Warner Records
Warner Records Inc. | |
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Los Angeles, California | |
Official website | warnerrecords |
Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.[1] It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the American film studio Warner Bros.[2]
Artists who have recorded for Warner Records include Madonna, Prince, Goo Goo Dolls, Cher, Devo, the B-52s, Joni Mitchell, Van Halen, Alice Cooper, Kylie Minogue, ZZ Top, Gorillaz, Bette Midler, Dua Lipa, Grateful Dead, Jane's Addiction, Blur, Duran Duran, Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Nile Rodgers, Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Muse, Tevin Campbell, Mac Miller, Bebe Rexha, R.E.M., and the Sex Pistols.
History
Founding
At the end of the
In 1930, Music Publishers Holding Company (MPHC) paid US$28 million to acquire
In December 1931, Warner Bros. offloaded Brunswick to the American Record Corporation (ARC) for a fraction of its former value, in a lease arrangement which did not include Brunswick's pressing plants. Technically, Warner maintained actual ownership of Brunswick, which with the sale of ARC to CBS in 1939 and their decision to discontinue Brunswick in favor of reviving the Columbia label, reverted to Warner Bros. Warner Bros. sold Brunswick a second time (along with Brunswick's back catalog up to 1931), this time along with the old Brunswick pressing plants Warner owned, to Decca Records (which formed its American operations in 1934) in exchange for a financial interest in Decca.[7] The heavy loss it incurred in the Brunswick deal kept the studio out of the record business for more than 25 years, and during this period it licensed its film music to other companies for release as soundtrack albums.[4]
1958–1963: formation and early years
Warner Bros. returned to the record business on March 19, 1958, with the establishment of its own recording division, Warner Bros. Records. By this time, the established Hollywood studios were reeling from multiple challenges to their former dominance—the most notable being the introduction of television in the late 1940s. Legal changes also had a major impact on their business—lawsuits brought by major stars had effectively overthrown the old studio contract system by the late 1940s and, beginning in 1949, anti-trust suits brought by the U.S. government forced the five major studios to divest their cinema chains.
In 1956,
Another impetus for the label's creation was the music career of Warner Bros. actor Tab Hunter. Although Hunter was signed to an exclusive acting contract with the studio, it did not prevent him from signing a recording contract, which he did with Dot Records, owned at the time by Paramount Pictures. Hunter scored several hits for Dot, including the US No. 1 single, "Young Love" (1957) and, to Warner Bros.' chagrin, reporters were primarily asking about the hit record, rather than Hunter's latest Warner movie. In 1958, the studio signed Hunter as its first artist to its newly formed record division, although his subsequent recordings for the label failed to duplicate his success with Dot.[9]
Warner Bros. agreed to buy
Warner Bros. Records opened for business on March 19, 1958.
- vocal/spoken word albums by Warner contract players such as Tab Hunter, Edd Byrnes, Connie Stevens, Jack Webb and William Holden
- novelty/comedy albums by artists such as Spike Jones and Bob Newhart
- film soundtracks and collections of film and TV themes
- 'middle of the road' instrumental albums by artists including Matty Matlock, Buddy Cole, Henry Mancini, George Greeley, Warren Barker and "Ira Ironstrings" (a pseudonym for guitarist Alvino Rey, Conkling's brother-in-law, who was in fact under contract to Capitol Records at the time).
Some albums featured jokey or self-deprecating titles such as:
- Music for People with $3.98 (Plus Tax If Any),
- Terribly Sophisticated Songs: A Collection of Unpopular Songs for Popular People,
- Songs the Kids Brought Home from Camp,
- Please Don't Put Your Empties on the Piano, and
- But You've Never Heard Gershwin with Bongos.
Almost all were commercial failures;[13] and the only charting album in Warner Bros.' first two years was Warren Barker's 'soundtrack' album for the studio's hit series 77 Sunset Strip, which reached No. 3 in 1959.[14] Tab Hunter's "Jealous Heart" (WB 5008), which reached No. 62, was Warner Bros.' only charting single during its first year.[15]
Early Warner Bros. singles had distinctive pink labels, with the WB logo at the top center and "WARNER" in white Hellenic font to the left of the WB shield and "BROS." in the same color and style font to the right. Below the shield in white Rockwell font, it read "VITAPHONIC HIGH FIDELITY;" this 45 label was used for two years, 1958 – 1960. This initial 45 label was soon replaced by a new, all-red label with the WB shield logo at 9 o'clock and a number of different-colored arrows (blue, chartreuse, and yellow) surrounding and pointing away from the center hole. The first hit was the novelty record "Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)", with words and music by Irving Taylor, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was nominally performed by Warner contract actor Edd Byrnes, who played the wisecracking hipster character Gerald Lloyd "Kookie" Kookson III on Warner's TV detective series 77 Sunset Strip. The story behind the recording illustrates the sharp practices often employed by major recording companies. Actress and singer Connie Stevens (who appeared in the Warner TV series Hawaiian Eye) spoke on the song's chorus, but although her record contract entitled her to a five-percent royalty rate, the label arbitrarily defined her contribution to be a favor to Byrnes, and assigned her just 1% royalty on the song, despite the fact that, as she soon discovered, her name was being prominently displayed on the single's label. Warner Bros. also charged her for a share of the recording costs, which was to be recouped from her drastically reduced royalty. When Stevens scored her own hit single with "Sixteen Reasons" in 1960, Warner Bros. refused to allow her to perform it on Hawaiian Eye because it was not published by MPHC, and they also prevented her from singing it on The Ed Sullivan Show, thereby robbing her of nationwide promotion (and a $5000 appearance fee).[16]
With only two hits to its credit in two years, the label was in serious financial trouble by 1960, having lost at least US$3 million[16][17] and music historian Frederic Dannen reports that the only reason it was not closed down was because the Warner board was reluctant to write off the additional $2 million the label was owed in outstanding receivables and inventory. After a restructure, Conkling was obliged to report to Herman Starr; he rejected a buyout offer by Conkling and a group of other record company employees but agreed to keep the label running in exchange for heavy cost-cutting—the staff was reduced from 100 to 30 and Conkling voluntarily cut his own pay from $1000 to $500.[18]
Warner Bros. now turned to
In late 1959, Warner Bros signed a virtually unknown Chicago-based comedian,
Interviewed for the official Warner Bros Records history in 2008, Newhart recalled that at the time he signed with the label he was totally unknown outside Chicago, he was still working full-time as an accountant, and he had done only a few local radio and TV appearances. His break came thanks to a friend, local DJ Dan Sorkin, who knew Warner CEO Jim Conkling. Sorkin arranged for Newhart to make a demo tape of a few of his original sketches, which Conkling heard and liked. Equally remarkably, Newhart revealed that he had never performed in a club prior to recording the album. Warners arranged to record him at a Houston, Texas club called The Tidelands, where he was booked for a two-week residency as the opening act, beginning February 12, 1960, and Newhart freely admitted to being "terrified" on his first night. He quickly realised that he had only enough material for one side of an album, but by the time Warner A&R manager George Avakian arrived for the recording, Newhart had hastily written enough new material to fill both sides of an LP. When Newhart contacted Warners in April to find out when the album would be released, he was amazed to be told that the label was rushing all available copies to Minneapolis, because radio DJs there had broken it, and it had become so popular that a local newspaper was even printing the times that tracks would be played on air. He recalled that the success of the album almost instantly kick-started his career, and that he was soon being deluged with appearance offers, including The Ed Sullivan Show. A few months later, when Newhart met Conkling and Jack Warner at a dinner, he recalled that Warner effusively greeted him as "the man who saved Warner Brothers Records".
