Interscope Records

Interscope Records Inc.
Parent companyUniversal Music Group (UMG)
Founded1990; 34 years ago (1990)[1]
Founder
Distributor(s)
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States
LocationSanta Monica, California, U.S.
Official websiteinterscope.com Edit this at Wikidata

Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Music Group and Interscope Communications,[2] it differed from most record labels by letting A&R staff control decisions and allowing artists and producers full creative control.[3] Interscope's first hit records arrived in under a year, and it achieved profitability in 1993.[4] Chair and CEO until May 2014, Iovine was succeeded by John Janick.[5]

In 1992, Interscope acquired the exclusive rights to market and distribute releases from hardcore hip hop label Death Row Records, a decision that ultimately put the label at the center of the mid-1990s gangsta rap controversy. As a result, Time Warner, then the parent of Warner Music Group, severed ties with Interscope by selling its 50 percent stake back to Field and Iovine for $115 million in 1995. In 1996, 50% of the label was acquired for a reported $200 million by MCA Inc.,[4][6][7] later known as Universal Music Group.

Interscope's artist roster includes Sting, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic, Dermot Kennedy, Blackpink, Dr. Dre, DaBaby, Billie Eilish, Finneas, Imagine Dragons, Olivia Rodrigo, Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, Playboi Carti, Kendrick Lamar, Jennifer Hudson, Ken Carson, Destroy Lonely, Jay Rock, ScHoolboy Q, Lana Del Rey, Maroon 5, Moneybagg Yo, Gwen Stefani, Rae Sremmurd, Gracie Abrams, Zedd, Machine Gun Kelly, U2, Yeat, Yungblud, Cuco, d4vd, Homixide Gang, Reneé Rapp, J. Cole and Karol G.

  1. ^ "Interscope". Complex Networks. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "Interscope: Inside the Hit Factory". Rolling Stone. April 3, 1997. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Foege, Alec (December 3, 1995). "Shunned, Scorned, and Doing Quite Nicely". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Hilburn, Robert and, Phillips, Chuck (October 24, 1993). "They Sure Figured Something Out : Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field have broken all the rules at Interscope". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 1, 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Christman, Ed (May 28, 2014). "John Janick Replaces Jimmy Iovine Atop Interscope Geffen A&M". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  6. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (February 22, 1996). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS;MCA Agrees to Buy Stake in Interscope Record Label". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
  7. ^ PHILIPS, CHUCK (January 19, 1996). "MCA Offers $200 Million to Acquire a 50% Stake in Interscope Records". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 20, 2017.