Ultra Records is an American record label owned by

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, which is a subsidiary of

Sony Music Group Sony Music Group (SMG) is the American holding company that controls the recording and music publishing business of Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation and managed by Sony Entertainment. Sony Music Group is one of the "Record label, Big ...

Company history

Established in 1995 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

by Patrick Moxey, a former executive of PolyGram and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

, Ultra Records is home to various electronic music artists such as Armin van Buuren,

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...

deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

, and

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 ...

. In 1999, Ultra Records commenced litigation with the upstart

Ultra Music Festival Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is an annual outdoor electronic music Music festival, festival that takes place in March in Miami, Florida. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes. It was first held on Miami Beach, but bes ...

. Ultra Records demanded that Ultra Music Festival limit its use of the name Ultra to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. In 2012, after Ultra Records adopted a new logo and started using the name Ultra Music, the dispute resulted in a two-week

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are increasingly used ...

in federal court in the Southern District of New York between Ultra Records and Ultra Music Festival (known formally as Ultra Enterprises, Inc.) that was resolved by an out of court

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

. In 2013, Ultra entered a global partnership with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. In December 2021, Sony Music fully acquired Ultra Records from Patrick Moxey. In January 2022, David Waxman, previously head of A&R and general manager, was appointed president of Ultra Records.

Artists

Awards

Ultra Music has received

Grammys The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for

Benny Benassi Marco "Benny" Benassi (; born 13 July 1967) is an Italian DJ and music producer. He is widely seen as a pioneer of electro house, a genre brought into the mainstream by his 2002 summer club hit " Satisfaction". He started his career as DJ alon ...

's remix of

Public Enemy Public Enemy is an American Hip-hop, hip hop group formed in Roosevelt, New York, in 1985 by Chuck D and Flavor Flav. The group rose to prominence for their political messages including subjects such as Racism in the United States, American r ...

's “Bring The Noise” (2008) and

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...

’s remix of

's "

Cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

" (2012), and nominations in 2017 for Best Dance Recording with

Sofi Tukker Sofi Tukker (stylized in all caps) is a musical duo based in New York City, consisting of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern. They are known for their songs "Drinkee", "Best Friend (Sofi Tukker song), Best Friend", and "Purple Hat". "Best Fr ...

's “Drinkee,” Best Dance Electronic Album with

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the Electronic music, electronic, Ambient music, ambient and New-age music, new-age genres, and is known for organising out ...

's “Electronic 1: The Time Machine”, and Best Music Film with

Steve Aoki Steven Hiroyuki Aoki ( , ; born November 30, 1977) is an American DJ and record producer. In 2012, Pollstar designated Aoki as the highest-grossing electronic dance music artist in North America from tours. In 2024, Gold House recognized him as ...

’s “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. Ultra Music has also received the Best American Music Label award from

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs was an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards were held every year from 1985 to 2020, except for 2017, when the ...

' Best American Music Label 10 times.

Certifications

By 2017, Ultra Records (then Ultra Music) had received Diamond, Platinum, and Gold records worldwide. *

OMI Omi or OMI may refer to: Organisations * Optical Mechanics, Inc., a US telescope company * Ottico Meccanica Italiana, an Italian company * Original Musical Instrument Company, manufacturers of resonator guitars * Open Music Initiative, a digital ...

's "

Cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

" (

Felix Jaehn Fee Jähn (born 28 August 1994 as Felix Kurt Jähn, ), known professionally as Felix Jaehn, is a German DJ and record producer. Jaehn achieved international success with their remix of OMI's song "Cheerleader", which topped the charts in multip ...

Remix) has received 1× Diamond, 20× Platinum, and 7× Gold certifications globally. *

and

Louis Tomlinson Louis William Tomlinson ( ; born 24 December 1991) is an English singer, songwriter, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Doncaster, England, Tomlinson auditioned for British singing competition ''The X Factor'' as a solo artist in 2010, w ...

, a member of

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

, released their collaboration “ Just Hold On,” which went Gold and Silver in 6 countries in four months. * “Don’t Be So Shy ( Filatov & Karas Remix)” by French singer and model

Imany Nadia Mladjao (born 5 April 1979), better known by her stage name Imany ( ), is a French pop-soul recording artist of Comorian descent. Her debut album, ''The Shape of a Broken Heart'', which was released in 2011, reached platinum status in Fran ...

went 2× Platinum. * Producer and DJ

Deorro Erick Orrosquieta (born August 30, 1991), commonly known by his stage name Deorro, is a Mexican-American DJ signed to Ultra Records. He formerly used the name TON!C. Career 2005–2012: Early beginnings Deorro was born in Los Angeles to Mexic ...

