SBK Records was a record label, owned by
Universal Music Group, that was currently part of the
Capitol Music Group
Capitol Music Group (CMG) is an American front line umbrella label distributed by Universal Music Group which oversees handling of record labels assigned to UMG's Capitol Records division. It was inherited from UMG's acquisition of EMI's catalog ( ...
, where it is in hibernation. The label was founded in 1988 and during its time in activity existed as part of the
EMI Group.
History
Stephen Swid
Stephen Claar Swid (October 26, 1940 – October 6, 2019) was an American businessman and investor. He served as the chairman and chief executive officer of SESAC, Inc., one of the three performing rights organizations in the US.
Swid was also ...
,
Martin Bandier and
Charles Koppelman formed SBK Entertainment in 1989 after they purchased the music publishing division of
CBS Records, CBS Songs, in 1986 for $125 million. CBS Songs was subsequently renamed to SBK Songs. The name is an
acronym incorporating the first letter of the founders' surnames.
The partners sold the company to
EMI Music Publishing (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
Daniel Glass is an American music industry executive whose output has included work with artists Billy Idol, Wilson Phillips, Sinéad O'Connor, Jon Secada, Warren Zevon, Blur, Huey Lewis and the News, Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish, Erykah Badu ...
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,
Waterfront,
Jesus Jones,
Boy George,
Wilson Phillips,
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?".
Ear ...
,
Jon Secada,
Ya Kid K
Ya Kid K (born Manuela Barbara Kamosi Moaso Djogi, 26 January 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 ...
,
McQueen Street
McQueen Street is a hard rock band from Montgomery, Alabama. The current touring lineup is Derek Welsh on lead vocals, Loud on guitar, Kevin Delburn on bass and Dean Domizio on drums. The original lineup was Derek Welsh on lead vocals, Michael ...
,
,
Blur,
Billy Dean and
Everyday People.
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 (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...
. 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, and
Selena, the first female crossover Latin artist.
The 1994 album ''
The Divine Comedy'' by
Milla Jovovich
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...
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'' 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.
See also
*
List of record labels
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