Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Music Group and Interscope Communications, it differed from most record labels by letting A&R staff control decisions and allowing artists and producers full creative control. Interscope's first hit records arrived in under a year, and it achieved profitability in 1993. Chair and CEO until May 2014, Iovine was succeeded by John Janick.
In 1992, Interscope acquired the exclusive rights to market and distribute releases from hardcore hip hop label Death Row Records, a decision that ultimately put the label at the center of the mid-1990s gangsta rap controversy. As a result, Time Warner, then the parent of Warner Music Group, severed ties with Interscope by selling its 50 percent stake back to Field and Iovine for $115 million in 1995. In 1996, 50% of the label was acquired for a reported $200 million by MCA Inc., later known as Universal Music Group.
History
1990–1995: Origins, early success, and joint ventures
In 1989, Ted Field began to build Interscope Records as a division of his film company, Interscope Communications. To run it, he hired John McClain, who had played a central role in Janet Jackson's success at A&M Records, and Tom Whalley, who had been the head of A&R at Capitol Records. Separately, Iovine, who had produced records for U2, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks, and John Lennon, among others, was trying to raise money to start a label. "I thought, 'Music is going to change,'" Iovine said in 1997. "'Young bands aren't going to be asking for me.' But I love working with the new thing. I always liked the part of the business that's the first time you hear something, and I knew I wasn't in that business anymore."Iovine and Field were introduced by Paul McGuinness, then U2's manager. After a series of negotiations led by David Geffen, they came to an agreement, and in 1990, Interscope Records was founded as a joint venture with Atlantic Records. In a 1997 article in Rolling Stone, David Wild wrote: "Interscope's start-up coincided with a period of incredible change in the music world. Nirvana had ushered in the alternative revolution... While the major labels were packed with rosters full of expensive veteran artists who had to redefine themselves for a new rock era, Interscope was in the business of signing new artists and could – as Iovine puts it – 'move on a dime.'"
Based in Los Angeles, California in the Westwood neighborhood at an office building on 10900 Wilshire Boulevard, Interscope was run by "music men". It was a departure from the music industry practices of the 1970s and 1980s, when labels traditionally appointed lawyers and promotion executives to senior positions. A founding tenet of the label was that artists would have complete creative control.
Interscope's first release was "Rico Suave" by Ecuadorian rapper Gerardo in December 1990; the single reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in April 1991. Primus' Interscope debut, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, was released in May, followed by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's Music for the People in July. It included the number-one single "Good Vibrations". Two days after first hearing his demo, Whalley signed Tupac Shakur in August 1991, and by November, Interscope released 2Pacalypse Now, Shakur's studio debut.
Interscope began to develop a significant presence in the genre of alternative rock in 1992. In addition to a second Primus album, the label released No Doubt's self-titled debut, Helmet's Meantime, 4 Non Blondes' Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, acquired and re-released Rocket from the Crypt's Circa: Now!, and, through a joint venture with TVT/Nothing Records, the Nine Inch Nails EP Broken. However, Interscope's success with alternative and rock music was eclipsed by controversy which began in September 1992, when Vice President Dan Quayle called on Interscope to withdraw 2Pacalypse Now, stating that it was responsible for the death of a Texas state trooper, who was shot to death in April by a suspect who allegedly was listening to the album on the tape deck of a stolen truck when he was stopped by the officer. The trooper's family filed a civil suit against Shakur and Interscope, claiming the record's violence-laden lyrics incite "imminent lawless action".
Earlier in 1992, Interscope negotiated a $10-million deal with Dr. Dre and Marion "Suge" Knight to finance and distribute their label, Death Row Records. It was initiated by McClain, who met Dre when he was recording his solo debut, The Chronic. Original plans had called for the album to be released through Sony, but Sony passed on The Chronic due to "the crazy things going on around Death Row" and the contractual status of Dr. Dre. After hearing the album, Iovine agreed to put it out, although doing so required a complicated distribution agreement with Priority Records, Dre's label as a member of N.W.A. The Chronic was released in December 1992.
