Island records was founded by Chris blackwell in Jamaica but was in the United Kingdom and then after a few years bought by the Universal music group which now is a division of the Island def jam Motown music group in the United States and as a label in the United kingdom. Also since 2007 they have expanded to have an artist and repertoire label in Australia.
Islands record was founded in 1959 and helped financially by Stanley Borden and then they decided to move Islands records to the UK where in 1989 he sold the label to Polygram for £272 million and became the largest indie label in history and influenced many artists from the 70's onwards.
After unsuccessfully trying to create good quality records (many were defective) the label hired EMI to manufacture and distribute their work.
Their first trip into international waters was a distribution deal in North America with RCA Records Canada. After this breakthrough Islands overseas licensing arrangements made them the primary label and made sure their logo was everywhere they went on their records and the record sleeves.
In the 70's with Bob Marley’s death bought detrimental effects to the company; although they had recently signed U2 they still hadn’t hit super star status. Things really became bad for Blackwell when he owed $5 million in royalties to U2 from their new album but he couldn’t pay it meaning they struck a deal where U2 invested that money in to the company and getting a 10% stake in the company.
This then lead to the sale of the company in 1989 to PolyGram and was no longer an independent label. However Blackwell stayed on as the CEO of the PolyGram's island entertainment division. PolyGram then began to put the back log of songs on to compact disc and reached out to many global manufacturers.
Island World Communications, which was headed by Blackwell, as well as Mike Preece, Laurence Guinness and Andy Frain, created Manga Entertainment Ltd, the Japanese Anime and Live Action Japanese film division of Island in 1991 Which then went on to big success. Blackwell then resigned and some say he was fired but then went on to make Palm Pictures. Then in 1998 all of the Polygram and associated labels were purchased by Seagrams, the various labels now asserting the imprint under the umbrella of UMG, or Universal Music Group, LLC. It then expanded from there going all over the world to be a recognizable label with many divisions off it that cover all of the entertainment industry.
This is all very interesting Emily, I can tell you have done your research. However, you have not stated why it it important for a group such as the Rizzle Kicks to have a record label. How might the record label function for them? What role do they play in the management of the artist's career and promotion of their musical products?
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