Cleveland International Records is an

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

formed in 1976 by Steve Popovich, Sr. originally founded in

Willoughby, Ohio Willoughby is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States, along the Chagrin River. The population was 23,959 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropol ...

and moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

History

One of the first albums the label released was ''

Bat Out of Hell ''Bat Out of Hell'' is the debut studio album by American rock singer Meat Loaf and composer Jim Steinman. The album was developed from the musical ''Neverland'', a futuristic rock version of '' Peter Pan'' which Steinman wrote for a worksho ...

'' (1977) by

Meat Loaf Michael Lee Aday (born Marvin Lee Aday; September 27, 1947 – January 20, 2022), known professionally by his stage name Meat Loaf, was an American singer and actor. He was known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. ...

which has sold over 40 million copies worldwide. They have also released recordings by

Ronnie Spector Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll". ...

, B. J. Thomas, Ian Hunter,

Slim Whitman Ottis Dewey "Slim" Whitman Jr. (January 20, 1923 – June 19, 2013) was an American country music singer and guitarist known for his yodeling abilities and his use of falsetto. Recorded figures show 70 million sales, during a career that spanne ...

and

The Irish Rovers The Irish Rovers is a group of Irish musicians that formed in Toronto, Canada in 1963'Irish Rovers are Digging out those old Folk songs', By Ballymena Weekly Editor, Ballymena Weekly Telegraph, N. Ireland – 20 August 1964 and named after the ...

, among others. After working in the

industry for more than a decade, collaborating with the likes of

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

, Popovich Sr. moved back to

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

in 1994. A year later, he re-established the Cleveland International label with a focus on

Polka music Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the A ...

. The label won a lawsuit in 2005 when

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

produced copies of the ''Bat Out of Hell'' CD without the Cleveland International logo. In 2007, a court ordered Sony to pay Cleveland $5 million. With his estate finally settled, Popovich, Sr.'s son, Steve Popovich, Jr. revived the record label in late December 2018. Cleveland International Records will operate out of Nashville, but Popovich, Jr. said the goal will be to open an office in Cleveland down the road.

Dispute between Cleveland International and Sony

In 1995, Cleveland International sued

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

for unpaid royalties from sales of "Bat Out of Hell." Under the terms of the 1998

settlement agreement In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in ...

ending the suit, Sony agreed to pay US$6.7 million and include the Cleveland International logo on all future releases of the album. In 2002, Steve Popovich, founder of Cleveland International, sued Sony alleging that Sony had failed to include the logo on the album as agreed. In 2005, the

federal district court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

entered judgment against Sony pursuant to a jury verdict in favor of Popovich and awarded Popovich US$5,700,000 in damages for Sony's breach of the 1998 settlement agreement. Sony appealed the verdict but in 2007 the federal appellate court in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, Ohio affirmed the judgment of the trial court. In 2012, Sony reached a final out-of-court settlement with Popovich's estate over more unpaid royalties revealed in an audit performed prior to Popovich's death in 2011.

References

Companies based in Cleveland American independent record labels Record labels established in 1977 Rock record labels Music of Cleveland {{US-independent-record-label-stub

History

Dispute between Cleveland International and Sony

See also

References