By the end of the following year, The Chronic had sold almost 3 million copies. Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle had sold more than 800,000 copies in its first week alone, and Primus and 4 Non-Blondes had released records which hit the US Top 20. In 1993, with an estimated gross of $90 million, Interscope became profitable ahead of projections.
Interscope further established its strength in the alternative and rock genres in 1994. A $2.5 million investment to establish a joint venture with Trauma Records yielded three number-one Modern Rock tracks and a platinum-certified album with Bush's Sixteen Stone. The Nine Inch Nails album The Downward Spiral went to number two on the US charts and was widely acclaimed. Marilyn Manson's Portrait of an American Family, The Toadies album Rubberneck and Helmet's Betty were commercially successful and critically embraced.
1995–2000: Gangsta rap controversy, acquisition by MCA, Aftermath and Shady
In May 1995, the controversy related to gangsta rap and explicit lyrics intensified as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole accused Interscope of releasing music that glorified violence and degraded women. Among others, the label was criticized by William J. Bennett, a former Education Secretary, and C. DeLores Tucker, the chairwoman of the National Political Congress of Black Women. In September, Time Warner announced it would disassociate itself from Interscope by selling its half-interest in the company to Field and Iovine for $115 million. Ownership in Interscope was aggressively pursued by EMI, BMG, PolyGram and MCA. On December 1, 1995, the Los Angeles Times noted that with five albums on that week's pop charts and sales of $350 million over the previous three years, "what may have been a smart move politically for Time Warner is now looking like a financial fiasco." In February 1996, MCA Records—then owned by Seagram—bought 50% of Interscope for a reported $200 million. Under the agreement, Interscope retained complete creative control over the label's recordings. MCA was not required to distribute material that it deemed offensive. MCA also acquired Interscope's music publishing arm.Dre left Death Row in mid-1996 due to what was then reported as tension over the creative direction of the label, and founded Aftermath Entertainment, a new joint venture with Interscope. In November that same year, Aftermath debuted with the album Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath. The Death Row deal remained in place until 1997, when Knight was imprisoned for parole violations.
In November 1996, with records by Bush, Snoop Dogg, No Doubt, and Tupac Shakur, Interscope became the first label in 20 years to hold the top 4 positions on the Billboard charts. Six additional Interscope releases were in the Top 100. The label was frequently criticized for overspending on artist acquisitions and joint ventures, however, with revenue for 1996 estimated at $250 million, it operated at a profit.
In 1996, MCA Music Entertainment was renamed Universal Music Group. In 1998, the Universal Music Group parent company Seagram acquired PolyGram Records. MCA's Geffen Records and PolyGram's A&M Records were merged into Interscope, and in early 1999, Interscope Records began operating under the umbrella of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, with Iovine and Field serving as co-chairmen.
Iovine's assistant Dean Geistlinger saw Eminem perform at the Rap Olympics in Los Angeles in 1997 and passed Eminem's CD on to Iovine; Iovine, in turn, passed it on to Dre. In February 1999, Interscope and Aftermath released The Slim Shady LP. The album entered the charts at number two, and won two Grammy Awards. Later in 1999 Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg, founded Shady Records.
In 1998, Interscope signed a joint-venture deal with Ruff Ryders.
On June 22, 1999, Interscope/Flip records released Limp Bizkit's second studio album Significant Other selling 643,874 copies in the first week. It would go on to sell 16,000,000 copies worldwide.
By the close of the decade, Interscope sales accounted for nearly one-third of Seagram's 27% share of the U.S. music market. Records by Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Dre, Eve, Nine Inch Nails, Enrique Iglesias, Blackstreet, Smash Mouth and others generated an estimated $40 million in profit during the final six months of 1999.