’s Latin crossover ballad “Bailar”, featuring Grammy Award-winning Merengue singer

Elvis Crespo Elvis Crespo Díaz (born July 30, 1971) is an American merengue singer. He has won multiple awards, including a Grammy and a Latin Grammy Award in merengue music. Early years Crespo was born in New York City and was named "Elvis" after Elvi ...

went multi-Platinum and Gold. * Deorro's collaboration with

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

“Five More Hours” earned 19× Platinum and 4× Gold certifications. * “Paradise,” a collaboration between

and

went certified Gold in 2016. *

Jesper Jenset Jesper Jenset (born 19 August 1997) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence after finishing fifth in the Norwegian edition of ''Pop Idol'', entitled ''Idol - Jakten på en superstjerne'' in 2014, which led him to sign a record ...

's singles released on the label in partnership with Sony Music Norway "High" and "Painkiller" have become 2× Platinum and Gold in Norway, respectively. *

Lost Frequencies Felix De Laet (born 30 November 1993), known by his stage name Lost Frequencies, is a Belgian DJ and record producer. He is best known for his singles " Are You with Me" in 2014, "Reality" featuring Janieck Devy in 2015, and " Where Are You No ...

’ “ Are You with Me” with multi-Platinum and Gold certifications across 14 countries. * Pop singer

Era Istrefi Era Istrefi (; ; born 4 July 1994) is a Kosovo-Albanian singer. Born and raised in Pristina, she rose to international recognition with the breakthrough single " BonBon", which experienced commercial success worldwide and received various certif ...

’s track “

BonBon A bonbon, sometimes bon-bon, is a small chocolate confection. They are sometimes filled with liqueur or other sweet alcoholic drinks and sold wrapped in colored foil. Ingredients Through the Western world, bonbons are usually small candies but v ...

” went Gold in 4 countries. * SNBRN’s “Gangsta Walk” went 2× Platinum. * French producer

Klingande Cédric Steinmyller (; born 14 May 1990), better known by his stage name Klingande (, ), is a French DJ and tropical house record producer with a prominent use of the piano and the saxophone. Klingande was originally a duo, until 2014, consistin ...

went Platinum with his song “Somewhere New”. * Grammy-nominated duo

went certified Gold with their record “Drinkee”.

Partnerships

* Ultra Records has produced

’s '' I'll Sleep When I'm Dead'' (2016) documentary, as well as

Kygo Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (; born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He first received international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track " I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his De ...

and

's forthcoming concert documentaries. *

and Ultra Records collaborate on international electronic music festivals.

Compilations

Dance music compilations that have been released via Ultra Records include the following: *''Club Anthems'' **''Club Anthems Vol. 1'' – Denny Tsettos (September 7, 2004) **''Club Anthems Vol. 2'' – Bad Boy Joe (March 8, 2005) **''Club Anthems Vol. 3'' – The Riddler (March 7, 2006) *''Ultra.Chilled'' **''Ultra.Chilled 01'' – (November 27, 2001) **''Ultra.Chilled 02'' – (April 30, 2002) **''Ultra.Chilled 03'' – (October 29, 2002) **''Ultra.Chilled 04'' – (July 29, 2003) **''Ultra.Chilled 05'' – David Waxman (March 22, 2005) **''Ultra.Chilled 06'' – (November 17, 2009) **''Ultra Chilled 2016'' – (May 27, 2016) *''Ultra Electro'' **'' Ultra Electro'' – David Waxman (April 4, 2006) **''Ultra Electro 2'' – David Waxman (August 21, 2007) **''Ultra Electro 3'' – David Waxman (December 9, 2009) *Ultra.Summer 01–02 *''Ultra.Dance'' 01 – 18 **''Ultra.Dance 01'' –

Johnny Vicious Johnny Vicious (born John Coles) is an American house music, house disc jockey, DJ, Music producer, producer and remixer. He DJed in New York City clubs Mars and Paladium in the 1980s, and in the early 1990s started his own label, Vicious Muzik ...

(January 22, 2002) **''Ultra.Dance 02'' –

DJ Encore Andreas Bang Hemmeth (born 3 April 1979), better known as DJ Encore, is a Danish songwriter, music artist and journalist. He is currently head of press for the Danish Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre). His best result was a first place on ...

(June 25, 2002) **''Ultra.Dance 03'' –

(February 25, 2003) **''Ultra.Dance 04'' – Louie DeVito (August 26, 2003) **''Ultra.Dance 05'' – Vic Latino & David Waxman (April 20, 2004) **''Ultra.Dance 06'' –

The Riddler The Riddler (Edward Nigma, later Edward Nygma or Edward Nashton) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger and Dick Sprang, and debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #140 in O ...