Despite the turnaround in the label's commercial and critical fortunes at the start of the new decade, Jim Conkling was unexpectedly forced out as CEO during 1961. The ostensible reason for his ousting was that Warner and the studio executives doubted Conkling's commitment to the label, after they discovered that he had sold his shares of Warner Bros stock, netting him around $1 million. However, label biographer Warren Zanes and former WBR executive Stan Cornyn both opined that this was merely a pretext, and that the studio effectively scapegoated Conkling for the label's earlier failures, pointing to the fact that Conkling's successor had been selected well before Conkling was terminated. Conkling resigned in the fall of that year, and was replaced by Mike Maitland, another former Capitol Records executive. Around the same time, Joe Smith was appointed as head of promotions.
Warner Bros. made another prescient signing in
Soon after, Grossman and Mogull signed a publishing deal that gave Witmark one of its most lucrative clients, Bob Dylan. Grossman bought out Dylan's previous contract with Leeds Music and signed the then-unknown singer-songwriter to Witmark for an advance of $5000. Two years later in 1963, Peter, Paul & Mary scored two consecutive Top 10 hits with Dylan songs, launching Dylan's career, and this was followed by many more hits by artists covering Dylan's songs, alongside the growing commercial success of Dylan himself. Grossman benefited enormously from both deals, because he took a 25% commission as Dylan's manager, and he structured Dylan's publishing deal so that he received 50% of Witmark's share of Dylan's publishing income[20]—a tactic that was later emulated by other leading artist managers such as David Geffen.
Meanwhile, the label enjoyed further major success with comedy recordings. Comedian Allan Sherman (who had been signed on the personal recommendation of George Burns), issued his first Warner LP My Son, the Folk Singer in 1962. The album, which satirized the folk boom, became a major hit, selling over a million copies, and winning a Gold Record award, and is cited as being the fastest-selling LP ever released in the US up to that time. Sherman also scored a hit single in late 1963 with a cut from his third WBR album, My Son, The Nut, when his song "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" (which satirized the American summer camp tradition) became a surprise novelty hit, peaking at #2.
Bill Cosby broke through soon after and he continued the label's dream run with comedy LPs into the late 1960s, releasing a string of highly successful albums on Warner Bros. over the next six years, alongside his groundbreaking career as a TV actor.
The label's fortunes had finally turned around by 1962 thanks to the
Warner/Reprise 1963–1967
In August 1963, Warner Bros. made a "rescue takeover" of Frank Sinatra's ailing Reprise Records as part of a deal to acquire Sinatra's services as a recording artist and as an actor for Warner Bros. Pictures. The total deal was valued at around US$10 million, and it gave Sinatra a one-third share in the combined record company and a seat on the Warner/Reprise board; Warner Bros. Records head Mike Maitland became the president of the new combine and Mo Ostin was retained as manager of the Reprise label.[18][22]
Reprise was heavily in debt at the time of the takeover, and the Warner Records management team was reportedly dismayed at their balance sheet being pushed back into the red by the acquisition, but they were given no choice in the matter. Ben Kalmenson, a Warner Bros. company director and close aide to Jack Warner, summoned the label's directors to a meeting in New York and explicitly told them that both he and Warner wanted the deal and that they expected them to vote in favor of it.[23]
Despite these misgivings, the purchase ultimately proved very beneficial to the Warner group. Reprise flourished in the late 1960s thanks to Sinatra's famous comeback and the hits by Sinatra and his daughter Nancy, and the label also secured the US distribution rights to the recordings of the Kinks and Jimi Hendrix. Most importantly for the future of the company, the merger brought Reprise manager Mo Ostin into the Warner fold and "his ultimate value to Warner Bros. would dwarf Sinatra's."[24] Ostin's business and musical instincts, and his rapport with artists were to prove crucial to the success of the Warner labels over the next two decades.
In 1964, Warner Bros. launched
An important addition to the Warner Bros. staff in this period was
In 1964, Warner Bros. successfully negotiated with French label Disques Vogue and Warner Bros.' British distributor Pye Records for the rights to distribute Petula Clark's recordings in the US (said rights previously being held by Laurie Records).[9] Clark soon scored a No. 1 US hit with "Downtown". Warner also released other Pye artists in the US market such as the Kinks.
Another significant development in the label's history came in 1966 when Ostin hired young independent producer Lenny Waronker as an A&R manager, beginning a strong and enduring mentor/protegé relationship between the two. Waronker, the son of Liberty Records founder Simon Waronker, had previously worked as an assistant to Liberty producer Snuff Garrett.[27] Later he worked with the small San Francisco label Autumn Records, founded by disc jockeys Tom Donahue, Bobby Mitchell, and Sylvester Stewart (who would soon become famous as a musician under his stage name Sly Stone).
