2. Will. I. Am Music Group
This is Will. I. Am’s own record label
3. Background
• Will.i.am music group is a vanity label founded by
music artist will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.
• Other than will.i.am, there are popular artists such as
Fergie, Macy Gray and Sérgio Mendes signed to the
label.
• Both Fergie and LMFAO are the label's most
successful artists.
• The label was an imprint of A&M Records until
Will.i.am and Fergie switched to Interscope Records
in 2009 along with their group, it is now an imprint of
Interscope Records.
6. Background
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Interscope Records is an American record label owned founded
by Jimmy Iovine and Giorgio Saravia in 1989. It is based in
Santa Monica, California and operates as one third of Universal
Music Group's Interscope Geffen A&M. The label is home to
over 146 artists.
Financial support came from Atlantic Records, which owned a
53% stock in the label.
Initially, it was distributed by the Atlantic Records subsidiary
EastWest Records America.
A&R Executive Tom Whalley, John McClain and producer Beau
Hill A&R Joe Lee Jozwiak were also part of the original founding
team. The label's first release was Mo' Ritmo by Gerardo.
PolyGram acquired Atlantic's stake in the label in 1995 due to
controversy over gangsta rap, a genre which Interscope
championed.
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The original focus of the label was on hip-hop and urban music, but by the mid
1990s its range began to expand.
It now has a wide range including the industrial rock artist Nine Inch Nails
under Nothing Records, shock rocker Marilyn Manson, rock band Limp Bizkit,
No Doubt and later the Latin artist Kings Of Flow in a unique partnership with
Los Angeles based indie Latin label.
Following UMG's acquisition of PolyGram in 1998, Geffen Records and A&M
Records were merged into Interscope.
In 2004, DreamWorks Records was merged into the Interscope-Geffen-A&M
group bringing over artists including Blink-182, Papa Roach, Rise Against,
Nelly Furtado, Lifehouse, AFI, The All-American Rejects, Jimmy Eat World
and Rufus Wainwright. The artists were divided between Interscope and
Geffen, with most going to the latter.
In 2005 Interscope launched a new imprint called Cherrytree Records, for
emerging artists. This began with the group The Lovemakers and later
included Far East Movement, Feist, Natalia Kills, Flipsyde, Tokio Hotel, and
Robyn.
Lady Gaga is with Interscope, but no longer with Cherrytree as of 2011.
LMFAO and Mindless Behavior are also part of the Interscope Records Major
Hits.
8. Associated record labels under Interscope
Records
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19 Recordings (2011–Present)
A&M Octone Records (2007–present)
Aftermath Entertainment (1996–present)
Bad Boy Records (2009–present)
Cherrytree Records (2005–present)
Glory Boyz Entertainment (2012–present)
Kon Live Distribution (2007–present)
Mosley Music Group (2006–present)
Qwest Records
Shady Records (1999–present)
Star Trak Entertainment (2005–Present)
Streamline Records (2007–present)
Tennman Records (2007–present)
Will.i.am Music Group (2009–present)
Zone 4 (2007–present) (distribution deal with Def Jam Recordings)