Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

by MCA executive Ned Tanen and developed by music industry veteran Russ Regan. Notable artists on Uni included Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Foundations, Hugh Masekela, Brian Hyland, Desmond Dekker,

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

, Neil Diamond, Dave and Ansil Collins, Fever Tree,

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

, Betty Everett, and the Factory (Lowell George, Dallas Taylor, et al.). In 1967, Uni took over management of MCA's newly acquired

Kapp Records Kapp Records was an independent record label started in 1954 by David Kapp, brother of Jack Kapp (who set up American Decca Records in 1934). David Kapp founded his own label after stints with Decca and RCA Victor. Kapp licensed its records to L ...

. Uni also operated Revue Records, a soul music subsidiary, from about 1967 to 1970. In 1971 Uni was merged with Kapp and the co-owned American

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, to form

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. The Decca, Kapp, and Uni labels continued to be used for new releases for a short time, but in late 1972, new releases by their former artists began appearing on the MCA Records label; before long, their back catalogs were transferred to MCA as well. That year, Regan left MCA to revive 20th Century Records for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. In 1988, Uni was briefly revived by MCA Records as a niche hipster label, à la

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

, with a roster that included Transvision Vamp, Big Bam Boo, Eric B. & Rakim, Swans, Steve Earle, Lord Tracy and a distribution deal with the Bronx-based hip hop label Strong City Records. By the end of

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, however, Swans was dropped, the deal with Strong City was terminated, and the others were absorbed by the MCA label. On November 13, 1990, MCA revamped the Uni moniker once more when it changed the name of its music distribution network from MCA Music Distribution Corp to Uni Distribution Corp. In 1996, in the wake of

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...

's purchase of MCA and the merger of the MCA and PolyGram families of labels, it was renamed Universal Music & Video Distribution Inc. In June 2001, it was renamed Universal Music & Video Distribution Corp., and it was changed again in 2006, after the sale of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

to NBC, to Universal Music Distribution.

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

manages the Uni catalog today after absorbing the MCA label in 2003.

Label variations

*1967–1973: Mustard yellow label with lime green, blue, and magenta swirls, followed by lime green colored Uni logo in yellow swirl and another lime green swirl. Many albums during this run were also pressed with custom labels. *1988–1989: Blue label with Uni logo in black at top.

References

Bibliography

* Hall, Claude: "MCA Drops Vocalion, Decca, Kapp and Uni", ''Billboard'', February 10, 1973

External links

The Uni Records Story
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1966 Record labels disestablished in 1973 Record labels established in 1988 Record labels disestablished in 1989 Record labels established in 1991 Record labels disestablished in 1996 Re-established companies Universal Music Group Labels distributed by Universal Music Group MCA Records 1966 establishments in the United States

Label variations

See also

References

Bibliography

External links