Rykodisc
222289
223776954
2008-07-05T19:22:48Z
76.21.211.121
{{infobox record label
| image = [[Image:Rykodisc.jpeg|center]]
| parent = [[Warner Music Group]]
| founded = 1983
| founder = [[Arthur Mann (music)|Arthur Mann]], [[Rob Simonds]]<br>[[Doug Lexa]] and [[Don Rose (Rykodisc)|Don Rose]]
| distributor = Ryko Distribution (In the US)<br>[[Warner Music Group|WEA]] (Outside the US)
| genre = [[Pop music|Pop]], [[Rock music|Rock]]
| country = [[United States|US]]
| url = [http://www.rykodisc.com/ Official website of Rykodisc]
}}
'''Rykodisc Records''' is an [[United States|American]] [[record label]], owned by [[Warner Music Group]].
==Company history==
Claiming to be the first [[Compact Disc|CD]]-only [[independent record label]] in the United States, Rykodisc was founded in [[1983 in music|1983]] in [[Salem, Massachusetts]], by [[Arthur Mann (music)|Arthur Mann]], [[Rob Simonds]], [[Doug Lexa]] and [[Don Rose (Rykodisc)|Don Rose]]. The word ''ryko'' means approximately "sound from a flash of light" in [[Japanese language|Japanese]], a reference to its intention to concentrate on the then-new compact disc technology. In the late 1980s, the label also began to issue high-quality [[Compact Cassette|cassette]] and [[Gramophone record|vinyl]] versions of many releases under the name Ryko Analogue.
Rykodisc had some notable successes in the CD-reissue industry, as artists such as [[Elvis Costello]], [[David Bowie]], [[Yoko Ono]], [[Frank Zappa]], [[Robert Wyatt]], and [[Mission of Burma]] allowed Rykodisc to issue their catalogs on CD. Rykodisc still retains the rights to the Zappa and Mission of Burma catalogs. Rykodisc also re-released the classic [[SST Records]]-era recordings by the [[Meat Puppets]].
[[Image:Rykodisctray.jpg|left|thumb|This piece of artwork, championed by [[Conrad Warre]] was used as the behind-the-trays artwork for some of the Rykodisc CD reissues in [[1994]] [[Rykodisc]] the first label to use two-sided tray cards and customized green CD jewel boxes. President [[Don Rose]] wanted the trays to be the color of a [[Coke]] bottle.]]
Over the years the label has acquired [[Hannibal Records]], [[Tradition Records]], [[Gramavision Records]], [[Emperor Norton Records]], and [[Restless Records]], as well as founded a distribution company, [[Ryko Distribution]] and a music publishing company, [[Rykomusic]]. The label's catalogue now exceeds 1,200 titles.
In 1998, [[Chris Blackwell]] left [[Island Records]] and bought Rykodisc for a reported $35 million as a means of acquiring music marketing and distribution expertise for his new venture, a media company called [[Palm Pictures]].
In 1999, one year after the Blackwell buy-out, the office in Salem MA was closed, and many industry veterans were laid off. The office held a wake for the label.
In [[2001]] Blackwell parted ways with Rykodisc. The label was then located in [[New York]] with offices in [[Los Angeles]] and in [[Beverly, Massachusetts]].
Rykodisc sets apart its CD issues with its trademarked green-tinted jewel boxes, which the company began using in [[1988]]. The label began limiting the use of the green-tinted cases on new releases in 2002.
On March 23, 2006, it was announced that [[Warner Music Group]] acquired the Ryko Corporation for $67.5 million. When Warner bought Ryko, it acquired the label's Frank Zappa master tapes, entitling Warner to any reissue rights—an irony considering Zappa's outspoken hatred for the major record label.
==Rykodisc artists==
{{Main article|List of current Rykodisc artists}}
{{Main article|List of past Rykodisc artists}}
== See also ==
* [[List of record labels]]
==External links==
*http://rykodisc.com/ Official site
*http://www.rykodisc.co.uk/ RykoDisc International
[[Category:Record labels established in 1983]]
[[Category:American record labels]]
[[Category:Rock record labels]]
[[Category:Pop record labels]]
[[Category:Warner Music labels]]
[[Category:Frank Zappa]]
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