Vanity label
A vanity label (see related topic on vanity press) is an informal name given sometimes to a record label founded as a wholly or partially owned subsidiary of another, larger and better established (at least at the time of the vanity label's founding) record label, where the subsidiary label is (at least nominally) controlled by a successful recording artist, designed to allow this artist to release music by other artists they admire. The parent label handles the production and distribution and funding of the vanity label, but the album is usually released with the vanity label brand name prominent. Usually, the artist/head of the vanity label is signed to the parent label, and this artist's own recordings will be released under the vanity label's brand name. Creating a vanity label can be an attractive idea for the parent label primarily as a "perk" to keep a successful artist on the label's roster happy and a venue to bring fellow artists to the public's attention.
Prominent vanity labels
| Vanity Label | Founding Artist | Founded | Notable Artists Released | Parent Label (at founding) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brother Records | The Beach Boys | 1966 | The Beach Boys Brian Wilson & Mike Love The Flames Stephen Kalinich | Capitol Records | active |
Bizarre Records[1] | Frank Zappa | 1967 | The Mothers of Invention Alice Cooper | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, under the Verve brand | re-issued on Reprise Records |
Apple Records | The Beatles | 1968 | The Beatles John Lennon Paul McCartney/Wings George Harrison Ringo Starr Badfinger Mary Hopkin Yoko Ono David Peel Ravi Shankar John Tavener James Taylor | EMI, under the Parlophone brand in the UK and the Capitol Records brand in the US | active; revived in 1988 for Beatles CD rereleases. See also Apple Corps |
Threshold Records[1] | The Moody Blues | 1969 | The Moody Blues Blue Jays The Graeme Edge Band | London Records (now Decca Records) | — |
Kling Klang | Kraftwerk | 1970 | Kraftwerk | EMI Warner Music | active |
Grunt Records | Jefferson Airplane | 1971 | Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, Starship | RCA Records | imprint not used after 1987 |
Rolling Stones Records[1] | Rolling Stones | 1971 | Rolling Stones | Atlantic Records (WEA) (now Warner Music Group) | albums now released by Universal Music Group |
Swan Song Records[1] | Led Zeppelin | 1974 | Led Zeppelin Bad Company Dave Edmunds | Atlantic Records (WEA) (now Warner Music Group) | closed (1983) |
Modern Records | Stevie Nicks | 1980 | Stevie Nicks Rick Vito Natalie Cole | Atlantic Records (WEA) (now Warner Music Group) | closed (1999) |
Qwest Records | Quincy Jones | 1980 | Joy Division/New Order (in the US) Frank Sinatra George Benson | A&M Records Warner Bros. Records | active (2007) |
Duck Records | Eric Clapton | 1983 | Eric Clapton | Reprise Records (WEA) (now Warner Music Group) | active |
Es Paranza Records | Robert Plant | 1983 | Robert Plant | Atlantic Records (WEA) (now Warner Music Group) | — |
Respond Records | Paul Weller | 1983 | Tracie Young The Questions A Craze Vaughn Toulouse | Polydor Records | Closed 1986 |
Numa Records | Gary Numan | 1984 | Gary Numan Paul Gardiner | Pinnacle Records | closed (1995) |
Paisley Park Records | Prince | 1986 | Prince Sheila E. George Clinton | Warner Bros. Records (WEA) (now Warner Music Group) | closed (1994) |
UZI Suicide | Guns N' Roses | 1987 | Guns N' Roses Hanoi Rocks | Geffen | inactive; owned by Geffen |
