EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, Spanish for ''Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions'') is the national record label of Cuba. It is headquartered in

Centro Habana Centro Habana is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs (''municipio''s in Spanish) in the city of Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country ...

, where its main record studios (''Estudios Areito'' 101 & 102) operate. It was founded in 1964 after the nationalization of the Cuban music industry, absorbing the assets of

Panart Panart was one of the first and most successful independent record labels in Cuba, founded in 1944 by engineer Ramón Sabat. In 1961, its studios were seized by Fidel Castro's communist regime and the label was nationalized, becoming "Panart Nacio ...

. EGREM had a monopoly on music production activities from 1964 until the late 1980s when independent labels reemerged.Cubadisco: Cuba's premier music awards show
Cuba Absolutely. April 2013. EGREM's archive comprises "the most extensive catalog of Cuban music in the world". Since 2002, EGREM has a commercial director, a public relations department and a web site. Although the label had a history of international licensing deals, direct distribution of EGREM's music did not occur until August 2004, when several agreements were made between the label and European record companies. In 2005, the

SGAE The Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (''Sociedad General de Autores y Editores, SGAE'') is the main collecting society for songwriters, composers and music publishers in Spain. It is similar to AGADU, ASCAP, GEMA, SADAIC, SACEM and S ...

(Spanish copyright agency) began to distribute online part of EGREM's catalog. On September 15, 2015,

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

announced that it would distribute EGREM's recordings internationally.

Sub-labels

Until 1996, EGREM distributed music recorded at its Havana studios under the imprint Areito. Between the early 1980s and 1996, music from its

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...

studios were released under the imprint Siboney. During the mid to late 1960s, the international distribution of Areito LPs and EPs was handled by Palma, a short-lived imprint organized by EGREM. In the 1970s, Palma was replaced by Guamá, an imprint launched by EGREM to commercialize Cuban music around the world. EGREM also manages live venues throughout Cuba under the name Casa de la Música.

Roster

Since its foundation EGREM has recorded the vast majority of artists that remained in the island. Many others, such as

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during ...

Bebo Valdés Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 – March 22, 2013), better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big b ...

and

Cachao Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao ( ), was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised jam sessions). ...

, went into exile. Starting in the late 1990s, EGREM runs an agency called Musicuba to manage its artists in Havana. A second agency called Son de Cuba operates since 2012 in Santiago de Cuba. The following artists have recorded material released by EGREM: * Algo Nuevo * Juan Almeida *

Pacho Alonso Pacho Alonso (August 22, 1928 – August 27, 1982) was a Cuban singer and bandleader from Santiago de Cuba who is attributed with creating the musical form pilón in collaboration with percussionist/composer Enrique Bonne. He founded his first Con ...

Adalberto Álvarez y su Son Alberto is the Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic '' Adalbert''. It is used in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. It derives from the Old German '' Athala'' (meaning noble) and ''Berth'' (meaning bright). Notable p ...

* Paulina Álvarez *

Orquesta Aragón Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban musical band formed on 30 September 1939, by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The band originally had the name ''Ritmica 39'', then ''Ritmica Aragón'' before settling on its final form. Though they did not ...

Carlos Averhoff Carlos Averhoff (December 6, 1947 – December 23, 2016) was a Cuban jazz musician primarily known for playing tenor saxophone. He has been called "Carlos Averhoff 'Sax'". He was lastly based in Miami, Florida. He was born in Matanzas, and in Cuba i ...

Guillermo Barreto Guillermo Barreto (August 11, 1929 – December 14, 1991) was a Cuban drummer and ''timbalero''. He was a major figure in the Cuban music scene for more than fifty years and one of the first drummers in Cuba to play Afro-Cuban jazz. Nickname ...

Bola de Nieve Bola de Nieve (literally ''Snowball'') (11 September 1911 – 2 October 1971), born Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández, was a Cuban singer-pianist and songwriter. His name originates from his round, black face. Villa Fernández was born in Guanaba ...

* Lino Borges * Esther Borja *

Los Bucaneros LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

Elena Burke Elena Burke (born Romana Elena Burgues Gonzalez on February 28, 1928, in Havana, Cuba – June 9, 2002 in Havana, Cuba) was a revered and popular Cuban singer of boleros and romantic ballads. Biography She started her career by working in rad ...

Barbarito Díez Barbarito Díez (December 4, 1909 – May 6, 1995) was a Cuban singer who specialized in danzón.Orovio, Helio (2004). ''Cuban Music from A to Z-CL''. Duke University Press Books. . He began his career as the singer for Graciano Gómez and Isaac ...

Felipe Dulzaides __FORCETOC__ Felipe Dulzaides (born in Cuba, February 23, 1965) is a Cuban-born American contemporary artist. His practice includes installation, photography, video, drawing, sculpture and performance. Two important cities of reference of his works ...

y Los Armónicos *

Hilario Durán Hilario Durán (born 1953, Havana) is a Cuban-Canadian jazz pianist. Durán studied at ''Conservatorio "Amadeo Roldán"'' Amadeo Roldan Music Institute in Havana, studying tumbao with Evaristo Aparicio, composition and conducting from German ...

* Rembert Egües * Estrellas de Areito *

Los Fakires LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

* Roberto Faz * Frank Fernández *

Joseíto Fernández José Fernández Díaz (September 5, 1908 – October 11, 1979), commonly known as Joseíto Fernández, was a Cuban singer and songwriter. He is the writer of well-known songs, including "Elige tú, que canto yo", "Amor de madre", "Demuéstram ...