Waronker had been hired as a freelance producer for some of Autumn's acts including The Tikis (who later became
In 1967, Warner Bros. took over
Also in 1967, Warner/Reprise established its Canadian operation Warner Reprise Canada Ltd., replacing its distribution deal with the Compo Company. This was the origin of Warner Music Canada.[32]
1967–1969: Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
In November 1966 the entire Warner group was taken over by and merged with
... as if the Pasadena Star-News bought The New York Times. As ludicrous as that."[33]
The newly merged group was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (often referred to in the trade press by the abbreviation it adopted for its new logo, "W7"). Although Warner Bros. Pictures was faltering, the purchase coincided with a period of tremendous growth in the music industry, and Warner-Reprise was now on its way to becoming a major player in the industry. Hyman's investment banker Alan Hirshfeld, of Charles Allen and Company, urged him to expand the company's record holdings, and arranged a meeting with Jerry Wexler, and Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, co-owners of leading independent label Atlantic Records, which eventually resulted in the purchase of Atlantic in 1968.
In June 1967, Mo Ostin attended the historic
During this formative period, Warner Bros. made several other notable new signings including Randy Newman and Van Dyke Parks. Newman would not make his commercial breakthrough until the mid-1970s but he achieved a high profile in the industry thanks to songs he wrote that were covered by other acts like Three Dog Night and Alan Price. Although Warner Bros. spent large sums on albums that sold poorly, and there were some missteps in its promotion strategy, the presence of unorthodox acts like The Grateful Dead and critically acclaimed 'cult' performers like Newman and Parks, combined with the artistic freedom that the label afforded them, proved significant in building Warner Bros.' reputation and credibility. Bob Krasnow, who briefly headed Warner Bros.' short-lived 'black' label Loma Records, later commented that The Grateful Dead "...were really the springboard. People said, 'Wow, if they'll sign The Dead, they must be going in the right direction.'"[36]
Although not widely known to the general public at that time, Van Dyke Parks was a figure of high repute on the L.A. music scene thanks to his work as a session musician and songwriter (notably with
Warner Bros. also struggled with their flagship rock act,
The Grateful Dead's relationship with Warner Bros. Records was stretched even further by the making of their third album
Some of Warner Bros.' biggest commercial successes during this period were with "
Another notable Warner release from this period was Astral Weeks, the second solo album by Van Morrison (his first was on Bang), who signed with the label in 1968. Although it sold relatively poorly on its first release (and did not reach gold record status until 2001), it has been widely acclaimed by musicians and critics worldwide, has featured on many "Best Albums of All Time" lists, and has remained in release almost continuously since 1968.[citation needed]
During 1968, using the profits from Warner/Reprise, W7 purchased Atlantic Records for $17.5 million, including the label's valuable archive, its growing roster of new artists, and the services of its three renowned executives Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun and Ahmet Ertegun. However, the purchase again caused rancor among the Warner/Reprise management, who were upset that their hard-won profits had been co-opted to buy Atlantic, and that Atlantic's executives were made large shareholders in Warner-Seven Arts—the deal gave the Ertegun brothers and Wexler between them 66,000 shares of Warner Bros.' common stock.[42]
On June 1, 1968,
1969–1972: Kinney takeover
In 1969, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts was taken over by the
In the summer of 1969, Atlantic Records agreed to assist Warner Bros. Records in establishing overseas divisions, but when Warner executive Phil Rose arrived in Australia to begin setting up a subsidiary there, he discovered that just one week earlier Atlantic had signed a new four-year production and distribution deal with local label
During 1969, the rivalry between Mike Maitland and Ahmet Ertegun quickly escalated into an all-out executive battle, but Steve Ross favored Ertegun, and the conflict culminated in Maitland being dismissed from his position on January 25, 1970. He declined an offer of a job with Warner Bros. Pictures and left the company, subsequently becoming president of MCA Records. Mo Ostin was appointed president of Warner Bros. Records with Joe Smith as executive vice-president.[47]
In 1970, the 'Seven Arts' name was dropped and the WB shield became the Warner Bros. Records logo again.[48]
1970–1979: The Ostin era
Beginning back in 1967 with the signing of the Grateful Dead, Warner Bros. Records and its affiliate labels steadily built up a diverse and prestigious lineup of rock and pop artists through the 1970s, and earning a strong reputation as an "artists first" record company. Under the guidance of Edward West, vice-president of Warner Bros. Records Inc in 1973 and its executives, A&R managers and staff producers, including Mo Ostin, Chason Samuel, David Geffen, Joe Smith, Stan Cornyn, Lenny Waronker, Andy Wickham,
One of the first Warner Bros. albums to achieve both critical and commercial success in the early 1970s was Van Morrison's third solo album
British group
By 1970, "Seven Arts" was dropped from the company name and the WB shield became the Warner Bros. Records logo again. During 1972, a financial scandal in its parking operations forced Kinney National to spin off its non-entertainment assets, and the Warner recording, publishing and film divisions then became part of a new umbrella company,
In July 1970, the Warner recording group acquired another prestige asset with the purchase of Jac Holzman's
With three co-owned record companies, the next step was the formation of the group's in-house distribution arm, initially called Kinney Records Distributing Corporation, to better control distribution of product and make sure records by breaking new acts were available.[56][full citation needed]
In 1971, UK-based pop rock trio America were signed to the recently established British division of Warner Bros. Their debut album, released late in the year, at first enjoyed only moderate success, but in early 1972 their single "A Horse with No Name" became a major international hit, reaching No. 1 in the US. Warner hastily reissued the album with the song included and it too became a huge hit, reaching No. 1 on the US album chart and eventually earning a platinum record award. Although criticized for their similarity to Neil Young (indeed, rumors circulated around Hollywood that Young had cut the track anonymously[57]), America scored five more US Top 10 singles over the next three years, including a second US No. 1 with "Sister Golden Hair" in 1975. Their albums performed very strongly in the charts—each of their first seven albums were US Top 40 albums, five of these made the Top 10 and all but one (Hat Trick, 1973) achieved either gold or platinum status. Their 1975 Greatest Hits album became a perennial seller and is now accredited at 4× platinum.
In 1972, Dionne Warwick was signed to Warner Bros. Records after leaving Scepter Records in what was the biggest contract at the time for a female recording artist, although her five years at Warner Bros. were relatively unsuccessful in comparison to her spectacular hit-making tenure at Scepter.
