ROADRUNNER RECORDS

'Roadrunner Records' (Roadrunner Music Group B.V.) is a record label that concentrates on Rock and Metal bands.

Contents

History

Signed bands and previous artists

Notes and references

See also

External links

History

The label was launched in the Netherlands in 1980 and was originally called "Roadracer Records". Roadrunner's initial business was importing North American metal into Europe. In 1986 Roadrunner opened its US headquarters in New York City and later opened offices in England, Germany, France, Japan and Australia. Early successes included albums from King Diamond (the first Roadrunner artist to enter the Billboard Top 200 albums chart) and Annihilator. The label also handled early Metallica releases in the Scandinavian region. The end of the 1980s saw the release of two albums that are now considered classics of their respective genres: Obituary's ''Slowly We Rot'' and Sepultura's ''Beneath the Remains''.
The 1990s saw the arrival of acts such as Life of Agony, Sepultura and Type O Negative. As the 90's went on, several of Roadrunner's bands managed to make an impact on the mainstream, most notably Sepultura and Type O Negative. Sepultura's 1993 album, ''Chaos A.D.'', became the first Roadrunner band to crack the Top 40 on the Billboard album chart. Type O Negative became the first Roadrunner band to receive a certification from the RIAA; this was a Gold award (and later Platinum award) for the 1993 album ''Bloody Kisses'', which was certified in 1995. The band also became the first Roadrunner band to receive radio play. In 2000, Slipknot became the first Roadrunner band to go Platinum. Beginning in 2001, Roadrunner was distributed by the Universal Music Group through a share of the label owned by The Island Def Jam Music Group. This deal has now expired.
On December 18, 2006, Warner Music Group signed an agreement to puchase a majority in shares (73.5%) of Roadrunner Records' parent company, Roadrunner Music Group B.V.^[1] This deal became finalized on January 29, 2007 after receiving regulatory approval in Germany.^[2]
Recently, Roadrunner Records was voted as the "Best Metal Label" by Metal Hammer at their Golden Gods Awards^[3] an award that it has won the past three years in a row.

Signed bands and previous artists

Main articles: List of Roadrunner Records artists

Notes and references

1. Warner Music Group to Acquire Majority Stake in Roadrunner Music Group Warner Music Group
2. Warner Music Group Completes Acquisition of Roadrunner Music Group Warner Music Group
3. Metal Hammer awards

See also

★ List of record labels

★ Roadrunner Records artists

★ Roadrunner United

External links

★ Main site gives you links to other international sites.

★ Official USA site

★ Alternative link

★ Official German site

★ Official UK site

★ Official French site

★ Official Dutch site

★ Official Australian site

★ Official Canadian site

★ Official Italian site

★ Official Spanish site

★ Official Polish site

★ Official Hungarian site

★ Official Bulgarian site

★ Official Danish site

★ Official Finnish site

★ Official Swedish site

★ Official South African site

★ Official Japanese site