Island Records

Island Records
Parent companyUniversal Music Group
Founded4 July 1959 (1959-07-04)
FounderChris Blackwell
Graeme Goodall
Leslie Kong
Distributor(s)Self-distributed (US)
EMI/Island UK (UK)
Universal Music Group (international)
Island Def Jam (France)
Island Philippines (Philippines)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (most of Island Pictures film library)
GenreVarious
Location
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
Official websiteislandrecords.com

Island Records is a Jamaican multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica,[1] and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another label recently acquired by PolyGram, were both at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island having exerted a major influence on the progressive music scene in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. Island Records operates four international divisions: Island US, Island UK, Island Australia, and Island France (known as Vertigo France until 2014). Current key people include Island US president Darcus Beese, [2] and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels.

  1. ^ Perrone, Pierre (1 May 2009). "Island: The record label that changed the world". The Independent. UK. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  2. ^ "Island Records President Darcus Beese Awarded OBE". The Voice. 17 November 2014. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2017.