After a slow start,
Warner Bros. Records' reputation for nurturing new artists was demonstrated by the career of
In 1973,
WBR introduced a new label design for its LPs and singles in mid-1973. This design, which WBR would use until mid-1978, featured a multi-colored, idealized watercolor painting of a Burbank street lined by palms and eucalypts, and titled with the slogan "Burbank, Home of Warner Bros. Records". According to the label's official history, the design was copied from a similarly styled "orange crate art" fruit company label illustration created by an unknown commercial artist in the 1920s.[58]
After several years as a 'cult' artist, Randy Newman achieved his first significant commercial success as a solo artist with his 1974 album Good Old Boys which made the Top 40. His controversial 1977 single "Short People" was one of the surprise hits of the year, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 12, 1974, WBR and Phil Spector established Warner-Spector Records, but the label was short-lived and folded in 1977; most of its releases were reissues Philles Records recordings from the 1960s and the only new material released was two singles by the disco group Calhoon[59] and a single by Cher.[60]
In 1975 David Geffen was obliged to leave the company for health reasons,[61] after being told that he had a terminal illness (although this later proved to be a false diagnosis). In his place, Joe Smith was promoted to become President of the combined Elektra/Asylum label. At this time Warner Bros. began to wind down the Reprise label.[62] In 1976–77 almost all Reprise acts, including Fleetwood Mac, Gordon Lightfoot, Ry Cooder and Michael Franks were transferred to Warner Bros., leaving only Neil Young (who refused to move) and founder Frank Sinatra. Apart from these artists and some reissues, the Reprise label was dormant until it was reactivated in 1986 with the issue of the Dream Academy's single "The Love Parade" on Reprise 28750.
By far the most successful of the Reprise acts who moved to Warner Bros. was
After a string of albums with
Warner Bros. Records also had unexpected success in the mid-1970s with another 'heritage' act, veteran vocal group the
By the time of The Doobie Brothers 1976 album
During the late 1970s, Warner Bros.' reputation as an "artists first" label was challenged by a bitter and long-running dispute with
Thanks to its distribution deal with
Throughout the 1970s, Warner Bros. also benefited from its US/Canada distribution deals with independent labels such as Straight Records, DiscReet Records, UK labels Chrysalis (1972–1976) and Island (1974–1982),[64] Bizarre Records, Bearsville Records (1970–1984)[64] and Geffen Records (which was sold to MCA in 1990).[64]
Although primarily associated with mainstream white acts in the Seventies, Warner Bros.' distribution deals with smaller labels also brought it some success in the
Until the late 1970s, Warner Bros. itself still had very few African American music artists on its roster, but this began to change with the signing of artists such as
Prince signed to Warner Bros. in 1977. His first album For You made little impact, although the single "Soft and Wet" reached No. 12 on the Billboard R&B chart. However, his second self-titled album (1979) fared considerably better, reaching No. 3 on the R&B album chart and earning a gold record award; the first single lifted from the album, "I Wanna Be Your Lover" became Prince's first crossover hit, reaching No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 11 on the main pop chart, while the follow-up single "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" reached No. 13 on the R&B chart. Although he was still little known outside the US at this stage, this early success set the stage for his major commercial breakthrough in the 1980s.
Another valuable late 1970s discovery was metal-pop band Van Halen, who were spotted at a Hollywood club by Mo Ostin and Ted Templeman in 1977. Their self-titled debut album was a notable success, reaching No. 19 on the Billboard album chart, and their second album Van Halen II (1979) reached No. 6 and produced their first hit single "Dance the Night Away" (#19).
Warner Bros. also began to tentatively embrace the burgeoning
In the late 1970s, Warner Bros. also scored mainstream pop hits with singer/actor
In the 1970s there were different systems for four-channel stereo. Warner Records and the whole WEA group chose
1980–1988
The 1980s was a period of unprecedented success for Warner Bros. Records. The golden decade began with the success of singer-songwriter
Warner Bros. scored an apparent coup in 1980 by luring Paul Simon away from Columbia Records. His first Warner album was One Trick Pony (1980), which accompanied the movie of the same name, which Simon wrote and starred in. The single "Late in the Evening" was a major hit (#6) but the album was not a big seller. His next album, Hearts and Bones (1983) was well received by critics but neither it nor the lead single "Allergies" made the chart and Simon's career took a nosedive and it was several more years before the label's patience eventually paid off.
After two moderate-selling albums that established them as one of the most original American
Prince's 1980 album Dirty Mind was widely praised by critics, earning a gold record award, but his 1982 double-LP 1999 (1982) became his first major hit album, selling over six million copies[67] and spawning three hit singles. The title track reached No. 12 in the US and provided his first international hit (#25 UK) and his next two singles, "Little Red Corvette" and "Delirious", were both US Top 10 hits.
Lenny Waronker took over as President of WBR in 1982, and his first act was to sign
After the end of his contract with
Another resurgent 1970s act who scored major success with Warner Bros. in this period was
Sire artist Madonna shot to international prominence with her 1983 self-titled debut album and her first mainstream hit single "Holiday", which reached No. 16 in the US and became a hit in many other countries, including Australia and the UK, where it was Top 5. The album made the Top 20 in more than a dozen countries including the US, where it has been certified at 5× Platinum status. It was quickly followed by Like a Virgin, which became her first US No. 1 album and has sold more than 21 million copies worldwide. The title track was also a huge international hit, going to No. 1 in Australia, Canada, Japan and the US. Boosted by her well-received role in the film Desperately Seeking Susan, "Crazy For You" (1985) became her second US No. 1 hit, and the follow-up "Material Girl" reached No. 2 in the US and was Top 5 in many other countries.
Prince's hugely successful 1984 film and album
1984 also saw Van Halen break into the big league with the single "
In 1985, Dire Straits' single "
The new incarnation of Van Halen bounced back in 1986, releasing the enormously successful 5150 album which went to No. 1 and produced two hit singles, "Why Can't This Be Love" (US #3) and "Dreams" (#22). Their three subsequent studio albums (OU812, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, and Balance) all reached No. 1 and the band scored 17 US Top 20 singles, including 1988's "When It's Love" (US #5), but their overall sales gradually declined, with each album selling less than its predecessor.
