (album)|Flying Teapot (Radio Gnome Invisible, Pt. 1)]]'', which [[Daevid Allen]] has been quoted as having never been paid for.{{Citation needed|reason=no mention of this on Daevid Allen, Gong, or album articles|date=January 2010}}

==Rebranding==
Although Virgin was initially one of the key labels of English and European progressive rock, the 1977 signing of the [[Sex Pistols]] (who had already been signed and then dropped by both [[EMI Records|EMI]] and [[A&M Records|A&M]]) reinvented the label as a new-wave outpost, a move that plunged the record company into the mainstream of the punk rock era.<ref name="timeline"/> Under the guidance of [[Tessa Watts]], Virgin's Head of Publicity (and later, also Director of Production), the Pistols rocketed the label to success.<ref>[http://www.transatlanticrecords.com/biography.html ''Nathan Joseph – Renaissance Man''] by Transatlantic Records at Transatlantic Records Online, URL accessed 2 June 2010.</ref> Shortly afterwards, the Notting Hill record shop (above which the label's office was located) was raided by police for having a window display of the Sex Pistols' album ''[[Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols]]'' in the window. Afterwards they signed other new wave groups: [[Boxer (band)|Boxer]], [[Culture Club]], [[Fingerprintz]], [[Gillan (band)|Gillan]], [[Holly and the Italians]], [[Human League]] (whose "[[Don't You Want Me]]" was the label's first chart-topping single, in 1981), [[Magazine (band)|Magazine]], [[Skids (band)|Skids]], [[the Motors]], [[Penetration (band)|Penetration]], [[the Ruts]], [[Shooting Star (band)|Shooting Star]], [[Simple Minds]], and [[XTC]].

After modified versions of the twins label came the red, white and blue design introduced in 1975, which coincided with the height of punk and new wave.<ref>http://www.45cat.com/label/virgin/2</ref> The current Virgin logo (known informally as "the scrawl") was created in 1978, commissioned by Simon Draper, then managing director of Virgin Records Limited. Brian Cooke of Cooke Key Associates commissioned a graphic designer to produce a stylised signature. The logo was first used on Mike Oldfield's ''[[Incantations (album)|Incantations]]'' album in 1978 and by the Virgin Records label exclusively until gradually other parts of the Virgin Group adopted it, including [[Virgin Atlantic]], [[Virgin Mobile]] and [[Virgin Money]].

==Subsidiary labels==

===Current===
*In 1983 Virgin purchased '''[[Charisma Records]]''', renaming it '''Charisma/Virgin''', then later '''Virgin/Charisma''', before folding the label in 1986 and transferring its remaining artists to Virgin. In the process they acquired [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] and comedy group [[Monty Python]]. The Charisma label was reactivated in the US in 1990 and enjoyed success with signings such as [[Maxi Priest]], [[Right Said Fred]], [[38 Special (band)|38 Special]] and [[Enigma (musical project)|Enigma]]. When this Charisma label was retired in 1992, all of its artists were, as before, transferred to Virgin.
*In 1987, '''Venture Records''' was created for new age and modern classical artists including [[Klaus Schulze]], who had been associated with Virgin since the early 1970s. (Virgin had distributed UK editions of his German albums since 1974, and he had almost been signed as a Virgin artist in 1976, but the deal was cancelled after a conflict between Virgin and his German label.)
*'''10 Records'''
*'''[[Immortal Records]]'''
*'''Delabel (France)'''

