 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Rykodisc" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Rykodisc | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | January 1984[1] |
| Founder | Arthur Mann, Rob Simonds, Doug Lexa, Don Rose |
| Distributor(s) | Alternative Distribution Alliance (in theU.S.) WEA International Inc. (outside the U.S.) |
| Genre | Pop,rock |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Official website | www |
Rykodisc is an Americanrecord label owned byWarner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG'sIndependent Label Group and distributed throughAlternative Distribution Alliance.
Claiming to be the firstCD-onlyindependent record label in the United States, Rykodisc was founded inJanuary 1984 inCannes,France,[1] by Arthur Mann, Rob Simonds, Doug Lexa and Don Rose. The name "Ryko," which the label claimed was a Japanese word meaning "sound from a flash of light," was chosen to reflect the company's CD-only policy. In the late 1980s, however, the label also began to issue high-qualitycassette /vinyl and MiniDisc versions of many releases under the name Ryko Analogue.[2]
Initially founded as anaudiophile-oriented label, Rykodisc shifted its focus towards mainstream audiences following the worldwide success ofDire Straits' 1985 albumBrothers in Arms, which demonstrated that the compact disc's growth would be significantly faster than initially anticipated.[1] The label subsequently saw notable successes in the CD reissue industry, as artists such asElvis Costello,David Bowie,Yoko Ono,Frank Zappa, the estate ofNick Drake,Nine Inch Nails,Sugar,Robert Wyatt, andMission of Burma allowed Rykodisc to issue their catalogs on CD. Rykodisc also re-released theSST Records-era recordings by theMeat Puppets. It also was responsible for the first release of the "I Am the Cosmos" LP by the late Chris Bell ofBig Star, another band on the label.
Over the years, the label acquiredHannibal Records,Tradition Records, Gramavision (founded byJonathan F. P. Rose),[3]Emperor Norton Records,Restless Records andCordless Recordings. Rykodisc also founded a distribution company, Ryko Distribution, and a music publishing company, Rykomusic. The label's catalog exceeds 1,200 titles.
In 1998,Chris Blackwell leftIsland Records and bought Rykodisc for a reported $35 million as a means of acquiring music marketing and distribution expertise for his new venture, a media company calledPalm Pictures. In 1999, one year after the Blackwell buy-out, the office in Salem, Massachusetts, was closed, and many industry veterans were laid off. In 2001, Blackwell parted ways with Rykodisc. The label was then located inNew York City with offices inLos Angeles and inBeverly, Massachusetts.
On March 23, 2006, it was announced thatWarner Music Group acquired the Ryko Corporation for $67.5 million.[4] The Zappa Family Trust and Ryko parted ways in 2012 with the Zappa Family Trust reacquiring Frank Zappa's recorded music catalogue andUniversal Music Enterprises taking over distribution of the Zappa catalogue.[5][6] Also in 2006, the independent publishing companyEvergreen Copyrights purchased the Rykomusic publishing catalogue, among others.[7] In September 2010, Evergreen was acquired byBMG Rights Management.[8]
In 2009, Ryko Distribution was folded intoAlternative Distribution Alliance.[9]