The same was true of Prince; he scored numerous hit albums and singles through the latter half of the 1980s, but his record sales declined and Warner Bros. executives became increasingly concerned that he was producing far more material than they could release. His image was also tarnished by the failure of his later film ventures, his embarrassing refusal to participate in the recording of "
Prince's next project had a long and complex evolution, beginning as a proposed concept double-album called Dream Factory; Prince then proposed a solo album which he intended to issue under the pseudonym Camille, but he eventually combined elements from both to create the ambitious three-album set Crystal Ball. However, because of the relatively lower sales of his previous albums, Prince's manager Steve Fargnoli and Warner Bros. president Mo Ostin both doubted the commercial viability of releasing a 3-LP set, and after previewing Crystal Ball, Ostin insisted that Prince pare it down to two records. Prince at first refused and a battle of wills ensued for several weeks, but he eventually backed down and removed seven tracks; the resulting double-album was released in March 1987 as Sign o' the Times. Despite Prince's bitterness over its forced reduction, it was very successful, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and selling 5 million copies, while the title single "Sign o' the Times" reached No. 3 on the Hot 100. The follow-up single "If I Was Your Girlfriend" flopped (although it went to No. 12 on R&B chart) but he scored big hits with the next two singles, "U Got the Look" (#2 Hot 100, #11 R&B) and "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (#10 Hot 100, #14 R&B).
In 1985, the company collaborated with View-Master to start out a children's video series Kidsongs, which were produced by Together Again Productions, and Warner Music Video handling distribution of the video product, designed for the educational market.[69]
1986–87 took Warner Bros. to even greater heights. Madonna's 1986 album
In the summer of 1986, Warner Bros. announced the reactivation of Reprise Records with its own separate promotions department, and former Warner Bros. Vice President of Promotion Richard Fitzgerald was appointed as label Vice President.[70]
During 1987, Prince recorded a pared-down funk album, The Black Album, but he withdrew it in December just before it was to be released (even though 500,000 copies had been printed). Its hastily recorded replacement Lovesexy (1988) was a moderate success, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard album chart although it reached No. 1 in the UK. However, he rebounded in 1989 with the soundtrack for the hugely successful Batman film, which sold more than eleven million copies, reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart and produced four hit singles including "Batdance", which topped both the Hot 100 and R&B charts.
Like fellow
In 1989, after an extended period of inactivity following the death of guitarist and main writer
In early 1989, Madonna signed an endorsement deal with
1989–2004: The Time Warner era
In 1989
After a long period of relative stability that was notable in the cutthroat American music industry, the death of Steve Ross in late 1992 marked the start of a period of major upheaval at Warner Bros. Records.
R.E.M.'s second Warner album Out of Time (1991) consolidated their success, topping the charts in both the US and the UK and producing two major hit singles: "Losing My Religion" became their biggest American single (#4 on Billboard Hot 100) and a hit in numerous other countries, and "Shiny Happy People", a Top 10 hit in both the US and the UK; the group also won three categories at that year's Grammy Awards.
Prince's fortunes in the Nineties were mixed; he scored more hits and renewed his contract in 1992, but his relationship with Warner Bros. Records soon soured, climaxing in a highly publicized legal battle and his eventual departure from the label. Although his fourth film, Graffiti Bridge was panned by critics and bombed at the box office[74] the album of the same name was very successful—it reached No. 6 on both the Billboard Hot 200 and R&B album chart and produced two US Top 20 singles. Diamonds and Pearls (1991) became one of the biggest albums of his career, selling 9 million records, reaching No. 3 in the US, No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in Australia, with five of the six singles lifted from the album becoming hits in the US and other countries, including "Cream", which became his fifth US No. 1.
Prince was appointed a vice-president of Warner Bros. Records when he re-signed with them in 1992, but soon regretted his decision. His next album—identified by the cryptic symbol on the cover later defined as "
Following the 3-disc compilation The Hits/The B-Sides (1993), Prince stopped using his first name and started using only the "Love Symbol"—a decision that drew considerable ridicule from the media.[77] Because this sign has no verbal equivalent, he was often derisively referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince". By 1994, relations between The Artist and his record label had reached an impasse—in February WEA cancelled its distribution deal with Paisley Park, effectively putting the label out of business.[77] Although released by an independent distributor, his next single "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" (1994) reached No. 3 in the US and topped the singles charts throughout Europe, becoming the biggest hit single of his career.
Prince had meanwhile prepared two new albums, Come and The Gold Experience; an early version of Come was rejected but Warner Bros. eventually accepted both albums, although they refused to issue them simultaneously. By this time Prince had launched a legal action to terminate his contract and gain ownership of his master recordings, and he publicized his views by appearing in public with the word "SLAVE" written across his right cheek. Come (1994) was moderately successful in the US (#15, gold record) and the single "
R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People (1992) cemented their status as one of the top bands of the period and was the most successful album of their career, reaching No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the US, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide and generating three US hit singles, "Drive", "Man on the Moon", and "Everybody Hurts".
During 1992 WBR faced one of the most serious controversies in its history over the provocative recording "
Some relief came later that year when comedian Jeff Foxworthy revived Warner Bros.' success with comedy recordings; his debut album You Might Be a Redneck If... was a major hit in the US and Canada, and both it and his follow-up album sold more than three million copies each.
