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Roadrunner Records
American record label From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Roadrunner Records is a Dutch-American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock music. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. Formerly seen as one of the most powerful independent metal labels of the 1980s and 1990s, it would eventually become a massive host of metal acts; most seen in Roadrunner United and the following live concert. Since then, the label had continued to put out major releases. However, by the 2020s, most major acts had left the label; it was also acquired by Warner, being relegated to something much smaller than before.
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History
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The label was launched in 1980 in the Netherlands. Roadrunner's initial business was importing North American metal-band recordings into Europe. In 1986, Roadrunner opened its US headquarters in New York City and later opened offices in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Russia and Canada. 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.[1]
The 1990s saw the arrival of acts such as Cynic, Deicide, Life of Agony, Machine Head, Suffocation, Type O Negative, and underground grunge rockers Willard. As the 1990s wore 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. Nickelback were also very successful on the label, although they were signed to another label in their native Canada. Derek Shulman ran the label in the late 1990s.[2] In 2005, the label launched a new project called Roadrunner United to commemorate the label's 25th anniversary.
Roadrunner Records ran into financial trouble in 2001 after its distribution deal with RED Distribution through Edel Music was aborted after Edel ended up in US$400 million in debt. As Roadrunner had just taken out a US$15 million loan from Edel, Cees Wessels was forced to put 49% of the label's stock up for $30 million, attracting the interest of major labels such as RCA Records, Atlantic Records and Columbia Records.[3] In July 2001, The Island Def Jam Music Group purchased a 50% stake in Roadrunner worth US$33 million, larger than the asking price.[4] While there were fears of legal action from Edel, who owned 17% of Roadrunner's stock, negotiations allowed the label to switch "immediately" to Island Def Jam and its distributor, Universal Music & Video Distribution.[5]
On December 18, 2006, Warner Music Group signed an agreement to purchase a majority in shares (73.5%) of Roadrunner Records' parent company, Roadrunner Music Group B.V.[6] This deal became finalized on January 29, 2007, after receiving regulatory approval in Germany.[7]
On June 11, 2008, Roadrunner Records was voted as the "Best Metal Label" by Metal Hammer at their Golden Gods Awards,[8] an award that it has won the past four years in a row. The award was accepted by Sharon den Adel and Ruud Jolie of Within Temptation, one of Roadrunner's biggest acts.
Roadrunner Records was significantly affected by Warner Music Group's legal dispute against YouTube, including having their account's YouTube partnership canceled. Most of the videos on their channel, however, are still viewable.[9]
On November 11, 2010, Warner Music Group announced they had acquired the remaining of Roadrunner's stock, acquiring the company fully. However, WMG maintained that Roadrunner would still continue to operate as a distinct brand. Cees Wessels, the label's founder, remained as CEO.[10] Employees at Roadrunner nicknamed WMG's acquisition of the company "The Red Wedding", in reference to the Game of Thrones episode "The Rains of Castamere".[11]
On April 26, 2012, it was announced that Warner Music Group would make substantial cutbacks throughout Roadrunner Records worldwide operations.[12] According to staff working at the company, the UK offices and the Canadian offices of Roadrunner Records are to be closed completely, with severe levels of cutbacks occurring across the rest of the label worldwide. It has also been announced that the Roadrunner office in the Netherlands is to close, and that the label's founder Cees Wessels is stepping down from his role of CEO.[13] The following years saw several major Roadrunner acts being dropped by the label, including DevilDriver, Cavalera Conspiracy and Alter Bridge (who both moved to Napalm Records, with Devildriver's catalogue being sold to The Echo Label), Opeth, Machine Head, Slipknot (after releasing The End, So Far in 2022) and Soulfly (all of whom followed former A&R of SVP Monte Conner to Nuclear Blast) and Dream Theater (who signed with InsideOut Music in 2017). In July 2017, British rock band Milk Teeth signed with Roadrunner Records.[14]
In June 2018, Roadrunner became a sub-label of Warner's Elektra Music Group division.[15] In June 2022, Elektra Music Group, and subsequently Roadrunner, was merged into the new umbrella label group 300 Elektra Entertainment.[16][17]
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International labels
Roadrunner Records UK
Roadrunner Records UK operates out of the Warner Music London office. Their roster includes the addition of Alter Bridge, Down, Satyricon and Slash.[18]
Notable artists
Currently signed
