Thursday, 12 July 2018
Tuesday, 10 July 2018
Independent Label research
4AD is a British independent record label, founded by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980.
The label gained prominence in the 1980s for releasing albums from alternative rock, post-punk, gothic rock and dream pop artists, such as Bauhaus, Cocteau Twins, Modern English, Dead Can Dance, Clan of Xymox, Pixies, Throwing Muses and Watts-Russell's own musical project This Mortal Coil.
In 1987, 4AD had a UK number-one hit with the collaged "Pump up the Volume" by M|A|R|R|S. In the 1990s, 4AD established an office in Los Angeles and enjoyed success with bands such as The Breeders, Red House Painters, Unrest, and His Name Is Alive. In 1999, Watts-Russell sold his share in 4AD back to the Beggars Group, but the label continued to release music and add new artists to its roster.
While 4AD did not handle any distribution outside the United Kingdom for many years, it had many willing distributors in many countries: Virgin Records for France, Nippon Columbia distributed much of the label in Japan, while PolyGram subsidiary Vertigo Records released many of the label's records in Canada. The United States had always been a tough market for 4AD, even though its records sold well there as imports. Only a few of the label's acts had deals to license their recordings in the USA, among various labels. In 1992, Ivo signed a five-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records so that nearly all 4AD releases would be released in the United States.
4AD continued to have success in the 1990s and 2000s with releases from The Breeders, Lush, Red House Painters, TV on the Radio, St. Vincent and Bon Iver. 4AD now forms part of the Beggars Group, along with fellow independent labels Matador, Rough Trade, XL and XL imprint Young Turks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)