End of an era: Ostin and Waronker depart
During 1994–1995, Warner Bros.'s successes and problems with its artists were overshadowed by a protracted period of highly publicized internecine strife, centering on Warner Music Group chairman Robert J. Morgado and his successor Michael J. Fuchs. In September 1993, Ostin began negotiations to renew his contract and it was at this point that Morgado unveiled his plan for a major corporate shakeup of the Warner group. This triggered a series of damaging corporate conflicts and in particular created a fatal rift between Morgado and Ostin. The first major casualty was Elektra chairman Bob Krasnow, who resigned abruptly in July 1994.[80]
For many years Ostin had reported directly to Time Warner chairman Steve Ross (and then to Ross's successor Gerald Levin) but Morgado now insisted that Ostin should report to him, and he established a new division, Warner Music US, headed by Doug Morris, to oversee the three main record labels. Fearing the loss of autonomy and worried that he would be obliged to implement Morgado's "slash-and-burn" policy to streamline the label's staff and artist roster, he refused to carry out Morgado's orders and decided not to renew his contract. Ostin officially stepped down from Warner Bros. when his contract expired on December 31, 1994, although he stayed on as a senior consultant to Time Warner's chairman until August 1995.[81] He later commented:
This business is about freedom and creative control. An executive has to be able to make risky decisions with minimal corporate interference. But Warner is a different company now than the company I was brought up in. And in the end, I found it impossible to operate in that kind of environment.[81]
Ostin's departure sent shockwaves through the company and the industry, and elicited glowing tributes from colleagues and competitors like Joe Smith and
Gerald Levin forced Morgado to resign in May 1995 and he was replaced by
Despite his close ties to Morris, Danny Goldberg was initially told he could remain as WBR president but he left the company in August 1995 after negotiating a settlement with Time Warner to terminate his five-year, US$20 million contract, which still had four years to run. He was subsequently appointed president of PolyGram subsidiary Mercury Records in October.[86] Following Goldberg's departure Russ Thyret was promoted to chairman, CEO and label president.[84] Fuchs himself was forced out of Time Warner in November 1995. In May 1997, Phil Quartararo took over as president of WBR, only weeks after he had left EMI's Virgin Records following a management shake-up there.[87]
The departure of the team led by Ostin and Waronker also meant that many of the Warner artists whose careers they had nurtured and curated over the previous 30 years were now deprived of their patronage. As a result, by 2000 many of the "flagship" Warner acts of the Ostin/Waronker years left the label as their contracts expired. Ry Cooder was dropped in 1995 and Randy Newman followed Ostin and Waronker to DreamWorks, departing with a wry comment on his own status and the recent turmoil at Warner Bros.:
"I've sent Warner an amusing letter of resignation, and I haven't heard anything. It's like trying to find a general to surrender to. I think I'm gone, you know? And I signed with DreamWorks and I haven't heard from them! The people I'm leaving don't give a shit that I'm leaving and the people I'm going to don't give a shit that I'm coming![88]
Although never rising beyond "cult" status in terms of his sales as a solo artist, one of the most notable survivors from the Ostin era was Van Dyke Parks, who continued to release albums on Warner Bros. –
In early 2001, there was a major restructure of the Warner Music Group; about 600 positions were eliminated across the three labels, and an executive reshuffle led to the departures of Thyret and Quartararo (as well as Reprise president Howie Klein) and the hiring of then-Interscope president Tom Whalley as head of Warner Bros. Records.[citation needed] In August Whalley appointed Jeff Ayeroff as Creative Director of Warner Bros. Records and Creative Consultant to Warner Music Group. Ayeroff had previously been WBR's Senior Vice-president and Creative Director from 1983 to 1986, overseeing many successful album covers and music videos in that period.[89]
In 2002,
2004–2019: Warner Music Group
In 2003, amid management disputes, sagging share prices and rising alarm about the impact of digital
The sale was followed by a major restructure over the first half of 2004, which wad aimed at slashing $27 million from the company's budget. The cost-cutting measures included more than 1000 staff layoffs worldwide, the dropping of 80 artists, comprising more than half the Warner roster, and the restructuring of the company's two "boutique" labels. Elektra was folded into Atlantic, and its sub-label Nonesuch was absorbed into the Warner Records label, although Elektra would be revived as an active label five years later. The restructure period was also marked by a short but widely publicised dispute between Warner and Madonna—although, notably, the label made public efforts to distance the dispute from their regular dealings with Madonna, who remained signed to Warner as a solo artist.
Following the private buyout of the music group, Madonna began talks with Warner management to dissolve the joint venture partnership in Madonna's Maverick label, to allow the label to work with other companies. Founded in 1992, Maverick had scored a major success in 1995 with Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, and Madonna and her two partners, Guy Oseary and Ronnie Dashed, jointly held a controlling 60% stake. After the talks broke down, the trio sued the company; they alleged mismanagement, improper accounting and profit-taking, claiming that Maverick had earned $100m in profit for the group, and seeking to recover $200 million in alleged lost revenue, but the suit was settled in June that year, with Madonna selling most of her stake in Maverick to Warner for just $10 million.
In 2005, following the global restructure, Warner Music Australia scored a major coup when it acquired the assets of the Australian Festival Mushroom Group. That company had originated as Festival Records in Sydney in the 1952, and after its acquisition by Rupert Murdoch in 1961, Festival became one of the leading Australian record companies, recording and/or releasing much of the most significant Australian pop and rock music of the era on its flagship Festival label or via its subsidiary imprints. Festival also signed valuable licensing and distribution deals with major local independent pop labels such as Spin (NSW) and Clarion (WA), and it subsequently took over many of these labels and acquired their masters, greatly increasing its holdings of key Australian pop/rock recordings.
In the 1970s Festival signed a distribution deal with the fledgling Melbourne label Mushroom Records, founded by Michael Gudinski. Mushroom scored a key breakthrough in 1974–75 with Melbourne band Skyhooks, whose debut album Living in the Seventies became the highest-selling Australian album ever issued up to that time. Mushroom enjoyed enormous success in Australia from the late 1970s on, and although Gudinski later moved the label's distribution to EMI for some years, the two companies were eventually merged—Festival acquired 49% of Mushroom in 1993 and bought the remainder when Gudinski sold his controlling share in 1998. Finally, in 2005, after multiple management reshuffles and a steady decline in revenue, News Ltd sold the group and its recording archive (said to contain over 20,000 master tapes) to Warner Music Australia for a reported AU$10 million.
Following the divestiture, WMG licensed the Warner Bros. trademarks, although this license could have been revoked if WMG came under control of a major motion picture studio.[90]
After five years of dormancy, Elektra was revived as an active imprint in June 2009, although some artists who had been signed to prior to the label' shelving in 2004 (including Tracy Chapman) had continued to have their recordings issued as Elektra releases. In mid-2018, Elektra was detached from the Atlantic Records umbrella and reorganized into Elektra Music Group, once again operating as an independently managed frontline label of Warner Music.