| Euphoric Records | Echo & the Bunnymen | 1991 | Echo & the Bunnymen | Independent | inactive |
Maverick Records | Madonna | 1992 | Madonna Alanis Morissette Deftones The Prodigy (in the US) Michelle Branch Mest Story of the Year The Rentals Tantric Candlebox Erasure | Warner Bros. Records | inactive (managed by Warner Bros. Records since 2006) |
Nothing Records | Trent Reznor | 1992 | Nine Inch Nails Marilyn Manson Meat Beat Manifesto 12 Rounds Pop Will Eat Itself The The | Universal Music Group under Interscope Records | defunct as of 2004. Reznor has now formed a similar label, The Null Corporation |
Grand Royal | Beastie Boys | 1992 | Beastie Boys Bis At the Drive-In Jimmy Eat World Atari Teenage Riot Sean Lennon Luscious Jackson Bran Van 3000 | Capitol Records | dissolved in 2001. Back catalogue distributed by GR2 Records, created when a group of fans purchased Grand Royal's assets. |
| Total Vegas Recordings[2] | Terrorvision | 1992 | Terrorvision | EMI Records | |
| Pearl Records | Garth Brooks | 1992 | Garth Brooks | Liberty Records/Capitol Records under EMI (1992 - 2005) RCA Nashville (2005 - 2016) Independent (2016-present) | inactive; partnership with Liberty/Capitol/EMI ended in 2005[3], and partnership with RCA Nashville ended in 2016[4][5]. Now an independent label. |
Peak Records | Russ Freeman | 1994 | David Benoit Eric Marienthal The Rippingtons Russ Freeman | Concord Music Group | active (2007) |
Moonfog Productions | Satyricon | 1994 | Darkthrone, Satyricon, DHG, Khold | Tatra Records | active (2009) |
SYUN | Susumu Hirasawa | 1994 | Syun P-MODEL Phnonpenh MODEL Pre P-MODEL Tadahiko Yokogawa Shifukudan Fukō Project PEVO Teruo Nakano | DIW | inactive since 1996 |
Roswell Records | Dave Grohl | 1995 | Foo Fighters Probot | originally Capitol Records, then RCA Records (Foo Fighters) Southern Lord Records (Probot) | active (2012) |
genre b.goode | TISM | 1995 | TISM | Shock Records | inactive since 2004, revived in 2010 for the re-recording of Shut Up – The Footy's On The Radio |
Palace Records | Will Oldham | 1996 | Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Will Oldham Papa M Matt Sweeney | Drag City | active (2007) |
TESLAKITE | Susumu Hirasawa | 1996 | Susumu Hirasawa P-MODEL Wataru Kamiryo KAKU P-MODEL Mandrake Susumu Hirasawa + InhVmaN | Nippon Columbia (1996-1998) MAGNET Records (1999) Chaos Union (2000–present) | active (2012) |
Melankolic Records | Massive Attack | 1996 | Alpha Horace Andy Craig Armstrong Day One Lewis Parker Sunna | Virgin Records | active (2007) |
Aftermath Entertainment | Dr. Dre | 1996 | Eminem Game 50 Cent Cashis Busta Rhymes Slim da Mobster Hayes Kendrick Lamar | Universal Music Group under Interscope Records | active (2008) |
Vapor Records | Neil Young | 1996 | Neil Young Jonathan Richman Tegan and Sara Los Abandoned Spoon Acetone | originally Sanctuary Records, then Universal Music | active (2007) |
Hellcat Records | Tim Armstrong | 1997 | Rancid Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros Transplants The Slackers Dropkick Murphys The Distillers | Epitaph Records | active (2007) |
Adeline Records | Billie Joe Armstrong | 1997 | Green Day AFI The Living End Jesse Malin | Warner Music Group | active (2007) |
| Elementree Records[6] | Korn | 1997 | Videodrone Orgy Deadsy | Epic Records | dissolved after Korn's departure from Epic |
ATO Records[6] | Dave Matthews | 1997 | Ben Kweller David Gray My Morning Jacket Crowded House Gov't Mule Gomez | Sony BMG | active (2007) |
