DreamWorks Records

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DreamWorks Records was an American record label active from 1996 to 2005.

1 History
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

In 1996, six years after David Geffen sold Geffen Records to MCA Records, he joined Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg to form DreamWorks SKG, which included the subsidiary DreamWorks Records. The label's logo was the last project completed by artist Roy Lichtenstein.

Geffen Records distributed DreamWorks until 1998, when Interscope Records took over distribution duties. The idea of another label distributing a label owned by a movie studio was nothing new, since from 1967 until 1970, 20th Century Fox's record label was distributed by ABC Records.

Rufus Wainwright was the first to be signed to the new label in early 1996. Henry Rollins (both as a spoken-word artist and with Rollins Band), George Michael, Randy Newman, Morphine, Eels, and others were also signed to the label.

The label was presided over by Lenny Waronker and Mo Ostin, who ran Warner Bros. Records until the mid-1990s and were forced out of that label during the shake-up of the management of the WEA labels during that time. DreamWorks Records was sold in October 2003 to Universal Music Group (MCA Records' successor company), which operated the label as DreamWorks Nashville Records until January 29, 2006, when it was shut down by Universal Music Group Nashville.

Most of DreamWorks' artist roster was absorbed into Geffen Records (with some going to sister label Interscope Records) at the same time, which included Nelly Furtado, AFI (which moved to Interscope), Elliott Smith, Papa Roach, Lifehouse and Rise Against. Henry Rollins exercised a clause in his DreamWorks contract which allowed him to rescind the master rights of his two Rollins Band albums and his Think Tank spoken word album, later reissuing the titles through his own 2.13.61 label.

John Fogerty was dropped by DreamWorks but Geffen Records continues to distribute his titles originally released on Warner Bros. and DreamWorks solo albums, ie. Deja Vu (All Over Again), in 2004.

Former DreamWorks executive Scott Borchetta formed Big Machine Records in late 2005, signing several country music acts to the label. Borchetta also signed Show Dog Records in partnership with former DreamWorks Nashville artist Toby Keith.^[1]