Comedy Central Records is a record label based in New York and owned by

Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

. The label specializes in stand-up comedy albums and is distributed by

Alternative Distribution Alliance Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) is a music distribution company owned by Warner Music Group, which represents the rights to various independent record labels. ADA provides "independent artist and label partners with access to the resource ...

, a subsidiary of

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...

. The label has released albums from artists such as

Aziz Ansari Aziz Ismail Ansari ( ; born February 23, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He played Tom Haverford on the NBC series '' Parks and Recreation'' (2009–2015) and created and starred in the Netflix series ''Master of None'' (2 ...

, Louis C.K.,

Dave Attell David Attell (born January 18, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's '' Insomniac with Dave Attell.'' Early life Attell was born in the New York City borough of Queens to a Jewish fa ...

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. Schumer ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition ...

and

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. After winning se ...

. As of December 2016, Comedy Central Records has issued over 200 albums.

History

2002–06

Comedy Central Records was founded in 2002 by American multi-Grammy winning record and television producer, Jack Vaughn Jr. along with Comedy Central. The first release under the label was Comedy Central's ''Crank Yankers'', an uncensored album featuring human-like puppets voiced by comedic talent such as

Adam Carolla Adam Carolla (born May 27, 1964) is an American radio personality, comedian, actor and podcaster. He hosts '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a talk show distributed as a podcast which set the record as the "most downloaded podcast" as judged by ''Guin ...

Jimmy Kimmel James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967), known professionally as Jimmy Kimmel, is an American television host, comedian, writer, voice actor, and producer. He has been the host and executive producer of '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-n ...

Sarah Silverman Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She first rose to prominence for her brief stint as a writer and cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' during its ...

and

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, he co-created and co-starred in the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. He also co-created ...

, making off-color crank calls to one another. Upon its release, the album sold more than 80,000 copies, prompting network executives to release three more volumes of calls, including ''The Best Uncensored Crank Calls, Vol. 2'' and the two part ''The Best Crank Calls''. In the early years, the label signed talent such as

Daniel Tosh Daniel Dwight Tosh (born May 29, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in marketing, Tosh moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelera ...

Dane Cook Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He is known for his use of observational comedy, observational, often blue comedy, vulgar, and sometimes black comedy, dark comedy. He released six comedy ...

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion and cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis Black's ...

and

Mitch Hedberg Mitchell Lee Hedberg (February 24, 1968 – March 23, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian known for his surreal humor and deadpan delivery. His comedy typically featured short, sometimes one-line jokes mixed with absurd elements and non s ...

to record deals. Their early releases included Daniel Tosh's ''True Stories I Made Up'' (RIAA-certified Gold) and Dane Cook's ''Harmful if Swallowed'' and '' Retaliation'' (RIAA-certified Platinum and 2× Platinum, respectively).

2007–11

Comedy Central Records received its first Grammy Award nomination in 2006 for Lewis Black's '' Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues'' and won its first Grammy a year later for Lewis Black's '' The Carnegie Hall Performance.'' The label also received Grammy nominations for albums from

Steven Wright Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer. He is known for his distinctive lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical j ...

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...

and George Lopez, and won Grammy's for '' A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!'' as well as Lewis Black's '' Stark Raving Black''. Other notable releases during this period include

Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...

's platinum-selling '' King Baby'' and '' Demetri Martin. Person.'', the follow-up album to the RIAA-certified Gold, Martin's '' These Are Jokes''. Dane Cook continued to be one of the label's biggest names during this time, with his 2007 release, '' Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garden'' debuting at #11 on US Charts and selling 90,000 copies in its first week. Two years later, the label released '' Dane Cook: Isolated Incident'', with Cook opting to tape this album in front of a smaller crowd of 400 at The Laugh Factory in Los Angeles. Dane Cook's greatest hits album ''I Did My Best'' was released on the label in 2010. Comedy Central Records posthumously released

's '' Do You Believe in Gosh?'' in 2008. The album was recorded just two months before the comedian's death in 2005.

2012–17

After ten years with Comedy Central Records, Jack Vaughn departed in 2012. Steve Raizes and David Derrick, who were at the time overseeing other businesses within Comedy Central Consumer Products, assumed label management. The label continued to receive critical acclaim for its top performing talent, including a Grammy win for Louis C.K.'s '' Hilarious'' in 2012, and nominations for Lewis Black's ''In God We Rust'' in 2013, and '' Patton Oswalt: Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time'' and Jim Gaffigan's ''Obsessed'' in 2014. Dara Frank, who oversaw production and creative direction for the team began signing new artists to the label in 2015 such as Liza Treyger, Andrew Santino,

Sam Morril Sam Morril (born ) is an American stand-up comedian. Early life Morril was born in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City. In a 2024 episode of the ''We Might Be Drunk'' podcast, Morril said that according to his 23andMe test, his ancestry is "a ...

, Randy Liedtke, Joe List and Michelle Buteau. In 2016 she was promoted to oversee the business. In 2016, the label partnered with Milan Records, Matt FX, Abbi Jacobson and

Ilana Glazer Ilana Glazer (born April 12, 1987) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, director, and activist. They have received various accolades including a Daytime Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Primetime ...

of Comedy Central's

Broad City ''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web serie ...

to produce and distribute the original soundtrack for the television show, featuring never before released songs and original artwork by Mike Perry. That same year, Comedy Central Records released ''

: The Complete Vinyl Collection''. The box set was a joint effort with Producer, Michael Slaboch and the late comedian's wife, Lynn Shawcroft who served as an Executive Producer. The collection included never before heard recordings, bonus videos, and a book of rare photos and essays. Since 2012, the label has released over 100 albums, including releases from

Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depression, anxiety, suicide and mental illness. Her first comedy alb ...

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...

Marc Maron Marc David Maron (born September 27, 1963) is an American stand-up comedian, podcaster, writer, actor, and musician. In the 1990s and 2000s, Maron was a frequent guest on the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and appeared more than forty times ...

and

Hannibal Buress Hannibal Amir Buress ( ; born February 4, 1983) is an American comedian, actor, producer, and writer. He started performing comedy in 2002 while attending Southern Illinois University. He starred on Adult Swim's '' The Eric Andre Show'' from 20 ...

RIAA Certifications

Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album

Discography

* Comedy Central Records discography

References

{{Authority control American independent record labels Record labels established in 2002 2002 establishments in the United States Comedy record labels Records