Mötley Records | Mötley Crüe | 1997 | Mötley Crüe | Hip-O Records (former), Warner Music Group (current) | active |
| Tool Dissectional | Tool | 1999 | Tool | Volcano Entertainment/Zomba | active |
| Way Moby | "Weird Al" Yankovic | 1999 | "Weird Al" Yankovic | Volcano Entertainment/Zomba | active |
Third Man Records | Jack White | 1999 | White Stripes The Raconteurs The Muldoons The Dead Weather | V2 Records, then Warner Brothers | active (2007) |
E Works | Eels | 2000 | Eels | DreamWorks | active |
Big Brother Recordings | Oasis | 2000 | Oasis Happy Mondays | Sony BMG | active |
Honest Jon's | Damon Albarn | 2000 | The Good, the Bad & the Queen The Ailerons Blur | Parlophone | active (2007) |
Shady Records | Eminem | 2000 | Eminem D12 Obie Trice 50 Cent Cashis Slim da Mobster Slaughterhouse Yelawolf | Universal Music Group | active |
Flawless Records[6] | Fred Durst | 2000 | Puddle of Mudd She Wants Revenge Big Dumb Face | Universal Music Group under Geffen Records | active (2007) |
Serjical Strike Records | Serj Tankian | 2001 | Axis of Justice Bad Acid Trip Buckethead Death by Stereo Fair to Midland Kittens for Christian Serart Serj Tankian | Universal Music Group under The Universal Motown/Universal Republic Group | active (2009) |
UTP Records | Juvenile | 2001 | Juvenile Young Buck (until 2002) 2 Pistols Partners-N-Crime | Warner Music Group | active |
| 1st & 15th Entertainment | Lupe Fiasco | 2001 | Lupe Fiasco Sarah Green Pooh Bear a.k.a. MDMA | Warner Music Group under Atlantic Records | active (2012) |
US Records | Usher | 2002 | One Chance Rico Love Ryon Lovett Justin Bieber | J Records | active (2007) |
| Idlewild Records | They Might Be Giants | 2002 | They Might Be Giants | none | active (2007) |
Brushfire Records | Jack Johnson | 2002 | Jack Johnson Matt Costa G. Love & Special Sauce Rogue Wave Animal Liberation Orchestra | Universal Music Group under Universal Republic | active (2007) |
Grand Hustle Records | T.I. | 2003 | T.I. Young Dro B.o.B DJ Drama Big Kuntry King Iggy Azalea 8Ball & MJG | Warner Music Group under Atlantic Records | active (2010) |
| Jaded Records | Jay Sean | 2003 | Jay Sean | Universal Music Group under Cash Money Records | active |
Attack Records | Morrissey | 2003 | Morrissey Nancy Sinatra Damien Dempsey Jobriath James Maker Kristeen Young Remma | Sanctuary Records | active (2005) |
G.O.O.D. Music | Kanye West | 2004 | Common Kid Cudi Pusha T Cyhi Tha Prynce Big Sean Mr Hudson John Legend Mos Def Consequence | Sony Music Entertainment and Atlantic Recording Corporation (2005-2011) Universal Music Group under Def Jam Recordings (2011–present) | Active (since 2005) |
Machine Shop Records | Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson of Linkin Park | 2004 | Linkin Park Fort Minor Skylar Grey Alexa Ray Joel Army of Anyone | Warner Bros. Records | active (2012) |
Heiress Records | Paris Hilton | 2004 | Paris Hilton | Warner Bros. Records | inactive |
DC Flag Records | Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte | 2004 | Hazen Street Lola Ray MC Chris | Epic Records | active |
Knockout Entertainment | Ray J | 2005 | Ray J Brandy Shorty Mack Willie Norwood Michael Copon TKO | E1 Music | active (2008) |
Decaydance Records[6] | Pete Wentz | 2005 | Fall Out Boy Gym Class Heroes Four Year Strong Panic! at the Disco The Academy Is... Cobra Starship Lifetime The Cab The Hush Sound | Warner Music Group under Fueled By Ramen | active (2009) |
| Axtone Records | Axwell | 2005 | Axwell Thomas Gold Hard Rock Sofa NEW_ID | Universal Music Group | active |
