ISLAND

For sixty years, Island Records has been at the forefront of all the musical moments that mattered. One of the world’s great labels, it has become a byword for artistic integrity and innovation, staying true to its long-established independent ethos by signing mavericks and game-changers who have altered the course of music in Britain, Jamaica, America and beyond. And, while times have changed, the attitude, street-cool and striking visuals at the label’s creative core have remained the same.

Island Records is a British-Jamaican 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 in particular 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 UK, Island US, Island Australia, and Island France (known as Vertigo France until 2014). Current key people include Island US president Darcus Beese, OBE[2] and MD Jon Turner. Partially due to its significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG’s pre-eminent record labels.

Artists who have signed to Island Records include Ariana Grande, Avicii, Justin Bieber, Bob Marley, Drake, Queen, Poppy, Cat Stevens, Tove Lo, Sparks, The Cranberries, Tracy Bonham, Roxy Music, Bishop Briggs, Hozier, blackbear, Pulp, Demi Lovato, Fall Out Boy, The Killers, Loser, Leona Lewis, U2, Mumford & Sons, Iggy Azalea, Amy Winehouse, Ben Howard, James TW, Florence and the Machine, Sigrid, John Newman, Local H, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Sandy Denny, Disclosure, Big Shaq, The Weeknd, Keane, Annie Lennox, JP Cooper, PJ Harvey, Janet Jackson, John Martyn, Nick Jonas, KSI, Robyn, Shawn Mendes, Jessie J, scarlxrd, Laleh, and The Streets.[3]

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