===Former===
*'''[[Caroline Records]]''' was a budget label used from 1973 to 1977. The name and logo were later used for some American editions of Virgin records in the 1980s and 1990s. Caroline was primarily used for independent distribution until the label was reactivated in 2013. Today, Caroline Records acts as an independent label taking the place of EMI Label Services, after Virgin's former parent company EMI was purchased by Universal Music Group.
*'''[[Front Line (record label)|Front Line Records]]''' (or '''Virgin's Front Line''') was a label for issuing Jamaican and English reggae music from 1978 to approximately 1987. It became an actual label name in 1978 when it succeeded a category of Virgin albums and singles marketed as "The Front line Series" which went back to 1976, when a reggae compilation album titled ''The Front Line'' was issued on Virgin. Front Line artists included [[U-Roy]], [[U Brown]], [[The Mighty Diamonds]], [[Keith Hudson]], [[Althea and Donna]], [[Jah Lloyd]], [[Johnny Clarke]], [[The Gladiators (band)|The Gladiators]], [[Peter Tosh]], [[I Roy]], [[Tappa Zukie]], [[Sly Dunbar]], [[The Twinkle Brothers]], [[Prince Far I]], [[Big Youth]], [[The Abyssinians]], [[Culture (band)|Culture]], [[Gregory Isaacs]] and [[Linton Kwesi Johnson]].
*A short-lived associated label, '''[[Dindisc]]''', had [[Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark]] and [[The Monochrome Set]] during its brief existence (1980–1981), after which its recordings became part of Virgin's catalogue.
*'''[[Noo Trybe Records]]''' was a hip hop record label that existed from 1994 to 1999. The label consisted of mostly West Coast hip hop artists such as the [[Luniz]]. The label also became the distributor for releases under [[Rap-A-Lot Records]] after they switched distribution from Virgin's sister label under EMI, [[Priority Records]] in 1994. Noo Trybe also became the home of East Coast rappers [[AZ (rapper)|AZ]] and [[Gang Starr]] after their respective labels [[EMI Records|EMI]] and [[Chrysalis Records|Chrysalis]] were folded in early 1997.

==American editions==

The Virgin label was distributed in the USA by Atlantic from 1973 to 1975. During this period, 14 albums were issued. All had been previously issued in the UK on Virgin, although one album, ''[[Marjory Razorblade]]'' by Kevin Coyne, was truncated from a 20-song double album to an 11-song single album.

Beginning with Mike Oldfield's ''[[Ommadawn]]'' album in 1975, American distribution switched to [[Columbia Records]]. Columbia was unwilling to release all Virgin artists, and so many were licensed to other labels: [[Epic Records|Epic]] (the sister company of Columbia) ([[Mike Oldfield]] (in the 1980s), [[Culture Club]], [[Holly and the Italians]], some XTC (1982), and Shooting Star), [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] ([[Julian Lennon]]), [[A&M Records|A&M]] (UB40, Human League, Simple Minds, Breathe), [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]] (Sex Pistols, Scritti Politti, DEVO), and [[Geffen Records|Geffen]] (XTC - 1983 on). Some of these records had a small Virgin logo added to the regular company design on the label. One of Virgin's and Epic's biggest acts of the 1980s was Culture Club.

In 1978, Virgin set up US operations first in New York on Perry Street under [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] distribution, and then moved operations to New Jersey along with a short-lived subdivision called '''Virgin International''', handled by independent New Jersey-based distributor [[Jem Records]]. Virgin International used mainly for progressive rock artists with a smaller following in the USA, including reissues of earlier Virgin / Atlantic albums such as ''[[Hergest Ridge]]'' by Mike Oldfield, and ''[[Fish Rising]]'' by Steve Hillage, which Columbia chose not to reissue. Virgin International also issued albums by some of Virgin's reggae artists, including [[Gregory Isaacs]]. At the same time, Virgin releases distributed by Columbia continued, distribution returning to Atlantic (later WEA) in 1980, at which time Virgin International ceased operations.

In 1986, Virgin Records opened up another American division, '''Virgin Records America'''. Its first release was the debut album by [[Cutting Crew]] which included the hit single "[[(I Just) Died in Your Arms]]". Other Virgin America signings included [[Camper Van Beethoven]], [[Bob Mould]], [[Warren Zevon]], [[Paula Abdul]], [[T'Pau (band)|T'pau]], [[Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers]], [[Redhead Kingpin and the F.B.I.|Redhead Kingpin & The F.B.I.]], [[Neneh Cherry]], [[Steve Winwood]] and Hindsight. Virgin Records America's releases were distributed through [[Warner Music Group|WEA]] again by [[Atlantic Records]] until 1992. Virgin Records America was founded by the executive team of [http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=83915679&privcapId=28444788 Jordan Harris], [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-ayeroff Jeff Ayeroff] and [[Phil Quartararo]].

