SPV GmbH (short for ''Schallplatten Produktion und Vertrieb GmbH'', "Vinyl Production and Distribution Company") is a German

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- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

. Founded on 1 January 1984, it has slowly grown to be one of the largest independent distributors and record labels worldwide. It has several sub-labels that it produces and distributes, including the labels Steamhammer ( heavy metal,

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

), Long Branch Records ( alternative, indie, progressive rock, progressive metal,

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

), Oblivion (

darkwave Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

), SPV Recordings (

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, rock) and Cash Machine Records ( hip hop). In November 2020, SPV was acquired by Napalm Records.

Artists on Steamhammer

Steamhammer's most successful artists include Sepultura, Arena, Kreator,

Rhapsody of Fire Rhapsody of Fire (formerly known as Rhapsody) is an Italian symphonic power metal band formed by Luca Turilli and Alex Staropoli, widely seen as a pioneer of the symphonic power metal subgenre. Since forming in 1993 as Thundercross, the band h ...

Sodom Sodom may refer to: Places Historic * Sodom and Gomorrah, cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis United States * Sodom, Kentucky, a ghost town * Sodom, New York, a hamlet * Sodom, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Sodom, West Virginia, an ...

, Evildead, Angra, Eric Burdon,

Blackmore's Night Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic guitar, hurdy gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpe, and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocals, lyri ...

, Whitesnake, Motörhead, Doro, Helloween, Kamelot, Iced Earth, Moonspell, Anne Clark, Vicious Rumors,

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, Prong, Pro-Pain, Monster Magnet, Type O Negative,

Skinny Puppy Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial music group formed in Vancouver in 1982. The group is among the founders of the industrial rock and electro-industrial genres. Initially envisioned as an experimental side-project by cEvin Key (Kevin Crompton ...

, MAGNUM, and

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

Artists on Long Branch Records

*22 (NO) * A Pale Horse Named Death (US) * Agent Fresco (IS) * Annisokay (DE) *

As Everything Unfolds As Everything Unfolds is a British metal band from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Formation and history The band formed in 2013 as an acoustic pairing of Alex Paton and current guitarist, Adam Kerr. They almost called the band Bene ...

(UK) * Atlas (FI) *

Birth of Joy Birth of Joy is a Dutch rock band, founded in 2005 at the Utrecht-based Herman Brood Academy. After many live concerts in the Netherlands, the band was signed by Dutch indie label Suburban Records following a performance at the Zwarte Cross Festi ...

(NL) *

Black Crown Initiate Black Crown Initiate is an American extreme metal band from Reading, Pennsylvania, United States, currently signed to Century Media. The band formed in 2012 and self-released their first EP '' Song of the Crippled Bull'', which was met with posi ...

(US) * Black Map (US) * Black Orchid Empire (UK) * Borders (UK) * Cabal (DK) * Chimaira (US) * Cold Night for Alligators (DK) * Demons of Ruby Mae (UK) * Drowning Pool (US) *

Everlast Erik Francis Schrody (born August 18, 1969), known by his stage name Everlast, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter, who was the frontman for hip hop group House of Pain. He was also part of the hip hop supergroup La Coka ...

(US) * Fit for an Autopsy (US) * Frames (DE) * From Sorrow to Serenity (UK) * Ghost Iris (DK) * Ivy Crown (DK) * Jonestown (UK) * Kaiser Chiefs (UK) * Kid Dad (DE) * KOJ (DE) * Livingston (UK) * Madina Lake (US) * Paradisia (UK) * Prospective (IT) * Razz (DE) * Rendezvous Point (NO) * Second Relation (AT) * Shields (UK) * Siamese (DK) *

Silent Screams Silent Screams are an English metalcore band formed in Coventry, West Midlands, England, in 2007. The band currently consists of lead vocalist Joel Heywood, guitarists Ozzi Osman and Sam Varney and drummer Adam Mallabone and bass-player and v ...

(UK) * The Five Hundred (UK) * The Hirsch Effekt (DE) * The Interbeing (DK) * The Intersphere (DE) * The Low Frequency in Stereo (NO) * The Royal (NL) * Tides from Nebula (PL) * Time, The Valuator (DE) * Uneven Structure (FR) * Unprocessed (DE) * Valis Ablaze (UK) * Walking Dead on Broadway (UK) * Within the Ruins (US) * White Miles (AT)

Insolvency

The managing partner, Manfred Schütz, decided to submit an application to commence insolvency proceedings on 25 May 2009 – roughly equivalent to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US and administration in the UK. In response to this, on 27 May 2009, the District Court of Hannover appointed the attorney Manuel Sack as the provisional insolvency administrator. According to Schütz, together with Sack, the management of SPV GmbH would not only carry on business operations, but also continue working in the areas of production and distribution in the usual way. After a substantial resizing of its business and a partnership venture agreement with Sony Music, which obtained the rights for some of the German label's main artists and for part of the catalogue, SPV went back into production with a new staff at the end of 2009.

References

German independent record labels Record labels established in 1984 Rock record labels Heavy metal record labels IFPI members Napalm Records {{Germany-record-label-stub

Artists on Steamhammer

Artists on Long Branch Records

Insolvency

See also

References