& Vic Latino (January 25, 2005) **''Ultra.Dance 07'' – Bad Boy Joe & Johnny Budz (January 24, 2006) **''Ultra.Dance 08'' –

& Trevor Simpson (January 23, 2007) **''Ultra.Dance 09'' – David Waxman (January 22, 2008) **''Ultra.Dance 10'' –

Jason Nevins Jason Nevins (born December 15, 1972) is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of " It's Like That" by Ameri ...

(January 6, 2009) **''Ultra.Dance 11'' – DJ Enferno (January 26, 2010) **''Ultra.Dance 12'' – Vic Latino (January 25, 2011) **''Ultra.Dance 13'' (February 7, 2012) **''Ultra.Dance 14'' (February 12, 2013) **''Ultra.Dance 15'' –

Jump Smokers Jump Smokers were an electro house music group from the United States. The band consisted of members Justin Roman (vocals/lyrics) and Flipside (production/DJ). Background The two met in Chicago, Illinois working for Chicago radio station ...

(January 21, 2014) **''Ultra.Dance 16'' (February 24, 2015) **''Ultra.Dance 17'' (January 29, 2016) **''Ultra.Dance 18'' (January 27, 2017) (digital only) **''Ultra.Dance 19'' (January 26, 2018) (digital only) **''Ultra.Dance 20'' (February 15, 2019) (digital only) **''Ultra.Dance 21'' (February 21, 2020) (digital only) **''Ultra.Dance 22'' (February 19, 2021) (digital only) *''Ultra.Trance'' 1 – 10 **''Ultra.Trance:1'' – David Waxman (October 2, 2002) **''Ultra.Trance:2'' – David Waxman (May 20, 2003) **''Ultra.Trance:3'' –

(January 27, 2004) **''Ultra.Trance:4'' – (September 7, 2004) **''Ultra.Trance:5'' –

(September 20, 2005) **''Ultra.Trance 06'' – Johnny Budz & DJ Irene (September 26, 2006) **''Ultra.Trance 07'' – DJ 4 Strings (October 9, 2007) **''Ultra.Trance 08'' – (April 22, 2008) **''Ultra.Trance 09'' – (April 21, 2009) **''Ultra.Trance 10'' – (April 3, 2012) *''Out.Anthems'' Vol. 1 – 8 (the first gay-themed musical compilation). **'' Out.Anthems'' – (May 30, 2006) **''Out.Anthems 2'' – DJ Ricardo! (May 22, 2007) **''Out.Anthems 3'' – DJ Ricardo! (May 20, 2008) **''Out Anthems 4'' – DJ Ricardo! (July 28, 2009) **''Out Anthems 5'' – DJ Ricardo! (June 22, 2010) **''Out Anthems 6'' – DJ Ricardo! (June 28, 2011) **''Out Anthems 7'' – DJ Ricardo! (June 19, 2012) **''Out Anthems 8'' – DJ Ricardo! (June 11, 2013) * Ultra.80's vs Electro 1 *Ultra.Club Classics: '90s 1 *Ultra.Video (DVD) 1 – 2 * Ultra.Weekend 1 – 9 * Ultra.Rock Remixed *Ultra.2008 *Ultra.2009 *Ultra.2010 *Ultra.2011 *Ultra.2012 *Ultra.2013 *Ultra.2014 *Ultra 2015 *Ultra 2016 *Ultra.2017 (digital only) *Ultra.2018 (digital only) *Ultra.2019 (digital only) *Ultra.2020 (digital only) *Ultra.2021 (digital only) *Ultra.2022 (digital only) * Ultra.10 1 * Ultra Deep House 1 * Ultra Dubstep 1 *

Ultra Trap Ultra may refer to: Science and technology * Ultra (cryptography), the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from signal traffic in World War II * Adobe Ultra, a vector-keying application * Sun Ultra series, a brand of computer workst ...

1 * Ultra Hits 1 – 2 * Ultra.Mix 1 – 10 (8-10 digital only) *Just Dance 1 – 3 * Ultra.Latino 1 *The Jersey Shore 1 – 3 *Electric Daisy Carnival Vol. 1 – 3 *Ultra Music Festival Compilation 2013 – 2024 (2018 - 2024 digital only) *DJ Kai Song: School Sessions 1

References

External links

* {{Authority control Mitsui Sony Music American independent record labels Electronic music record labels 1995 establishments in New York City Record labels established in 1995 Record labels based in New York (state) 2022 mergers and acquisitions