Another American company called '''Caroline Records''' co-existed during this time. Caroline records rarely mentioned a connection with Virgin, and some UK and European Virgin albums that were distributed internationally (instead of being manufactured in each country) named Caroline as their American distributor. Some Caroline records bore the label name '''Caroline Blue Plate'''.

==Canadian editions==

The first Canadian editions were distributed by WEA, and were parallel issues of the same early 14 albums issued in the USA by Virgin/Atlantic.

In 1975, distribution transferred to Columbia (as it had in the USA), but the following year distribution was transferred again to [[Polydor Records]] (which changed its name to [[PolyGram]] by 1980), and issued a different and larger selection of records from what was being issued in the USA. Canadian editions of the Dindisc label were issued as Dindisc/Virgin. Virgin's Canadian division arranged to have Canadian artists [[Martha and the Muffins]] and [[Nash the Slash]] signed to Dindisc in the UK as well; both artists had releases in Canada and the UK on Dindisc.

In 1983, an independent '''Virgin Records Canada Inc.''' company was created, three years before a similar move occurred in the USA. From this time onward, Virgin Canada used unique label designs not seen in other countries: a red label with five horizontal bars across the top and an extra-large "scrawl" logo from 1983 to 1985, followed by a purple label with round logo up to 1992 when Virgin was acquired internationally.

==Purchase by Thorn EMI==
Virgin Records was sold by Branson to [[Thorn EMI]] in June 1992 for a reported US$1 billion (around £560 million),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virgin.com/aboutvirgin/allaboutvirgin/thewholestory/default.asp?era=199 |title=About Us – About The Virgin Group |publisher=Virgin.com |date= |accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/mergers/cases/index/m4.html#m_202 |title=EUROPA – Competition – Cases from 200 to 249 |publisher=Ec.europa.eu |date= |accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref> with a special non-competition clause that would prevent Branson from founding another recording company during the five years following the agreement (see the final paragraph in [http://ec.europa.eu/competition/mergers/cases/decisions/m202_en.pdf E.U. Merger Decision IV/M202 of 27.04.1992]). It now faces competition from Branson's new label: [[V2 Records]]. Branson sold Virgin Records to fund [[Virgin Atlantic Airways]] which at that time was coming under intense anti-competitive pressure from [[British Airways]]. (In 1993 BA settled a libel action brought by Branson, giving him £500,000 and a further £110,000 to his airline).

After being acquired by [[Thorn EMI]], Virgin launched several subsidiaries like [[Real World Studios|Realworld Records]], [[Innocent Records]], blues speciality label [[Point Blank Records]], and [[Hut Records]], and continued signing new and established artists like [[Korn]], [[A Fine Frenzy]], [[Thirty Seconds to Mars]], [[Tina Turner]], [[Depeche Mode]], [[Beenie Man]], [[The Rolling Stones]], [[Spice Girls]], [[The Smashing Pumpkins]], [[We Are Scientists]], [[Darren Hayes]], [[The Kooks]], [[Lenny Kravitz]], [[dcTalk]] (mainstream releases, contract ended in 2000), [[Captain Beefheart]], [[Meat Loaf]], [[Placebo (band)|Placebo]], [[Janet Jackson]] (contract ended in 2006), [[Daft Punk]], [[My Favorite Highway]], [[Does It Offend You, Yeah?]], [[Massive Attack]], [[The Future Sound of London]], [[Blur (band)|Blur]] (US), [[The Chemical Brothers]], [[Gorillaz]], [[Paula Abdul]] (contract ended in 1999), [[Brooke Allison]], [[The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus]], [[The Almost]], [[Mariah Carey]] (contract ended in 2001), [[N.E.R.D.]], [[Laura Marling]], [[Swami (band)|Swami]], [[RBD]], [[Thalía]] and [[Priscilla Renea]].