* Frank Emilio Flynn * Rosita Fornés * Rubén González * Grupo de Experimentación Sonora del ICAIC *

Rey Guerra Rey may refer to: * Rey (given name), a given name * Rey (surname), a surname * Rey (''Star Wars''), a character in the ''Star Wars'' films *Rey, Iran, a city in Iran * Ray County, in Tehran Province of Iran * ''Rey'' (film), a 2015 Indian film *Th ...

* Tata Güines * Adolfo Guzmán *

Irakere Irakere (faux-Yoruba for 'forest') is a Cuban band founded by pianist Chucho Valdés (son of Bebo Valdés) in 1973. They won the Grammy Award for Best Latin Recording in 1980 with their album ''Irakere''. Irakere was a seminal musical laborat ...

Enrique Jorrín Enrique Jorrín ( Candelaria, Pinar del Río, December 25, 1926 - Havana, December 12, 1987) was a Cuban charanga violinist, composer and music director. He is considered the inventor of the '' cha-cha-chá'', a popular style of ballroom music der ...

Los Latinos LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

Gina León Gina or GINA or ''variation'' may refer to: Gina Gina may refer to: * Gina (given name), multiple individuals * Gina (Canaan), a town in ancient Canaan * Arihant (Jainism), also called gina, a term for a human who has conquered his or her inner p ...

* Pío Leyva * Farah María * Beatriz Márquez *

Pablo Milanés Pablo Milanés Arias (24 February 1943 – 22 November 2022) was a Cuban guitar player and singer. He was one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola. His music, originating in the Trova, Son and ...

* Grupo Moncada * Grupo Monumental * Fernando Mulens *

NG La Banda NG La Banda is a Cuban musical group founded by flutist José Luis "El Tosco" Cortés. NG stands for ''nueva generación'' ('new generation'). NG La Banda are the creators of ''timba'' (a term coined by Cortés), the most important popular dance a ...

* Noel Nicola * Jesús Ortega *

Los Papines LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

Pello El Afrokán Pello (formerly Turtola) is a municipality of Finland. It is located approximately north of the Arctic Circle in the western part of the province of Lapland, and is part of the Lapland region. The municipality is on the national border with ...

Raúl Planas Enrique Raúl Planas Fernández (September 18, 1920 – February 28, 2001) was a popular Cuban singer and songwriter. He performed and recorded with many bands and musicians, including Carlos Barbería y su Orquesta Kubavana, Sonora Matancera, ...

Rodrigo Prats Rodrigo Prats (February 7, 1909 – September 15, 1980) was a Cuban composer, arranger, violinist, pianist and orchestral director. Biography The son of a musician, Jaime Prats, Rodrigo began to study music at the age of nine. He studie ...

Carlos Puebla Carlos Manuel Puebla (; 11 September 1917, Manzanillo – 12 July 1989, Havana) was a Cuban singer, guitarist, and composer. He was a member of the old trova movement who specialized in boleros and patriotic songs. Biography Born into a mo ...

* Elio Revé *

Ritmo Oriental Timba is a Cuban genre of music based on Cuban '' son'' with '' salsa'', American Funk/R&B and the strong influence of Afro-Cuban folkloric music. Timba rhythm sections differ from their salsa counterparts, because timba emphasizes the bass d ...

Niño Rivera Andrés Echevarría Callava (April 18, 1919 – January 27, 1996), better known as Niño Rivera, was a renowned Cuban tres player, songwriter and arranger. Early in his career he played with the Sexteto Boloña and Sexteto Bolero, before forming hi ...

* Orquesta Riverside *

Silvio Rodríguez Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez (born 29 November 1946) is a Cuban musician, and leader of the Nueva Trova movement. He is widely considered Cuba's best folk singer and arguably one of Latin America's greatest singer-songwriters. Known for his in ...

* Ñico Rojas *Orquesta Antonio María Romeu *

Gonzalo Rubalcaba Gonzalo Rubalcaba (born May 27, 1963) is an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist and composer. Early life Rubalcaba was born Gonzalo Julio González Fonseca in Havana, Cuba into a musical family. He adopted his great grandmother's name for professional use, ...

Conjunto Rumbavana Conjunto Rumbavana is a Cuban band founded in 1955, directed by pianist Joseíto González. Its repertoire included popular music like bolero, guaracha, chachachá, son montuno, conga, and danzón Danzón is the official musical genre and d ...

Eduardo Saborit Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footba ...

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became hi ...

* Senén Suárez * Juan Pablo Torres *

Chucho Valdés Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, better known as Chucho Valdés (born October 9, 1941), is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger whose career spans over 50 years. An original member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, in 1973 he fo ...

Merceditas Valdés Mercedes Valdés Granit (September 24, 1922 – June 13, 1996), better known as Merceditas Valdés, was a Cuban singer who specialized in Afro-Cuban traditional music. Under the aegis of ethnomusicologists Fernando Ortiz and Obdulio Morales, Val ...

Los Van Van Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most i ...

Conjunto Yarey The term ''conjunto'' (, literally 'group', 'ensemble') refers to several types of small musical ensembles present in different Latin American musical traditions, mainly in Mexico and Cuba. While Mexican conjuntos play styles such as '' norteñ ...

* Grupo Yoyi * Los Zafiros

References

External links

* – official site * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egrem Record labels established in 1964 1964 establishments in Cuba State-owned record labels

Sub-labels

Roster

See also

References

External links