SBK Records was a record label, owned by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, that is currently part of the

Capitol Music Group Capitol Music Group is an American front-line umbrella label operating as a unit of Interscope Capitol Labels Group, itself a division of Universal Music Group. Inherited from UMG's acquisition of EMI's catalog in 2013, it oversees the handling of ...

, where it is in hibernation. The label was founded in 1988 and during its time in activity existed as part of the

EMI Group EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

History

Stephen Swid,

Martin Bandier Martin Neal Bandier (born July 21, 1941) is an American music industry executive who was the CEO/Chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing for 11 years from 2007 until 2019. Prior to that he was the chairman and CEO of EMI Music Publishing World ...

and

Charles Koppelman Charles Koppelman (March 30, 1940 – November 25, 2022) was an American musician, music producer, and businessman. He held executive positions at EMI and Steve Madden, and he was Chairman of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. At the time of hi ...

formed SBK Entertainment in 1989 after they purchased the music publishing division of

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...

, CBS Songs, in 1986 for $125 million. CBS Songs was subsequently renamed to SBK Songs. The name is an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

incorporating the first letter of the founders' surnames. The partners sold the company to

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by Sony Music Publishing. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approva ...

(for a reported US$295 million), afterward SBK Songs was renamed EMI Songs and with support of Capitol Records launched SBK Records. It was distributed through the short-lived EMI Records Group North America, or ERG. In 1989, Daniel Glass joined SBK as Senior Vice President of Promotion. In 1990, Glass was promoted to Executive Vice President/General Manager. With the consolidation of SBK, Chrysalis USA, Wild Pitch and EMI Records USA several years later into EMI Records Group North America, he rose to President-CEO. The label had several hits with

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...

, Waterfront,

Jesus Jones Jesus Jones are a British alternative rock band from Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire, formed in late 1988, who continue to record and perform, as of 2025. Their track " Right Here, Right Now" was an international hit, and was subsequently globall ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

Wilson Phillips Wilson Phillips is an American pop vocal group formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The group consists of sisters Carnie and Wendy Wilson, the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, and Chynna Phillips, the daughter of John and Michelle Phi ...

Grayson Hugh Grayson Hugh (born October 30, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, Hammond B3 organ player and composer. He is best known for his 1988 hit "Talk It Over", and his other blue-eyed soul hits "Bring It All Back" and "How 'Bout Us?". ...

Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-se ...

Ya Kid K Ya Kid K (born Manuela Barbara Kamosi Moaso Djogi, 1972) is a Congolese–Belgian hip hop recording artist. She was the rapper for the dance/house act Technotronic. Her sister is Karoline "Leki" Kamosi. Early life At the age of 11, Djogi move ...

, McQueen Street,

Technotronic Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert and best known for their 1989 single, " Pump Up the Jam", which features vocals by Ya Kid K. The song peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United ...

, Blur,

Billy Dean William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition '' Star Search''. Active as a recording artist since 1990, ...

and

Everyday People "Everyday People" is a 1968 song composed by Sly Stone and first recorded by his band, Sly and the Family Stone. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It hel ...

. SBK Records was part of the EMI Group, but became dormant as of 2007, when Martin Bandier left EMI Music Publishing for Sony Corp.'s

Sony Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...

. EMI (and SBK Entertainment World assets) was sold in 2012 to two different entities and split up with most of the recorded music division to Universal and music publishing division to Sony-led consortium. SBK also signed the first Latino MC to a major label, Ray Roll, from the famed

Rock Steady Crew {{Infobox musical artist , name = Rock Steady Crew , image = , landscape = yes , caption = , alias = , origin = The Bronx New York, Manhattan New York, U.S. , genre ...

, and

Selena Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (; April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter. Known as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Tejano Music", her contributions to music and fashion made her one of the most cel ...

, the first female crossover Latin artist. The 1994 album ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

'' by

Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; ; ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (), is an American actress and former fashion model. Her starring roles in numerous science fiction film, science-fiction and action films led th ...

was released through SBK and was critically acclaimed. The album is still in print since its release. It also published the first ever ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at children ages two to five. The flagship production of the ''Barney'' franchise, it originally aired on PBS under the PBS Kids brand from Ap ...

'' album ''Barney's Favorites, Volume 1''. SBK music publishing catalog (SBK/EMI Songs and April Music) is now controlled by Sony Music Publishing, and the recorded music catalog is now controlled by Universal Music Group. SBK Records was shut down in July 1997, with all of its employees being let go.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sbk Records Defunct record labels of the United States Labels distributed by Universal Music Group Pop record labels Record labels disestablished in 1997 Record labels established in 1988 Sony Music Publishing

History

See also

References