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{{For|the similarly named American record label|Daemon Records}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{infobox record label
| founded = 1980
| founder = [[Andrew Lauder (music executive)|Andrew Lauder]]<br />[[Jake Riviera]]
| country = [[United Kingdom]]
| location = [[London]]
| parent = [[BBC Worldwide]]
| url = {{url|http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk}}
}}
'''Demon Records''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[record label]], founded in 1980 by former [[United Artists]] [[A&R]] executive [[Andrew Lauder (music executive)|Andrew Lauder]] and [[Jake Riviera]], who had previously started [[Stiff Records]]. The pair had also founded [[Radar Records]] in 1978 and [[F-Beat]] in 1979.<ref name="Larkin">Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0231-3, p.124</ref>

==History==
The label was originally planned to release one-off singles, with early releases from the Subterraneans (featuring ''[[NME]]'' journalist [[Nick Kent]]), the Spectres (formed by [[Glen Matlock]]), [[TV21 (band)|TV21]], and [[Department S (band)|Department S]].<ref name="Larkin" /> Demon's first chart success came with Department S's "Is Vic There?", which reached #22 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="Strong">Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 299</ref>

Further chart success followed with [[Bananarama]]'a "Aie-a-Mwana". The label then changed direction towards launching long-term artists. Lauder left to join [[Island Records]] in 1981, and Demon started a subsidiary label, Edsel Records, the same year, for reissues of 1960s and 1970s albums. By 1982, Lauder had returned, and Demon had spawned further sub-labels, including [[Hi Records]] (the [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] soul label), and Drop Out (psychedelic rock).<ref name="Larkin" />

Demon was also the home of sub-label Zippo, which released albums by American artists such as [[Dream Syndicate]], [[Green On Red]], [[True West (band)|True West]], [[Rain Parade]], [[Russ Tolman]], amongst others in the 1980s.

In 1998, Demon was acquired by Crimson Productions and the record label was merged with its Westside Records operation. In 2002 Westside issued a double CD [[compilation album]] of blues from [[Ace Records (US)]]. The company is now known as the Demon Music Group and releases records by artists such as [[Jane McDonald]] and [[Marti Pellow]]. Demon is also the [[Europe]]an licensee of the [[Hi Records]] catalog.

The firm is also known for releasing a large number of compilation albums, with multi-genre compilation brands including the 'Absolute Hits' series of single-disc collections (through Crimson) and the budget-range '100 Hits' series of five-disc box sets each themed to a particular genre or era of music. These have proved successful, with the 100 Hits series alone amassing sales of 1.5 million units in its first 18 months on sale.<ref name="100 Hits">{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/content/10571.chtml |title=Demon Music Group |publisher=Demon Music Group |date= |accessdate=2013-07-23}}</ref> The firm also releases genre-based compilation sets through labels such as "Harmless" (funk) and "Nascente" ([[world music]]).

The artwork for the Nascente-released 'Beginner's Guide' series (particularly ''Beginner's Guide to Africa'')<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/Product.aspx?ProductID=4413 |title=Demon Music Group |publisher=Demon Music Group |date= |accessdate=2013-07-23}}</ref> may have provided inspiration for similar artwork used by [[Blur (band)|Blur]] on their 2009 EMI collection, ''[[Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur]]''.<ref name="Blur">{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/NewsArticles.aspx#News10697 |title=Demon Music Group |publisher=Demon Music Group |date= |accessdate=2013-07-23}}</ref>

Demon Music Group (DMG) is currently the UK’s largest independent record company, specialising in the creative production and marketing of CDs and music DVDs. There are 17 labels spanning all genres, formats and price points. From low-price single CDs, through to mid-price box sets and full-price TV advertised albums. The repertoire is sourced from both major and independent companies around the world as well as their own vast library of rights that includes artists such as Marc Bolan and T. Rex and Ian Dury and [[the Blockheads]].

==MP3 mastering of CDs==
During 2013, Demon's subsidiary company Edsel had released the entire Island Records back catalogue of [[Robert Palmer (singer)|Robert Palmer]] and [[Blancmange]]. There was initial concern on forums such as the Steve Hoffman boards that the mp3 files had been used as the masters to all eight albums, as many had returned their CDs. <ref>Steve Hoffman Music Forums - The Robert Palmer Remasters http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-edsel-robert-palmer-remasters.327607/</ref> Annoyed fans scanned the files with professional audio analyzing software such as Adobe Audition and Audacity, to find that all the frequencies of the recordings were cut off at 16kHz. The blog Superdeluxeedition had put these claims to the manager of Edsel Records; Val Jennings who vehemently refuted the claims. <ref>Edsel Records reject Robert Palmer MP3 mastering claims http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/edsel-refute-robert-palmer-mp3-mastering-claims/</ref> Superdeluxeedition has approached Nick Watson, who has produced for bands such as the Kinks, Faith No More, and the Libertines, for obtaining a professional opinion on the issue. The final verdict was all the CDs were mastered from mp3 files. The manager of Edsel did not respond. <ref>Expert Witness - Which is the best sounding Robert Palmer remaster? http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/feature/expert-witness-which-is-the-best-sounding-robert-palmer-remaster/</ref> <ref>Reviews of Robert Palmers Edsel catalogue on Amazon UK http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Riptide-Robert-Palmer/product-reviews/B00E40I3AQ/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=byRankDescending </ref>

==Labels==

* DMG TV (artist album projects)
* Edsel (mostly [[re-issue]]s)
* Demon Records (vinyl releases)
* 100 Hits
* Harmless ([[funk]] and [[urban music]] collections)
* Music Club Deluxe (deluxe 2CD packages)
* Crimson
* Nascente ([[world music]] collections)
* Little Demon
* THE Red Box
* Demon Digital
* Imp

==Artists==

===Demon Edsel===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-4}}
* [[Suede (band)|Suede]]
* [[Belinda Carlisle]]
* [[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]]
* [[Ian Dury]]
* [[Sugar (American band)|Sugar]]
* [[The Beat (British band)|The Beat]]
* [[Alexander O'Neal]]
* [[The S.O.S. Band]]
* [[Cherrelle]]
* [[Average White Band]]
* [[Sheena Easton]]

===DMG TV===
* [[Daniel O'Donnell (Irish singer)|Daniel O'Donnell]]
* [[Foster & Allen]]
* [[The Soldiers]]

== See also ==
* [[List of record labels]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:British record labels]]
[[Category:Record labels established in 1980]]
[[Category:Pop record labels]]

Demon Music Group - Revision history

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