Big Orange Clown Records | Shawn Crahan | 2005 | Gizmachi | Sanctuary Records | active (2008) |
Raybaw Records | Big & Rich | 2005 | James Otto Cowboy Troy | Warner Bros. Nashville | dissolved in 2008 |
Liberty & Lament Records | Lucero | 2005 | Lucero | Warner Bros. | active (2007) |
Young Money Entertainment | Lil Wayne Mack Maine | 2005 | Lil Wayne Nicki Minaj Drake Mack Maine Tyga Gudda Gudda Jae Millz Christina Milian Lil Chuckee Lil Twist T Streets Short Dawg Cory Gunz Shanell aka SnL Porcelain Black | Cash Money Records | Active |
Helium-3 | Muse | 2006 | Muse | Warner Bros. | active (2007) |
Born & Bred Records | Dropkick Murphys | 2007 | Dropkick Murphys | Warner Bros. | active (2007) |
Ragged Flag | The Prodigy | 2007 | The Prodigy | Cooking Vinyl | inactive |
| Sergeant Records | Douglas Vale | 2007 | Douglas Vale Tyler Hilton Kejsi Tola Sunrise Avenue Macklemore Pharoahe Monch | Warner Music Group | Active (since 2008) |
Tennman Records | Justin Timberlake | 2007 | Esmée Denters | Interscope Records | Active (since 2007) |
RBMG | Usher | 2008 | Justin Bieber | Island Def Jam Music Group | active (2013) |
1017 Brick Squad | Gucci Mane | 2008 | Waka Flocka Flame OJ Da Juiceman Frenchie Wooh Da Kid Slim Dunkin | Warner Bros. | active (2009) |
| Take Me to the Hospital | The Prodigy | 2008 | The Prodigy | Cooking Vinyl | active |
| Tass Radio Records | T-Beats and Unkgeta | 2008 | T-Beats Unkgeta AmphetamineThaEmcee | Universal Music Group under Interscope Records | Active |
N.E.E.T. Recordings | M.I.A. | 2008 | Nguzunguzu Sleigh Bells Rye Rye | XL Recordings, Interscope Records | active |
Search & Destroy | Fightstar | 2009 | Fightstar | Gut Records | active (2009) |
Roc Nation | Jay-Z | 2009 | Jay-Z J. Cole Wale Melanie Fiona Jay Electronica Rita Ora | Sony Music Entertainment/Atlantic Recording Corporation | Active (since 2009) |
| 重音部 Records | Babymetal | 2010 | Babymetal | Toy's Factory | inactive; replaced by BMD Fox Records in 2013 when Babymetal graduated from Sakura Gakuin and was launched as a standalone unit. |
Ticker Tape | Radiohead | 2011 | Radiohead | XL Recordings | active |
| 222 Records | Adam Levine | 2012 | Matthew Morrison Diego Boneta Tony Lucca | Independent | active |
| Little Will-E Records | Ronnie Dunn | 2013 | Ronnie Dunn | Independent | active |
BMD Fox Records | Babymetal | 2013 | Babymetal | Toy's Factory | active; preceded by 重音部 Records. |
| Metamorphosis Records [7] | Katy Perry | 2014 | Ferras | Capitol Records | inactive |
| Nash Icon Music | Scott Borchetta | 2014 | Reba McEntire Ronnie Dunn Martina McBride | Big Machine Records | inactive |
References
^ abcd "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2011-04-04.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link).mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ "Terrorvision Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ [3]
^ abcd "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2012-06-04.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
^ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/18/katy-perry-launches-record-label-metamorphosis-music-ferras
.mw-parser-output .refbeginfont-size:90%;margin-bottom:0.5em.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ullist-style-type:none;margin-left:0.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>dl>ddmargin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em;list-style:none.mw-parser-output .refbegin-100font-size:100%
"Vanity labels: good business or an ego boost?" New York Times, 5/10/92
