About
For bootlegs / counterfeits, see Epic (2). A division of [1991-2000] A division of [2004-2008] A division of [2008-present] Label Code: LC 0199 / LC 00199. Epic Records is a record label launched in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow and black logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical music releases. This has included such notables as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Juilliard String Quartet, Antal Dorati conducting the Hague Philharmonic and George Szell conducting the Cleveland Orchestra. Ten years later, Epic earned its first gold records and developed into a formidable hit-making force in rock, R&B, and country. Among its many acts were Bobby Vinton, Sly and the Family Stone, The Dave Clark Five and Donovan. During the 1970s, the label's success extended to include The Hollies, Edgar Winter, ABBA (leased from /)) and Tammy Wynette. The 1980s and 1990s saw Epic releasing numerous multi-platinum albums from artists such as Meat Loaf, The Jacksons, Sade, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper and others. During 1972 they (USA) changed the label colors from yellow to orange with a new design. In 1978, an independent branch of Epic Records was established in Japan as "". In 2001, this branch was incorporated as Epic Records Japan Inc. and it remains independent from the US branch of Epic Records. In 1988, purchased the music division of , including the Epic label. In 2005, Epic became part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment except in Japan, where Epic continued to be managed by Epic Records Japan Inc.. When Sony BMG ended in 2008, Epic again became a part of Sony Music Entertainment. WARNING: Codes with the following prefixes should not be entered as catalogue number: XSS, ZSS, AL, BL. These codes are matrix numbers unique for each side of a vinyl release and should be entered in the Barcode and Other Identifiers section. The actual catalogue number is usually printed above these matrix numbers. European releases in the 1980's until the late 1990's often had supplementary or full catalogue numbers printed on the release in the following format: xx-xxxxxx-xx (e.g.: 01-497424-10 in addition to short catalogue number 497424.) It is assumed that the prefix refers to the country of release, the main number is the short catalogue number, normally found elsewhere on the release and the suffix relates directly to the format of the item in question. However there is one exception. The "08" prefix relates specifically to releases manufactured at and later inherited by for a short while. These are not distribution codes or catalogue numbers and should only be entered as sequential numbers belonging to the manufacturer of the release. For the dating of the several label design versions have a look to the VinylBeat link below.
Links
Connect
Epic Artist Roster
Sub-labels
Epic Records Germany
LC 30038
Sweet City (4)
1970s-1980s label from Beachwood, Ohio, owned by Carl Maduri. Sweet City had a piggyback deal with Epic who was distributed by CBS now SONY.
Epic Chanson Series
Japanese: EPIC・シャンソン・シリーズ
Epic Dance International
Vigencia
Argentinian Series by Epic, then CBS
22 Bit SBM Digital Re-master
Series originally released in 1995 by - reissue of 's solo career discography up to that point, digitally remastered by and using "SBM" (Super Bit Mapping), a no...
Epic Records France
French division of Epic Records.
Soiree Stereo Romantique
French series by Epic label (CBS).
Greatest Original Hits – 4 Track E.P.
Series introduced in 1982 by Epic and CBS on 7" EP format for the UK market. Some cassette versions exist with a short title "Greatest Original Hits" and with all four tracks repeated on bo...
Work
Label based in California, USA. A unit of Sony Music’s Epic that was the successor of Chaos Recordings. By late 1999, it was phased out and most of its artists remained with Epic. [b]C...
Epidrome
Dance sublabel of Epic, founded in 1997 with Frank Ceraolo in charge of A&R. In 1999 the German part of this label was merged with the Sony Music Entertainment (Germany) subsidiaries [l=...
Immortal Records (3)
Immortal Records was a record label out of Los Angeles, California. Founded by Happy Walters in 1994, the label had helped launched the careers of such influential acts as , a...
Bad Boy Entertainment
Sean Combs founded Bad Boy Entertainment in 1991, and began working with Clive Davis and Arista (BMG) in 1993. The two companies formed Bad Boy Records as a 50/50 joint venture. ...
So So Def
So So Def Recordings is an R&B and hip-hop label started by Jermaine Dupri in 1992. Initially it was a joint venture with Columbia/SME Records but in 2002, relations turned sour and Dupr...
Epic Street
US sublabel of Epic and Sony Music
MJJ Music
MJJ Music (not to be confused with ) was an American record label that was owned by Sony Music Entertainment and founded by Michael Jackson. It was distributed by Epic Records ...
Epic Soundtrax
Soundtrack label launched on November 12 1991 with the release of 101269, followed by the soundtracks of "Hook" and "Bugsy".
Nemperor Records
US jazz/rock label founded by Nathan Weiss. Label Code: LC 3400 / LC 03400 Originally distributed by from 1974 to 1977. It then switched to distribution through from ...
Flavor Unit Records
Epic Music Video
Contact Label
[1993-2016] Epic Records 550 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022-3211 [2016-present] Epic Records 25 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10010-8601