CBS Records | |
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Parent company | CBS Corporation |
Founded | 2006 |
Founder | Les Moonves |
Defunct | 2017 |
Distributor(s) | RED Distribution (Sony Music Entertainment) |
Genre | Various |
Country of origin | United States |
Location | Los Angeles, California CBS Television City |
CBS Records was a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006[1] to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists: rock band SeƱor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J. Olsson.[2]
The label relied primarily on digital distribution such as iTunes and on direct sales from its own website. However, it signed a deal to distribute compact discs through RED Distribution, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment which CBS Inc. formerly owned. CBS Records was headquartered at Television City in Los Angeles.[3]
The "CBS Records" name was also used in the 1960s to release Columbia Records products outside the US and Canada. This was necessary because EMI owned another record label called Columbia, which operated in every market except North America, Spain and Japan. CBS sold the record company in 1988 to Sony. In 1991, the CBS label was officially renamed Columbia Records and the company was renamed Sony Music Entertainment.[4]