In 2013, WMG acquired
In October 2017, Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson were named co-chairmen of Warner Bros. Records, with Bay-Schuck serving as CEO and Corson COO. Corson joined the company in January 2018; Bay-Schuck began in the fall of that year.[95] The Warner Bros. headquarters moved from Burbank to downtown Los Angeles in March 2019.[96][97]
2019–present: Warner Records
On May 28, 2019, the label announced that it had changed its name to Warner Records, and unveiled a new logo—replacing the Warner Bros. shield with a wordmark and black circle (both partially cut off at the bottom). WMG explained that the new logo was meant to resemble the Earth, a record, and the Sun, and had "artful simplicity and impactful typography that are ideally suited to the digital world". The change was necessitated by the upcoming expiration of WMG's license to the Warner Bros. trademarks; after the sale of Warner Music Group in 2004 by Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery since 2022), the company had been granted a 15-year license to use the Warner Bros. name and shield logo. The new logo received mixed reviews, with marketing critics and former WMG employees lamenting the replacement of the historic Warner Bros. emblem (used by the label for 61 years) with a comparatively simplistic mark.[98]
On May 31, 2022, a partnership was announced with the South Korean entertainment company SM Entertainment for K-pop girl group Aespa's global promotions.[99]
Affiliated labels
Current
- A&E Records (formerly Mushroom Records UK) (2003–present)
- Helium 3 (2006–present)
- Defiant Records (2023–present)
- Beluga Heights(2008–present)
- Curb Records (1974–1982, 2000–present)
- Word Records (2002–present)
- Facultad de Némea (2017–present)
- Festival Mushroom Records(2005–present)
- Hotwire Unlimited (2010–present)
- Machine Shop Recordings(2001–present)
- Loveway Records(2009–present)
- Mind of a Genius (2016–present)
- Arkade Records (2016–present)
- Da Family, LLC
- Nonesuch Records (2004–present)
- Parlophone (2014–present)
- Reprise Records (1963–present)
- REMember Music (2014–present)
- Sire Records (1978–1995, 2003–present)
- Artery Recordings (2017–present)[100]
- The Benton Music Records (2018–present)
- Clover Music(2018–present)
- Masked Records (2018–present)[101]
Former
- 1017 Brick Squad Records
- 143 Records
- 4AD Records(1992–1998) (US only)
- Action Theory Records
- American Recordings(1988–1997 [US], 2005–2007 [worldwide])
- Autumn Records (1963–1965)
- Bearsville Records (1970–1984)
- BME Recordings
- Blacksmith Records (2005–2008)
- Brute/Beaute Records(2004–2007)
- Capricorn Records (1972–1977), (1990–1995)
- Chrysalis Records (1972–1976) (US only)
- Cold Chillin' Records (1987–1994)
- Dark Horse Records (1976–1992)
- Doghouse Records
- ECM Records(?–1984)
- Extasy International Records (2000–2004)
- Full Moon Records (1974–1992)
- F-111 Records (1995–2001)
- Geffen Records (1980–1990)
- Giant Recordsand its subsidiaries the Medicine Label (1993–1995), Paladin, Revolution (1990–2001; catalog is owned by Warner Records today)
- Ice Age Entertainment
- Island Records (1977–1982, except for Steve Winwood releases until 1987)
- Jet Life Recordings
- Kwanza Records (1973–1974)
- Loma Records (1964–1968 and one boutique release in 2003)
- London Records (2000–2017; small part of catalog was secured by WMG after sold to Because Music, including New Order)
- Luaka Bop Records(1988–2000)
- Malpaso Records (1995–2000)
- Maverick Records(1992–2008; dormant)
- Maybach Music Group (2011–2012)
- Metal Blade Records (1988–1993)
- Music for Little People (1990–1995)
- Opal Records (1987–1993)
- OVO Sound (2012–2022)
- Paisley Park Records (1985–1994)
- Perezcious Music
- Playmaker Music
- Premeditated Records (middle 1990s)
- Public Broadcasting Service
- Qwest Records (1980–2000)
- Raybaw Records (2005–2008)
- RuffNation Records
- Slash Records (1982–1998; 2003–present)
- Teleprompt Records
- Tommy Boy Records (1985–2002; rights to pre-2002 catalog transferred to Atlantic Records and reacquired by a "new" Tommy Boy (Tommy Boy Entertainment) in 2017, being distributed by ADA subsidiary of WMG. The label reacquired its pre-2002 catalog in 2017)
- Valiant Records (1960–1966)
- Warner Alliance (1986–1998)
- Warner Western(198?–200?)
- Funk Volume (2015–2016)
Artists
See also
- List of record labels
- List of Warner Records artists
- Reprise Records
Notes
- ^ "Warner Music Group Unveils Dates for Move Into New Headquarters (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. February 5, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "Warner Music Group". Music Business Worldwide. May 14, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ Goodman 1997, p. 44.
- ^ a b Goodman, 1997, pp.43–44
- ^ "Music Industry". Answers.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Record and Prerecorded Tape Stores Industry Report". Archived from the original on December 17, 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "A 20-Year History of Decca: Saga of Industry and Vision". Billboard. August 28, 1954. p. 14.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.44-45
- ^ a b c "David Edwards, Patrice Eyries, and Mike Callahan (2004) – Warner Bros. Records Story". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Jon Pareles (April 17, 1998). "James Conkling, 83, Executive Who Helped Begin Grammys". The New York Times.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.45
- ^ "FAQ". Warner Bros. Records. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.45-46
- ^ "Warner Bros. album Discography Part 1". Bsnpubs.com. August 12, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Edwards et al, 2004". Bsnpubs.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Goodman, 1997, p.46
- ISBN 0-09-981310-6), p.121
- ^ a b c d Goodman, 1997, p.47
- ^ "Warner Music". Ketupa.net. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Goodman, 1997, pp. 88–90
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p. 48
- ^ "It's Official – Warner Bros. Buys Reprise", Billboard, August 13, 1963
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.51
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.49
- ^ "Discography of Loma Records". Lomarecords.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Steven Heller (August 24, 2006). "Ed Thrasher, 74, Album Designer, Dies". The New York Times.
- ^ "Lenny Waronker: Information from". Answers.com. May 23, 2010. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.65
- ^ "Warner Bros. Buys Valiant". Billboard. April 22, 1967. p. 3.
