According toAvery Lipman, he and his brotherMonte conceived the idea for Republic Records at their apartment inNew York. Lipman stated that both had previously been employed by record companies and were in between jobs at the time. They began putting records out as a hobby, the first of which was theBloodhound Gang'sDingleberry Haze.[5] Republic Records was formed in 1995 as a subsidiary ofMCA'sGeffen Records, but soon after its foundation, the distribution changed to the newly establishedUniversal Records.[6]
In January 2000, it was announced that the Universal Music Group acquired the Lipman brothers' Republic Records as a wholly ownedsubsidiary.Monte Lipman was named president of the Universal Records label,[7] while Avery Lipman became Republic's president.[8]
In 2006, corporate restructuring saw the formation of Universal Republic Records through a merger between the two labels.[9] Monte Lipman became the president and CEO of the restructured label while Avery Lipman served as co-president and COO.[10] Other changes were made at the label's parent, Universal Motown Republic Group, during the summer of 2011.Universal Motown Records was shut down, transferring its artists to the newly recreated Motown Records or Universal Republic Records. Universal Republic Records became a stand-alone label and the Universal Motown Republic Group was shut down.[11] In August 2011, the restructured Universal Republic signedAriana Grande to a record contract.[12]
In October 2012, Universal Republic Records returned to the Republic Records moniker.[13] Just prior to the label's return to the Republic name, it signed Canadian artistThe Weeknd through his imprint label,XO.[14] In addition to artists' albums, the label has released soundtracks with theFox (Star),[15]NBC (The Voice), and former UMG parentUniversal Pictures (Fifty Shades andSing),[16] among numerous other partnerships, films, and television series.[17] Republic Records had songs in six of the top-10 spots on the Mediabase Top 40 Chart in 2015, tying a 2013 record.[18] Also in 2015, the label signed American rapper and singer,Post Malone.[19]
Also in 2019, Republic Records was named the "Label of the Year" by bothBillboard[25] andVariety.[26] It has beenBillboard's label of the year for 4 of the last 5 years[25] andVariety's for each of the last three.[26] Republic was also namedBillboard'sHot 100 Label of the Year for the sixth straight time.[27] Five Republic albums (Ariana Grande'sThank U, Next, Taylor Swift'sLover, Post Malone'sBeerbongs & Bentleys, Drake'sScorpion and Post Malone'sHollywood's Bleeding) also appeared in the top 10 of theyear-endBillboard 200 chart.[25]
In 2020, Republic Records partnered up withJYP Entertainment for the South Korean girl groupTwice as the group's first American label and distributor. Twice will be the first artist from JYP Entertainment to be powered under the alliance. Twice's signing represents a diversifying market for K-pop in the US.[28] On April 8, 2020, it was stated that the record has partnered up with the South Korean girl group(G)I-dle after the release of their third EPI Trust, marking the group's official debut in the US.[29] At the2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Republic Records won "Label of the Year".[30]
At the2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Republic Records won "Label of the Year".[31] For 2021, for the first time, Republic Records was ranked number one onBillboard's three year-end label rankings: "Top Labels", "200 Labels", and "Hot 100 Labels".[32]Billboard then featured the Lipman brothers in a December 2021 cover story on Republic Records.[33]
Republic Records became the first label to partner withDistroKid, allowing it to mine data from the company looking for new artists. The initiative began in 2021 and allowed DistroKid to receive a finder's fee for any new artist signed to the label.[34] In January 2021, the label had five of the top seven albums on theBillboard 200 chart, including the top three spots withMorgan Wallen'sDangerous: The Double Album, Taylor Swift'sEvermore, andPop Smoke'sShoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. The Weeknd'sAfter Hours and Ariana Grande'sPositions were sixth and seventh respectively.[35] That month, Republic also had six of the top ten albums on theRolling Stone album chart and nine of the top 20 songs on theRolling Stone song chart.[36] In March 2021, Taylor Swift became the first Republic artist to win theGrammy Award forAlbum of the Year for her album,Folklore.[37] On November 24, 2021, Jim Roppo and Wendy Goldstein were named co-presidents of Republic Records.[38]
Since August 2021, Universal Music Group began to launch and expand the Republic Records imprint in international markets. The label made its first International debut in China via its local subsidiary UMG China on August 16, 2021.[39] The label launched in Philippines via its local subsidiaryUMG Philippines in July 22, 2022, with domestic artistsDarren Espanto,Elha Nympha andZack Tabudlo among other artists who were signed to the label.[40]
In 2022, Republic Records expanded its current partnership with JYP Entertainment to includeItzy andStray Kids.[41] Republic Records partnered up withNBCUniversal Entertainment Japan to includefripSide. This was later expanded to cover all of their artists, alongside worldwide distribution of artists and catalogs, A&R, marketing and business development.[42]
At the2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards, Republic Records won "Label of the Year".[43] For the second year in a row,Billboard listed Republic Records as number one on its three 2022 year-end label rankings, including "Top Labels".[44][45]
In 2023, Republic Records had the longest streak for a label atop theBillboard 200 in 25 years, including Morgan Wallen'sOne Thing at a Time, Taylor Swift'sMidnights, andStray Kids'5-STAR.[46] On December 6, 2023, Republic had the top six albums on theBillboard 200. It was the first time in 60 years the same label had released the top five albums on the chart.[47]
In February 2024, Republic was reorganized under the newly structured umbrella of Republic Corps, a music label unit formed by parent Universal Music Group. As part of reorganizing UMG's coastal operations, Republic was aligned withIsland Records andDef Jam Recordings under the "East Coast" banner; Monte Lipman, the label's co-founder, oversees the New York City operations.[48][49]
Taylor Swift was first signed to Nashville-basedBig Machine Records, recording her first six studio albums with the label. As her contract with Big Machine ended in 2018, she signed with Republic, with her first single "ME!" with the label released on April 26, 2019.[55][56]Jack Johnson has received a number of gold and platinum certifications.[57]Damian Marley's debut album was certified gold and sold one million copies worldwide.[58]