2000–2010: Departure of Field, DreamWorks, Cherrytree Records and Beats
Interscope/Shady released Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP on May 23, 2000. The fastest-selling rap album in history, it sold 1.76 million copies in its first week. On October 19, 2000, Interscope/Flip records released Limp Bizkit's third studio album, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water and it would shift 1.05 million copies in its first week in the United States, becoming the fastest-selling rock album in history. Cementing Nu Metal's status in pop culture as a top selling genre during the 2000s. Also Interscope began its relationship with U2 after it acquired the US rights to market and distribute the album All That You Can't Leave Behind. Iovine had been trying to sign U2 since 1990.In 2001, Field resigned as co-chairman of Interscope to start a new label. Described as an amicable parting, Field said he was "anxious to become an entrepreneur again." An agreement with Universal allowed Field to resign a year before his contract was set to expire. Conversely, Whalley, Interscope's president since 1998, accepted the position of chairman of Warner Bros. Records in May 2000 and was not released from his Interscope contract until it expired in August 2001.
Interscope/Shady released The Eminem Show, in May 2002 and the soundtrack for Eminem's semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile in October; the two titles combined sold more than 11,000,000 records before the end of the year. In 2002, New York City rapper 50 Cent signed to Interscope with a $1 million advance. 50 Cent's major-label debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin' was released on February 6, 2003, through Interscope. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and the album went on to be certified 9× platinum in America. In April, it was announced that 50 Cent would sign and develop artists for release on G-Unit Records, which would be marketed and distributed through Interscope. 50 Cent's success allowed G-Unit artists to release their own projects. 50 Cent's group G-Unit released their debut album, Beg for Mercy, through Interscope. It debuted and peaked in the top 3 on Billboard 200. With the success of the singles Wanna Get to Know You, Poppin' Them Thangs and Stunt 101, the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA.
On September 23, 2003, Interscope/Flip Records released Limp Bizkit's fourth album Results May Vary, selling 325,000 copies in the first week. Debuting at No. 3 on Billboard 200, ending Limp's number 1 streak from their previous releases. It would go on to be certified Gold in 2003 and later Platinum in 2008. Ending Limp Bizkit's commercial peak, the album would be their lowest-selling of their career up to that point. The band would go in hiatus in 2006, after releasing The Unquestionable Truth , their first EP and later their first greatest hits album called Greatest Hitz in 2005. They both would sell 2,000,000 and 3,500,000 for a combined total of 5,500,000 worldwide.
In November 2003, Universal Music Group acquired DreamWorks Records and in 2004 it was merged into Interscope Geffen A&M. The DreamWorks A&R staff was retained, and the label's artists were divided between Geffen and Interscope. Among others, Interscope inherited Blink-182, The All-American Rejects, and Nelly Furtado. G-Unit artist Lloyd Banks released his debut studio album, The Hunger for More in June 2004 through Interscope. Anchored by the success of the single, On Fire, the album debuted atop the Billboard 200 and achieved platinum status by the RIAA.
In March 2005, Interscope launched Cherrytree Records with Martin Kierszenbaum, its head of international operations. Kierszenbaum, also a producer and A&R executive, focused initially on developing artists from outside the United States. Feist and Robyn were among Cherrytree's first artists.
Four of Interscope's releases were in the top 10 of the year end sales charts in 2005: The Massacre at number one, Encore at number two, Love.Angel.Music.Baby. at number six, and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb at number eight. The Game's The Documentary appeared at number 16, and The Black Eyed Peas album Monkey Business charted at number 18.
In 2006, Dre and Iovine established Beats Electronics. Dre had been approached by his attorney to start a line of sneakers, and when he told Iovine about the idea, Iovine said: "You know speakers, not sneakers." 'Beats by Dr. Dre Studio Headphones' were introduced in January 2008 at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. "It took us two years to get them right, but when I heard I knew it was going to be big," Iovine said in 2010. "It's just like listening to a hit record." The marketing for Beats integrated endorsements from Interscope artists including Gwen Stefani, M.I.A. and Pharrell, Lady Gaga, and will.i.am.
Lady Gaga's studio debut The Fame was released in August 2008; it was re-released with eight new songs as The Fame Monster in November 2009. Interscope held the top four positions on the 2009 year-end Hot 100 charts with The Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" ; Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" charted at number two and "Just Dance" was at number three.