- ^ "BMI Announces Top 100 Songs of the Century". December 13, 1999.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.43
- ^ Barbara Norman, Durrell Bowman. "Warner Music Canada Ltd.". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.138
- ^ Barney Hoskins, Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (John Wiley & Sons, 2007), p.33
- ^ Goodman, 1997, pp.76–78
- ^ a b c Goodman, 1997, p.75
- ^ a b Goodman, 1997, p.79
- ^ Jake Woodward, et al, The Grateful Dead: The Illustrated Trip (Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2003) p.83
- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum". Riaa.com. May 13, 1997. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Billboard Top 40 Hits (1967)". Cylist.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "BMI Announces Top 100 Songs of the Century". Bmi.com. December 13, 1999. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, pp.138–139
- ^ "Cosby To Exit WB in August to Join Own Record Firm", Billboard, June 1, 1968, p.1
- ^ "Maitland to head W7 record-music wing", Billboard, July 13, 1968
- ^ a b "Time Warner: Warner Bros. and Warner Communications". Ketupa.net. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Time Warner Landmarks". Ketupa.net. Archived from the original on February 17, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Goodman, 1997, pp.146–147
- ^ "The Ides of March – Vehicle". 45cat.com.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "AMG Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
- ^ a b "Rolling Stone Biography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
- ^ Bangs, Lester (May 1970). "Black Sabbath Album Review". Rolling Stone. No. 66. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2008.
- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database -Black Sabbath". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ^ "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on May 27, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
- ^ "RIAA Gold & Platinum database-Paranoid". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 22, 2009.
- ISBN 0-09-981310-6), p.46
- ^ Seay, 1996, p.40
- ^ Goodman, 1997, p.238
- ^ Zanes, 2008, p.20
- ^ Warner Bros. "Warner Bros. Records @". Disco-disco.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Spector Sound Album Promo Set by K-Tel". Billboard. October 19, 1974. p. 50.
- ^ Tom King, The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood, p. 282, Broadway Books (New York 2001).
- ^ "Reprise Records official website – Reprise Records history". Repriserec.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Stars Salute Rumours". Billboard Bulletin. February 6, 1998. p. 7. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Warner Bros. "Warner Bros. Records @ Disco=Disco.com". Disco-disco.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "The Southeast Missourian - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (November 17, 2003). "Time Warner And Madonna Are at Odds On Her Label". The New York Times.
- ^ "CNN – WorldBeat Biography – Prince – December 20, 1999". Archives.cnn.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ "Prince: inducted in 2004 | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "WB Records Teams With View-Master on Kidvid Projects". Variety. September 18, 1985. p. 44.
- ^ "Reprise Records official website: History". Repriserec.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Levy, Glen (June 18, 2009). "Top Selling Albums and Singles 1989: "Like A Prayer" by Madonna". Time. Archived from the original on November 12, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
- ^ "100 Women of the Year, 1989: Madonna". Time. March 5, 2020. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
- ^ "Graffiti Bridge". IMDb. November 2, 1990. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "Discography (more) – Prince & The New Power Generation — The Love Symbol Album". Billboard. October 31, 1992. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ Hahn, Alex (2003). "Possessed: The Rise And Fall Of Prince". Billboard Books. Retrieved on May 15, 2007, p. 187
- ^ a b "Prince". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Sheila Rule (January 29, 1993). "Ice-T and Warner Are Parting Company". The New York Times.
- ^ Mark Landler (September 28, 1995). "Time Warner to Sell Stake in Rap Label". The New York Times.
- ^ Chuck Philiips (July 13, 1994). "Elektra Chief Bob Krasnow Abruptly Quits". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c "Joanna Rubiner, Mo Ostin biography". Enotes.com. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ Chuck Philips (August 16, 1994). "Company Town: At Warner Bros. Records, Mo Ostin Loyal to the End". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Russ Thyret Departs Warner Bros. Records Inc". February 28, 2001. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Lawrence Zuckerman (August 15, 1995). "Another Music-Label Head Departs Warner Abruptly". The New York Times.
- ^ Hajari, Nisid (July 14, 1995). "Nisid Hajari, "Mo Better Blues", EW.com, July 14, 1995". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Mercury Records Buys Stake in a rock Label". The New York Times. May 9, 1996.
- ^ "Warner Brothers Names Ex-Virgin Executive President". The New York Times. October 15, 1997.
- ^ "CD Shakedown Music Reviews of Randy Newman, Tommy McCook, and 60s Soundtrack". February 17, 2001. Archived from the original on February 17, 2001. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ "Warner Bros. Records Inc. Names Jeff Ayeroff Creative 'CZAR'" (Press release). August 21, 2001. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Annual Report for the Period Ended September 30, 2008". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ "Warner Music Group Outlines Parlophone Integration Process, Expects $70 Million in Annual Cost Savings". Billboard. April 25, 2013.
- ^ "Coldplay, David Guetta Go To Atlantic Records; Radiohead & Pink Floyd Catalogs, Kylie Minogue, Damon Albarn To Warner Bros: WMG's US Plans for Parlophone (Exclusive)". Billboard. December 18, 2013.
- ^ "Dan McCarroll Named President of Warner Bros. Records". Billboard. December 20, 2013.
- ^ Aswad, Jem; Halperin, Shirley; Aswad, Jem (July 24, 2017). "Warner Bros. Records President Dan McCarroll Exits". Variety. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson Will Take Over Warner Bros. Records, Cameron Strang to Step Down". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ Dave, Paresh (October 9, 2016). "Warner Music leaving Burbank, Westside for downtown L.A.'s Arts District". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "Aaron Bay-Schuck Takes the Reins as CEO of Warner Bros. Records". Variety. October 1, 2018.
- ^ Mitchell, Gail (May 28, 2019). "After 61 Years, Warner Bros. Records Rechristened as Warner Records". Billboard. United States: Billboard/Hollywood Insider Media Group. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
- ^ "aesspa, full-fledged entry into the US market... SMX Warner Records have joined hands [official]". Newsen. June 1, 2022.
- ^ "Warner Bros. acquire Artery Recordings for undisclosed amount of money". Alternative Press. August 29, 2017.
- ^ "Warner Records Partners With Masked Records, Founded By Masked Gorilla's Roger Gengo". Billboard Magazine. September 12, 2019.
References
- Goodman, Fred (1997). The Mansion on the Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen, Springsteen and the Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce. London: Jonathon Cape. ISBN 978-0-224-05062-3.
External links
- Official website
- Video Interview with Bill Bennett – CEO & President of Warner Bros. Records Nashville[usurped]
- The Warner Bros. Records Story from BSN Pubs. – includes links to comprehensive Warner Bros. album discographies, 1958–1983
- Warner Records' channel on YouTube
- Discography of Loma Records Archived December 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine