Virgin Records

Not to be confused with Virgin Music Group or Virgin Music.

Virgin Records Ltd
Parent company
Founded
  • Virgin Records Ltd.
    1972; 52 years ago (1972)
  • Virgin Records America, Inc.
    1986; 38 years ago (1986)
Founder
Distributor(s)
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited Kingdom

Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. They grew to be a worldwide success over time, with the success of platinum performers Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, Devo, Tangerine Dream, Genesis, Phil Collins, OMD, the Human League, Culture Club, Simple Minds, the Spice Girls, Lenny Kravitz, the Sex Pistols, and Mike Oldfield among others, meaning that by the time it was sold, it was regarded as a major label, alongside other large international independents such as A&M and Island Records.[1]

Virgin Records was sold to Thorn EMI in 1992. EMI would later be acquired by Universal Music Group (UMG) in 2012 with UMG creating the Virgin EMI Records division.[2] The Virgin Records name continues to be used by UMG in certain markets such as Germany and Japan.[3][4][5][6][7]

  1. ^ Virgin: A History of Virgin Records by Terry Southern, URL accessed 6 July 2011.
  2. ^ "Our Labels & Brands". UMG. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Introducing Virgin Music Label & Artist Services | Virgin". Virgin.com. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  4. ^ "UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP LAUNCHES VIRGIN MUSIC LABEL AND ARTIST SERVICES". UMG. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Universal launches Virgin Music Label & Artist Services around the world, rebranding Caroline and Caroline International". Music Business Worldwide. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  6. ^ "UMG Launches Indie-Focused Virgin Music Label & Artist Services". Billboard. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Universal rebrands its label services business as Virgin Music". Completemusicupdate.com. Retrieved 28 March 2021.