Another of the World’s most famous record labels is Island Records. Named in honour of the Harry Belafonte song Island in the Sun, the record label first found success outside of Jamaica with Jamaican singer Millie Small’s My Boy Lollipop in 1964. Island Records: Not Just Another Record Label Island Records isn’t just another label; … Read more
Let’s take a step back to the early 1980s, to the birth of a record label that would become a titan of the music industry: Def Jam Recordings. As far as famous record labels go, this one is right up there. Foundation and Early Days Founded in 1983, by Rick Rubin along with Russell Simmons, … Read more
The Birth of a Music Revolution: The Founding of Motown Records Perhaps the best-known of all the famous record labels the world over, Berry Gordy Jr’s Moton Records is a true cultural phenomenon. Read on to find out just how this record label from the Motor City changed the world’s approach to the creation of … Read more
How Sam Phillips created Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee Before Sun Records, there was Sun Studios. Or rather there was the Memphis Recording Service. This was opened on January 3, 1950, by Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to musical performances, he recorded events such as weddings and funerals, selling the … Read more
Introduction Welcome to the third article in a series on the world’s largest record labels. Or should I say the first article on the world’s largest record label? This is because the Universal Music Group accounts for two-thirds of the entire market share in the US and Canada. As big as they are, Sony and … Read more
In this, the second article on the world’s largest record labels, I am going to tell you about Sony Music. First, let’s roll back to 1975 with the launch of the Sony Corporation’s new video machine, known as Betmax. You might think this is slightly incongruous, but please bear with me. As a concept, it … Read more
By all accounts, the world’s largest record labels are dominated by just three major record labels. These are: Sony Music Entertainment Universal Music Group Warner Music Group Of course, things are never quite as they seem. In a list of the ten largest record labels published by musicianwave.com in 2022, the big three are listed … Read more