Island Records research
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Welcome to the Island Records research area for Discogs. If you have information about the Island Records label or its afiiliated brands and companies (4th & Broadway, Mango, Antilles, Tuff Gong, etc.), then put what you know here, and hopefully we can sort out the true history of this label and improve the way it is handled in Discogs.
Island information
Information collected so far includes the following:
- An increasingly comprehensive Island Records timeline.
- A gallery of Island Records logo and label designs.
- A dumping ground for Island Records artifacts: images and fine-print details from actual releases, from which we can hopefully spot trends and deduce facts.
- Information about corporations associated with the Island name and brand.
- A gallery of Island Records office buildings.
Perhaps of particular interest to Discogs users are the following:
- An overview of how we handle Island in Discogs.
- A guide to Island Records catalogue numbers, derived mostly from Discogs data.
- A section where we identify Island Records questionable entries currently in Discogs and try to sort out what's going on with them.
It should also be helpful to review the definition of a record label, both in the real world and in Discogs.
Other information sources
Here are some useful, external sources of info on Island:
- The articles on Island Records at Wikipedia was mostly written based on research accumulated here
- Island Records history at the Island UK site
- independently researched UK record label info (+Google cache) at Gowpen.biz
- Some large acquisitions by record companies, 1983 to 1993 - appendix in a report by the Competition Commisson (UK)
- Sigerson, Barbis Sail Into Top Island Posts - 1989 Variety article that says Blackwell's departure from PolyGram was acrimonious and talks about his replacements
- Chris Blackwell: From LP to DVD, still living the Island life - interview in Dec 1999 issue of Mix magazine (US)
- Chris Blackwell: Savvy Svengali - lengthy Island and Chris Blackwell career timeline through 2004
- Music Labels across the world - says "In 1975 Blackwell launched Island Records in America with Joe South and War" but this is coming from a recording studio in India...is it reliable?
- A Major Merger Shakes Up the World of Rock - Dec 1998 New York Times article about the PolyGram-Universal merger.
- New Marketing and Promotion Structure at Universal Music Germany - Jan 2003 PR about a pair of mergers within Universal Music Germany's divisions
- Music mogul optimistic - Aug 2005 Blackwell interview
- Label Mergers: bigger 'n' better 'n' rougher 'n' tougher? - transcript of a 2004 "think tank" session involving Marc Marot (former MD, Island Records)
- Misc. discographic details at black-music-collectors.com:
- U2 discography with lots of scans
- Fairport Convention discography with scans and good details
- This Island label gallery has many label scans
- Island Book: 1962–1977 is a forthcoming collector's book that would probably answer a LOT of questions. Check out the sample pages (PDF)
- Someone has started an Island Records discography at Wikipedia. It would be surprising if it survives for long.
People who might be able to give us more info:
- Rob Partridge was head of press at Island from 1975 until sometime in the 1980s. He later became a director of the company's in-house jazz label, Antilles. He now co-runs his own prestigious independent press and management company, Coalition. Email: rob@coalitiongroup.co.uk