Past Roadrunner Records artists
Active
3 Inches of Blood
8 Foot Sativa
A Skylit Drive
The Agony Scene
Airbourne
Alesana (including Fearless)
Alexisonfire
Alter Bridge
Amanda Palmer
The Amity Affliction
Angel Du$t
Annihilator
Anthem
Anyone
Artillery
Atreyu
Atrocity
Avenged Sevenfold
Atrophy
Believer
Berri Txarrak
Biffy Clyro
Biohazard
Black Flag
Black Label Society
Black Stone Cherry
Behind Crimson Eyes
Billy Talent
Bleeker Ridge
Boiler Room
Brigade
Brujeria
Buzzoven
Caliban
Carnivore
Cavalera Conspiracy
Cerebral Fix
Channel Zero
Chimaira
CKY
Coal Chamber
Code Orange
Coheed and Cambria
Collective Soul (via Loud & Proud)
Corrosion of Conformity
Cradle of Filth
Crease (band)
Creeper
Crimson Glory
The Cult
Cynic
Corey Taylor
Dååth
De La Tierra
De Novo Dahl
Defiance
Deicide
Delain
Depeche Mode
Detente
DevilDriver
The Devil Wears Prada
Disincarnate
Divine Heresy (excluding US)
Dog Eat Dog
Doug Stanhope
Dommin
Down
DragonForce
Dream Theater
Dresden Dolls
Drugstore
Dry Kill Logic
Earthshaker
Electric Eel Shock
Exhorder
Fear Factory
Fever 333
Fiction Plane
Front Line Assembly
Funeral for a Friend
Glassjaw
Gorguts
Grand Magus
The Great Kat
Guardian
Hamlet
Hatebreed
Heartist
Heathen
Higher Power
Hopesfall
Horse the Band
Ill Niño
Immolation
In This Moment
Inglorious
Jerry Cantrell
Junkie XL
Jupiter Coyote
Kenny Wayne Shepherd (via Loud & Proud)
Khoma
Kids in Glass Houses
Killswitch Engage
King 810
King Diamond
Korn
Krypteria
Kvelertak
Lamb of God
Lenny Kravitz
Life of Agony
Loudness
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Machine Head
Mad Max
Madball
Madina Lake
Make Them Suffer
Malevolent Creation
Marmozets
Mastodon
Megadeth
Mercyful Fate
The Misfits
Mutiny Within
Nailbomb
Nickelback
Negative
Nights Like These
Nightwish
Obituary
Opeth
Outlaws
Pain (Nordic Territories and Europe)
Paradox
The Parlor Mob
Patmos
Pestilence
Periphery
Porcupine Tree
Possessed
Powersurge
Queensrÿche (Loud & Proud)
Ratos de Porao
Rob Zombie
Royal Republic
Royseven
Sacrifice
Salem
Sammy Hagar (via Loud & Proud)
Satan
Satyricon
Sepultura
Seven Shades
The Sheila Divine
Sinch
Shelter
Shinedown
Slash
Slipknot
Soulfly
Soziedad Alkoholika
Sparks
Spineshank
Spoil Engine
Staind
Steve Miller Band
Still Remains
The Stranglers
Suffocation
Taking Dawn
Thor
Thornley
Throwdown
Times of Grace
Toxik
Treponem Pal
Unto Others
VIMIC
Vision of Disorder
Vicious Rumors
Wednesday 13
We Are Harlot
Whiplash
The Winery Dogs
Within Temptation
The Wombats
Xentrix
Young the Giant
Disbanded
36 Crazyfists
Amen
Baby Fox
Bad Seed Rising
Baptized in Blood
Betzefer
Baptized in Blood
Death
Delight
DoubleDrive
Downthesun
Faktion
Five Pointe O
Gruntruck
Hail the Villain
Heaven and Hell
Karma to Burn
The Karelia
Kiss
Milk Teeth
Murderdolls
Non-Intentional Lifeform
New York Dolls
Optimum Wound Profile
Pe'z
Ratt
The Red Shore
Rush
Sanctity
Scar the Martyr
Shihad
Skin Chamber
Stone Sour
Storm Corrosion
Type O Negative
Willard
Wild Throne
Retired
Deceased
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Criticism
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Since the 1990s[citation needed], Roadrunner Records has been criticised by several of its past alumni over its record contracts, business practices and management and promotion of its releases. Artists who have criticised Roadrunner include Megadeth,[20] Slipknot,[21][22] Obituary,[23] Opeth,[24] Chimaira,[25] Vision of Disorder[26] and Sepultura.[27][28]
Glassjaw members Daryl Palumbo and Justin Beck continue to speak unfavourably of Roadrunner, years after the problems the band experienced with them. They openly advise people not to buy their first full-length so as not to give the label money, and have repeatedly told fans at shows to illegally download the record.[29] Palumbo has said: "Roadrunner is a joke. Roadrunner's not even a real label. It has the power to be one of the superpowers in the heavy music industry. While labels like Victory Records, which is such a small hardcore label, is totally surpassing Roadrunner... It's like the scourge of the music industry.[30] Beck has said: "Seriously, don't ever support anything from Roadrunner – they suck!"[31] Palumbo has said that Roadrunner didn't put the band on enough tours: "We never toured half as much as we wanted to, I just wish we got to tour more in support of [Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence]"; and, "They are a miserable fuckin' corporation that does not bend for their bands, does not give their bands anything and they're just terrible businessmen....They had 2 cash cows, Slipknot and Nickelback, and every other project they had rode backseat to those bands, and then the second that the new Slipknot record came out and didn't go quadruple Platinum in the first few hours it was released they fuckin' turned their backs on Slipknot. That label just wants instant gratification where it sells its units and that's a joke. You can't run a major corporation with that as your business strategy".[32]
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See also
Soundtracks
- Faust: Love of the Damned (2000–2001)
- Ginger Snaps (2000–2001)
- Resident Evil (2002)
- Spider-Man (2002)
- Freddy vs. Jason (2003)
- Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
References
External links
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