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]] [[de:Rykodisc]] [[es:Rykodisc]] [[fr:Rykodisc]] [[pt:Rykodisc Records]]