Kontor Records is a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

based in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Germany. The label's artist roster includes ATB,

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

, Armin van Buuren and Scooter. Jens Thele is the head manager of Kontor and is also the manager of Scooter. Edel SE & Co. KGaA is the largest shareholder of the company and distributes its releases in German-speaking Europe. Outside Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Kontor Records have arranged multiple distribution deals with third-party labels.

History

Founded in 1996, the label originated as a club night that Jens Thele organised in

's central business district. Kontor was rapidly established as a successful musical project for local DJs and producers, and this was followed by interest from international artists. Thele has said, "We place great importance on long-term artist relationships and development, always looking to create album projects". In 2000 51% of the company was acquired by the German media company Edel AG, with Thele and other shareholders retaining operative roles in the company. As of 2004, the company's office overlooks the Hamburg dockland area. Edel is still the largest shareholder in Kontor Records and currently owns 66.79% of shares. The label launched the Kontor.TV YouTube channel in 2006 and music videos, playlists and preview mixes of new releases are uploaded onto the channel. As of February 2017, 4.5 million users are subscribed to Kontor.TV. In early 2013, the label entered into a partnership with the

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

online music streaming service and Kontor.FM was launched in March 2013. In June 2013, Kontor garnered attention for a novel promotional campaign for the new

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

from artist Boris Dlugosch. The recipient of the music unfolds a device called The Office Turntable that serves as a 2D Technics turntable on which Dlugosch's vinyl single can be heard. The vinyl is neon orange-colored and most types of smartphones are used to scan an activating QR code on the fold-out device. Label staff explained to ''Contagious Magazines YouTube channel that they were motivated by creative directors who often ignore the music promotions they are sent.

Compilation brands

Kontor's compilation brands include Kontor Top Of The Clubs and Kontor House of House.

Affiliate and partner labels

The Sheffield Tunes imprint is a Kontor affiliate label that released the music of Scooter. Scooter's members, H. P. Baxxter and Rick J. Jordan, are company directors of Kontor Records. As of October 2013, Kontor Records is one of the numerous partners listed on the CR2 Records website, a London, United Kingdom (UK) electronic music label founded by musician Mark Brown (also known by the moniker "MYNC"). In June 2020, Kontor acquired the German rock label Arising Empire.

Artists

Source: *

DJ Antoine Antoine Konrad (born 23 June 1975), known professionally as DJ Antoine, is a Switzerland, Swiss house music, house DJ and record producer from Basel. Musical career Beginnings DJ Antoine was born in Sissach, Basel-Landschaft on June 23, 1975. ...

* ATB * Armin van Buuren * Aquagen *

Cascada Cascada (, Spanish language, Spanish, 'Waterfall'), is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/composers/ producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They functioned as a trio from 2004 to 2021, with their last track ...

* Code Red *

Blank & Jones Blank & Jones are a German electronic music group, consisting of Jan Pieter Blank (born June 15, 1971), known as Piet Blank; René Runge (born June 27, 1968), better known as DJ Jaspa Jones; and the producer Andy Kaufhold (N*D*K) (born December ...

*David Carson * DJ Dean * Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike *KCB * The Disco Boys *

EDX edX is an American For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit massive open online course provider. It was founded by MIT and Harvard. It is a subsidiary of 2U (company), 2U. History edX was founded in May 2012 by the admi ...

* Fedde Le Grand *

Hardwell Robbert van de Corput (; born 7 January 1988), known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by ''DJ Mag'' in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 in ...

* Mike Candys * ItaloBrothers * Klingande * Klubbingman *

Alexander Marcus Alexander Marcus (born 26 July 1972Amtsgericht Charlottenburg (Berlin), Aktenzeichen: HRB 117603 B, bekannt gemacht am: 29 January 2009 12:00 Uhr – registration of ''JAFE Entertainment UG'' in Berlin as Felix Rennefeld) is a German music prod ...

* Nightcrawlers * R.I.O. *

DJ Sammy Samuel Bouriah (born 19 October 1969), better known by his stage name DJ Sammy, is a Spanish DJ and record producer. He has released five albums and has had five top-10 hits, including a cover of Bryan Adams' "Heaven", which reached number one ...

* Scooter * Giulia Siegel * Special D. *

Spiller Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, I ...

* Sunset Strippers * Alexandra Stan * Lexy & K-Paul * Martin Tungevaag * Vinylshakerz * Jan Wayne * Rania Zeriri *

* W&W

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Record labels established in 1996 1996 establishments in Germany German record labels Companies based in Hamburg IFPI members Electronic music record labels