In 1997, Virgin absorbed [[EMI Records]] USA (distinct from [[EMI America Records]] which was absorbed by [[Manhattan Records]]) and in 1998, opened a [[country music]] division called Virgin Records Nashville, of which record producer [[Scott Hendricks]] was president.<ref name="sound">{{cite book|editor=Frank Hoffman|title=Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FOSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA973&dq=%22virgin+nashville%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=e92AU-2SJ8mXyATnr4LAAg&ved=0CNkBEOgBMCY#v=onepage&q=%22virgin%20nashville%22&f=false|page=973}}</ref> The label's signees comprised [[Julie Reeves]], [[Jerry Kilgore (singer)|Jerry Kilgore]], [[Roy D. Mercer]], [[Tom Mabe]], [[Chris Cagle]], [[Clay Davidson]], and [[River Road (band)|River Road]]. In 2001, Virgin Nashville closed and its roster was folded into Capitol Records' Nashville division.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YxMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA6&dq=%22virgin+nashville%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-t6AU4X1N4GGyASyvILoDA&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22virgin%20nashville%22&f=false|title=Virgin Nashville to be folded into Capitol|date=3 February 2001|work=Billboard|accessdate=24 May 2014}}</ref>

==Merger==
{{Main|Capitol Music Group}}
Capitol Records and Virgin Records America were merged in 2007 to create [[Capitol Music Group]] after a massive restructuring of EMI Group Ltd.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rapbasement.com/content/view/2380/35/ |title=Capitol Records Merges With Virgin | publisher=Rapbasement.com|accessdate=28 February 2013}}</ref> Stepping down as chief executive of Capitol Records was Andy Slater, with Jason Flom, former executive of Virgin, taking the reins as chairman and CEO of the newly created company.

==Virgin Music international companies==
*[[Virgin EMI Records]] is Universal's main label in the United Kingdom after [[Mercury Records]] UK has been reduced to a local Universal imprint and its artist moved to the new Virgin EMI label.<ref>[http://www.emimusic.com/news/2013/universal-music-uk-launches-virgin-emi-records/ EMI Music | Universal Music UK launches Virgin EMI Records]</ref>
*[[Virgin Schallplatten]] GmbH was the German subsidiary of Virgin Records. It was consolidated into [[EMI]] Germany (which is now part of Universal Music Germany).
*Virgin France was consolidated into EMI France, which has been renamed [[Parlophone]] and sold to [[Warner Music Group]], just like the divisions in Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia and Sweden.
*Virgin Japan has had three incarnations:
**The first was founded by [[Pony Canyon]] in 1987 as a distributor for Virgin's artists in the country when Virgin was still independent. After EMI's purchase of Virgin in 1992, this incarnation of Virgin Japan was renamed Media Remoras, and it closed in 1997.
** The second incarnation was part of Toshiba-EMI, and had three sublabels: Virgin Domestic, Virgin Tokyo, and Virgin DCT (exclusive to releases from the band [[Dreams Come True (band)|Dreams Come True]]). All three were folded in 2004 into the label Virgin Music, which was folded into EMI Records Japan in 2013 after its merger with Universal.
** The third incarnation, Virgin Music Japan, was founded in 2014 by Universal Music Japan as a sublabel under [[EMI Records Japan]]. It was formed after the merger of EMI R, which was renamed Virgin Records, and [[Delicious Deli Records]].

==See also==
*[[List of record labels]]
*[[Virgin Group]]
*[[Virgin Records artists]]
*[[Virgin Schallplatten]]
*[[Virgin Classics]], France
*[[EMI Records Japan|Virgin Records Japan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.virginrecords.com Official Web Site]
*[http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=search.php3&artistsearch=&relation=+&genre=+&country=+&freesearch=Virgin+Records&search.x=53&search.y=13 Virgin A&R team contact list]
*[http://music.virgin.com/ Official Virgin Music Blog]
*[http://www.virginradio.co.uk/ Official Virgin Music News Channel], as well as the [http://www.virginradio.com/ international] and [http://virginradio.ca/ Canadian branches]

{{Virgin Records}}
{{Vivendi}}
{{Virgin Group}}
{{Atlantic Records}}

[[Category:Record labels established in 1972]]
[[Category:British record labels]]
[[Category:Virgin Records|*]]
[[Category:Rock record labels]]
[[Category:Pop record labels]]
[[Category:IFPI members]]
[[Category:EMI]]
[[Category:Labels distributed by Universal Music Group]]
[[Category:Companies based in California]]
[[Category:Companies based in Los Angeles County, California]]
[[Category:Companies based in Los Angeles]]

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Virgin Records