Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin,

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

. Unidisc owns the 1982–1993 Sutra Records catalog, and the catalogs of other independent New York labels that the latter distributed.

History

Founder George Cucuzzella began his career as a nightclub DJ, in Montreal, in the 1970s. He formed a Canadian Record Pool, supplying his mixes to other DJ's across Quebec, and producing remixes. Examples are: ''

Lady Bump "Lady Bump" is a pop disco song by Austrian singer Penny McLean, released in 1975. It was a hit for McLean, who was formerly with Silver Convention. About the single The single backed with "The Lady Bumps On" was released on the Jupiter record lab ...

'' by

Penny MacLean Gertrude Wirschinger, better known as Penny McLean (born 4 November 1948), is an Austrian vocalist who initially gained acclaim with the disco music act Silver Convention, but also had exposure as a single recording artist. As a solo singer, she i ...

, ''Don't Stop the Music'' by the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...

, and ''Love to Love'' by Tina Charles. Through Downstairs Records, he became a dance music importer and exporter, and indie-store supplier. He started Unidisc Music, which began in 1977. Unidisc acquired the recording and publishing rights of Prelude Records in New York, which included

Musique Musique is the French word for music. Musique may also refer to: Music *Musique (disco band), a 1970s studio band produced by Patrick Adams *Musique, a British dance act consisting of Moussa Clarke and Nick Hanson best known for their 2001 song ...

's 1978 dance floor hit ''In the Bush''. Additional tracks are by Saturday Night Band, Inner life, D Train and Unlimited Touch. Unidisc purchased rights to Ahed Music, De-Lite Records,

Emergency Records Emergency Records was an American independent record label from 1979 to 1989. Founded in the United States in early 1979, Emergency Records specialized in products of the Italian disco sound of the 1970s and 1980s. During that time, the majority ...

, Megatone Records,

Midland International Records Midland International Records (later Midsong International Records) was a US record label founded in 1974 by Eddie O'Loughlin and Bob Reno. The label was best known for the hit records " Doctor's Orders" by Carol Douglas, " Fly, Robin, Fly" and " ...

, Network Records, Pickwick Records, Quality Records and SOLAR Records – as well as the Canadian labels Daffodil, MWC and Attic Records. The label began collaborating with Kanye West,

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...

, Dr. Dre, Faith Evans, Lil' Jon and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

. In 2008, Unidisc bought Aquarius and Tacca Musique. In 2010, the label merged with DEP Records and Universal Music Canada. Unidisc began Kookoo Records for house and electronic music, releasing music from

Boston Bun A Boston bun, also known as a Sally Lunn, is a large spiced bun with a thick layer of coconut icing, prevalent in Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mai ...

, Pat Lok and Martin Alix.

Function

Unidisc's main acquisition of revenue has been by selling synch rights to the songs it owns. When the rights are purchased from its catalog, the songs are incorporated into mainstream entertainment media via movies, television, animation, commercials and video games. These include '' Fresh Prince of Bel Air'', '' Sex and the City'', '' Grey's Anatomy'', '' Bones'', '' CSI: Miami'', ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'', '' Flashdance'', '' Fame'', ''

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theater and a former disco nightclub at 254 West 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Operated by the Roundabout Theatre Company, Studio 54 has 1,006 seats on two levels. The theater was ...

'', '' Summer of Sam'', '' Bad Santa'', '' Joe Dirt'', '' Rio'', '' Open Season'', ''G Force'',

Dreyers Ice Cream Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. ("Dreyer's"), is an American ice cream company, founded in 1928 in Oakland, California, where its present-day headquarters office remains. The company's two signature brands, ''Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream'' and ''Edy ...

, Gap, Diet Pepsi,

Miller Coors MillerCoors was a beer brewing company in the United States. MillerCoors was formed in 2008 as a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors to combine their brewing, marketing and sales operations in the United States. The company was ...

and '' Grand Theft Auto''. Unidisc's publishing functions operate under Unitunes (ASCAP), Lovetown Music ( BMI), Socan-affiliated Blue Image, Keep on Music, Star Quality Music and Prime Quality Music. Unidisc markets through YouTube,

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. In the 1980s, Unidisc worked with Lime, Erotic Drum Band, Gino Soccio, Nightlife Unlimited, Trans X, Freddie James and

Geraldine Hunt Geraldine Hunt ( Milligan; February 10, 1945 – October 27, 2022) was an American R&B singer best known for the 1980 No. 1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit "Can't Fake the Feeling". Early life Hunt's parents are Rosie Lee Vickers and Frank Mill ...

. In the 1990s, the label acquired publishing rights to Celine Dion, David Bowie, April Wine, Patrick Norman, Robert Charlebois, Babyface, T.L.C.,

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

, Toni Braxton,

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** Fiel ...

and Corey Hart.

Select roster

* April Wine * A Foot in Coldwater *

Anvil An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked"). Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher th ...

* D. Train * Dynasty * Haywire * The Hunt * Irene Cara * Lee Aaron * Lime * Moxy * Razor * Ronnie Hawkins * Wednesday *

Salsoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestra was formed i ...

* Shalamar * Skydiggers * The Nylons * The Stampeders * The Whispers * Fat Larry's Band * Xavion

Sublabels

* Black Sun Records * Illusion Records * Image Records * Karisma Records * Matra Records * SOLAR Records * De-Lite Records *

Sutra Records Kama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Arthur "Artie" Ripp, Hy Mizrahi and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The "Kama Sutra" is an ancient Sanskrit text.Alan Betrock ''Girl groups: the story of a sound'' 1982 p.1 ...

* Becket Records * Sound of New York Records * Megatone Records * Prism Records *

Butterfly Records Butterfly Recordings is the name used by three record labels. 1970s "Butterfly Records", a disco record label created in 1977 by A.J. Cervantes in Los Angeles, California, and closed down in 1980. 1990s "Butterfly Recordings", formed by th ...

* Radar Records * Les Disques Star Records * Sugarscoop Records * Aquarius Records * Attic Records * Beyond Music * Prelude Records * Mirage Records

References

External links