DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

founded in 1996 by David Geffen,

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 2003 when it was sold to

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. The label itself also featured a

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

-based subsidiary, DreamWorks Nashville, which specialized in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and was shut down in 2006. The company's logo was designed by

Roy Lichtenstein Roy Fox Lichtenstein (; October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. During the 1960s, along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and James Rosenquist among others, he became a leading figure in the new art movement. ...

and was his last commission before his death in 1997.

History

In October 1994, four years after David Geffen sold his former record label Geffen Records to MCA Music Entertainment, he joined

and Jeffrey Katzenberg to form DreamWorks SKG. SKG stood for Spielberg, Katzenberg & Geffen. The three partners later launched the subsidiary record label DreamWorks Records in early 1996. Rufus Wainwright was the first artist to be signed to the new record label, in early 1996. The logo for the label was the last project completed by artist

. The distinctive design, incorporating a musical note in the artist's trademark "dream balloon," debuted on the packaging for '' Beautiful Freak'', the first album from Los Angeles-based band Eels, and the second release from the record company. The record label's first release, George Michael's ''Older'' album, had featured DreamWorks Pictures' logo of a boy fishing and sitting on a moon crescent.

Henry Rollins Henry Lawrence Garfield (born February 13, 1961), known professionally as Henry Rollins, is an American singer, writer, spoken word artist, actor, and presenter. After performing in the short-lived hardcore punk band State of Alert in 1980, Rol ...

(both as a spoken-word artist and with Rollins Band), Tamar Braxton,

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired de ...

, George Michael,

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies ('' Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...

, Eels, comedian/actor Chris Rock, Powerman 5000, Elliott Smith, Papa Roach and others were also signed to the label. The label was presided over by

Lenny Waronker Lenny Waronker (born October 3, 1941) is an American record producer and music industry executive. As the president of Warner Bros. Records, and later, as the co-chair of DreamWorks Records, Waronker was noted for his commitment to artists and ...

and Mo Ostin, who had run Warner Bros. Records until the mid-1990s. Ostin stated at the time: "What you find in the record business is there is more and more a trend toward corporate control, corporate values, and here you’re dealing with a creatively oriented operation." Geffen Records distributed DreamWorks Records until 1999, when Interscope Records took over distribution duties (meanwhile, as Interscope and Geffen switched international distribution to

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

, DreamWorks Records followed suit). It was announced on November 11, 2003, that

(the former MCA Music Entertainment, and parent of Interscope, Geffen, and Polydor) reached an agreement to acquire DreamWorks Records from DreamWorks for "about $100 million". The purchase came at a time when the music business was "going through major changes" as it struggled to "counter falling sales and the impact of unofficial online music sales". Mo Ostin, the principal executive at DreamWorks Records, said: "Despite the challenges of the music business today, Universal is acquiring a wonderful asset and the sale will assure the strongest possible future for our artists". Under the new deal, DreamWorks Records was placed within the Interscope Geffen A&M label, under the direction of Jimmy Iovine. After DreamWorks was folded into Geffen Records, Jordan Schur was joined by Polly Anthony in 2004. Its country music division, DreamWorks Nashville, which began in June 1997, remained operational until January 29, 2006, when it was shut down by Universal Music Group Nashville.

DreamWorks Nashville

Between 1997 and 2006, DreamWorks also operated a division in Nashville, Tennessee for country music acts. Among the artists signed to the DreamWorks Nashville division were Jessica Andrews, Emerson Drive,

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's '' Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 19 ...

, Mike Walker, Randy Travis, Jimmy Wayne, and Darryl Worley. After DreamWorks Records' dissolution, former executive Scott Borchetta formed Big Machine Records in late 2005, signing several country music acts to the label. Borchetta also signed Show Dog Records in partnership with Toby Keith,All Business:''Nashville Scene: Keith's New Show Dog''
By PHYLLIS STARK, September 10, 2005 although Keith dropped his association with the latter label in 2006. Meanwhile, Borchetta signed Taylor Swift to DreamWorks Records. The latter label merged with Universal South Records to become Show Dog-Universal Music.

References

External links

* {{Authority control DreamWorks Pictures Record labels based in California Defunct record labels of the United States American country music record labels American record labels Pop record labels Soundtrack record labels Record labels established in 1996 1996 establishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Labels distributed by Universal Music Group Record labels disestablished in 2006 2006 disestablishments in California David Geffen Steven Spielberg Jeffrey Katzenberg

History

DreamWorks Nashville

See also

References

External links