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| Harvest Records | |
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| Parent company |
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| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder |
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| Status | Active |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Hollywood,Los Angeles,California |
| Official website | harvestrecords |
Harvest Records is a British-Americanrecord label belonging toCapitol Music Group, originally created byEMI in 1969.
Harvest Records was created byEMI in 1969 to marketprogressive rock music,[1] and to compete withPhilips'Vertigo andDecca'sDeram labels, and the independentIsland label. Harvest was initially under the direction of Malcolm Jones,[1] and was distributed inNorth America by EMI's US affiliate,Capitol Records. They were the European licensee for the American labelBlue Thumb Records from 1969 to 1971.
In the 1970s, the label primarily released progressive rock recordings by British acts includingPink Floyd,Syd Barrett,Kevin Ayers,The Move,Roy Wood,Michael Chapman,Barclay James Harvest,Bill Nelson'savant garde-prog actBe Bop Deluxe andheavy rock band,Deep Purple.[1] Most acts on the Harvest roster were British; two notable exceptions were Australian progressive bandSpectrum (whose first two LPs were issued on Harvest) and Spectrum's successorAriel, whose first two LPs also came out on the label. The Danish musicianSebastian had three albums released in Denmark on the Harvest label between 1972 and 1974.[2][3][4]
The focus of the label changed slightly as the 1970s drew to a close with the release of 'Live at the ROXY wc2', produced by Mike Thorne, this was a compilation album of unknown punk bands, a huge success that allowed EMI to review their attitude towards punk. The label later released music bypost-punk groupsWire, Australianproto punkgarage rock bandthe Saints andthe Banned.[1]New wave artistThomas Dolby released his debut album and fellow new wave-new romantic actDuran Duran released its first two albums on the label inNorth America. Australian soft rock bandLittle River Band and English heavy metal bandIron Maiden's first three albums were also released in the US by the label.Pink Floyd switched toColumbia Records in the US after the release ofThe Dark Side of the Moon in 1973.
In the United States, Capitol initially treated Harvest as a separate label that they expected big sales from. After only a few issues, they had few sales to show for their effort and consequently only issued a few releases and numbered them within their standard Capitol LP series (mostly using Harvest for Pink Floyd releases). After this initial short-lived series, Capitol passed on most of the UK Harvest artists.
In 1975, a reissue sub-label was launched called Harvest Heritage. This new label largely compiled material that had been previously released on Harvest from 1969 onward. However, Harvest Heritage also reissued music from late 1960s EMI bands that had never recorded for the label, such asthe Gods,Love Sculpture andTomorrow. Heritage also occasionally released new music, such asFour Rock 'n' Roll Legends, a recording of a 1977 concert byrockabilly veteransCharlie Feathers,Buddy Knox,Jack Scott andWarren Smith.
Most of Harvest's European back catalog (including Pink Floyd [see exception below], Deep Purple [pre-1971], Duran Duran, and Iron Maiden) were divested by Universal Music after its takeover of EMI, as part of theParlophone Label Group.Warner Music Group would buy that part of the catalog in February 2013.[5] Rights to the Australian Harvest recordings, including those from the Saints and Little River Band, were ceded to Universal'sEMI Recorded Music Australia imprint.[6]
Sony Music controls the Pink Floyd catalog throughColumbia Records since its full acquisition in 2024.[7] From 2016 to 2024, the former members licensed the catalog for manufacture and distribution by Warner Music Group for the UK and European markets and by Sony Music Entertainment for North America and the rest of the world through their company named Pink Floyd Records.[8]
Capitol Music Group announced its relaunch of the label on 25 February 2013, with formerWarner Bros. Records andDangerbird Records executivePiero Giramonti at the helm.[9] Giramonti is tasked with running the label as an independent label, with the support of Capitol Music Group andCaroline Distribution for distribution, radio promotion and licensing. As of 2013, the Harvest roster consists ofTV on the Radio,Arthur Beatrice,Babes,Death Grips,the Olms,Together Pangea,White Lies andYoung & Sick.[10]
On 15 January 2014, it was announced thatMorrissey[11] andCharlotte OC[12] had signed to Harvest Records.
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