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Dirty Hit Limited is a British
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 ...
founded in February 2010 by Jamie Oborne, Chuck Waite, Brian Smith, and former
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
footballer
Ugo Ehiogu Ugochukwu Ehiogu (; 3 November 1972 – 21 April 2017) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-back from 1989 to 2009. He was the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur U23 team until his death in April 2017. He played in the Pr ...
. Based in London since 2009, it has expanded operations to Los Angeles, Sydney, and Tokyo in 2020. ''Complex'' has stated in 2019 that, "Dirty Hit has become known for championing their artists' individuality".


History

Musician Jamie Oborne went into artist management to provide support to artists through his All On Red Management. When Drive Like I Do (later called
the 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...
), a Manchester-based band he was managing remained unsigned even after meeting with every major label due to their genre-hopping music, Oborne decided to establish his own record label together with Chuck Waite, Brian Smith, and English footballer
Ugo Ehiogu Ugochukwu Ehiogu (; 3 November 1972 – 21 April 2017) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-back from 1989 to 2009. He was the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur U23 team until his death in April 2017. He played in the Pr ...
. The 1975 signed with the label for 20 pounds.
The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...
and
Benjamin Francis Leftwich Benjamin Francis Leftwich (born 4 September 1989) is an English singer-songwriter from Heworth, York, Heworth, York. His father was Adrian Leftwich. He attended Hempland Primary School and Bootham School in York. Leftwich released his first ...
were the company's first signings, with the former the first act on the label to achieve mainstream success, achieving #1 at the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
in September 2013 with their
eponym An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
ous debut album. In February 2019, it was announced that the 1975 had signed a new three-album deal with the record company. In May 2017, the label organised the Dirty Hit Tour featuring Superfood, King Nun and Pale Waves. Since its inception, Dirty Hit releases are distributed to digital platforms by Ingrooves Music Group. Since January 2019, the members of
the 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...
Matty Healy Matthew Timothy Healy (born 8 April 1989) is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who is the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the pop rock band the 1975. He is recognised for his Lyricist, lyricism, Eclecticism in music, ...
, George Daniel, Adam Hann, and
Ross MacDonald Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featur ...
– are shareholders of the company. Healy served as
creative director A creative director is a person who makes high-level creative decisions; oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos; and directs and translates the creative people who produce the end results. Creat ...
for four years before leaving the role in April 2023. On 17 June 2024, Dirty Hit announced a new imprint label called DH2, which is focused on
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
and run by George Daniel of
the 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...
. Signees to the label include
Kelly Lee Owens Kelly Lee Owens (born 24 August 1988) is a Welsh person, Welsh Electronic music, electronic musician and producer. She released her Kelly Lee Owens (album), self-titled debut album in March 2017 to critical praise. Her sophomore album, ''Inner ...
, Oscar Farrell, and TimFromTheHouse. Owens's album ''Dreamstate'', released on 18 October, was her debut for the label.


International expansion

Dirty Hit expanded its success from the domestic UK market to an international audience through achievements in social media and critical acclaim. Following the signing of artists such as the 1975, Dirty Hit found an influx in attention regarding younger artists such as Beabadoobee and Rina Sawayama. This influx led Dirty Hit to expand its reach by opening offices in the United States and Australia. By partnering with Ingrooves Music Group, was Dirty Hit able to facilitate widespread expansion outside of the UK. Ingrooves Music Group provides "digital marketing services that empower record labels and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and thrive in the global music industry". This means that Ingrooves will provide labels with the resources, connections, and newest technology in order to ensure an artist's success in continents such as North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Ingrooves has managed artists such as Boy Pablo, G Herbo,
Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
, and
BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...
. "Since launching in 2002, Ingrooves has provided independent labels, artists and other content owners with tools that include analytics, rights management services, and marketing solutions. It was in late 2019 when the decision to combine teams –Dirty Hit and Ingrooves– became official. Two notable members of the Dirty Hit international team are Greg Carr and Rachel Jones-Williams. Carr joined the Dirty Hit team in Los Angeles in May 2020. Jamie Oborne has publicly credited Carr for a brought wealth of expertise and experience across the roster and beyond. Jones-Williams joined the team during the same period but is located in the Sydney Location. During the 2020
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
pandemic, Dirty has taken measures in order to maneuver through the event. "Like the rest of the industry we're doing our best to adapt to the times and find creative ways to ensure we can still keep building a connection with Australian audiences without our artists being in market . . . As well as working towards a domestic roster, we're focused on continuing the development and building a local story around some of the recent signings out of the U.K. and U.S." Dirty Hit went on to release another album for The 1975 following an Ingrooves contract renewal in 2021.


Awards and accolades

Notable artists affiliated with Dirty Hit Records include
Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are a Rock music, rock band from London. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo made up of singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Alice playe ...
,
The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in 2002. The band consists of Matty Healy (lead vocals, guitar, primary songwriter), Adam Hann (lead guitar), Ross MacDonald (bass), and George Daniel (drums, primary produ ...
,
Beabadoobee Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus (born 3 June 2000), known professionally as Beabadoobee (; '), is a British singer-songwriter. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays (EPs) under the independent label Dirty Hit: ''Lice'' (2018), ''Patc ...
, and
Pale Waves Pale Waves are an English Rock music, rock band from Manchester, formed in 2014. Lead singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie met drummer Ciara Doran while attending university in Manchester and they formed a band. Guitarist Hugo Silvani and ...
, all of whom have garnered nominations or awards from prestigious institutions such as the
Grammys The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
,
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
, and the Brits. The 1975, a flagship act of Dirty Hit, stands out with two nominations for the esteemed Mercury Prize, showcasing the label's dedication to artists with outstanding musical contributions. Beyond individual accolades, Dirty Hit's artists have collectively made a significant impact on the global music scene by performing at renowned festivals. The 1975 also headlined Radio 1's Big Weekend, bridging contemporary work and Dirty Hit's alternative style in mainstream media.
No Rome Guendoline Rome Viray Gomez (born 30 August 1999), better known by his stage name No Rome, is a London-based Filipino musician from San Francisco del Monte. He is best known for his 2021 single " Spinning", which featured Charli XCX and the 197 ...
, an artist under the Dirty Hit banner, achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Filipino act to perform at the summer
Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...
festival. In 2019, Dirty Hit Records achieved notable success at the Music Week Awards, outperforming esteemed competitors in the music industry. The label, alongside contenders such as
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
,
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
,
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
,
Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a 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 ...
, and Warner Bros Records, received recognition for its contributions. In 2019, the label was nominated for 3 awards. The label was able to win the "Best Independent Label" award.


Notable artists


Former


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2009 establishments in England British companies established in 2009 British independent record labels Record labels established in 2009