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A&M Records is a record label formed in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. Their first choice for a name was Carnival Records and they released two singles under that name before they learned another label had taken the Carnival name first. Alpert and Moss changed the name to "A&M." Over the years, A&M added specialty imprints, Omen Records (1964–1966) for soul, Horizon Records for jazz (1974–1978) and Vendetta Records (1988–1990) as a dance record imprint.
A&M releases were issued in the United Kingdom by Pye Records until 1967. A&M Records, Ltd. was established in 1970 and distribution was still handled by other labels with a presence in Europe. In 1970 A&M Records of Canada, Ltd. was formed and A&M Records of Europe in 1977.
A&M has a long history of distributing records for other labels, including Dark Horse Records (1974–1976), I.R.S. Records (1979–1985), Windham Hill Records (and their subsidiary labels) (1982–1985), Gold Mountain Records (1983–1985), Exit Records (1983-1985), Word Records (and their subsidiary labels) (1985–1990), Cypress Records (1988–1990) and Perspective Records (1990–1996). A&M also distributed Ode Records internationally from 1970 to 1975 and Shelter Records in Great Britain.
A&M was sold to PolyGram in 1989 for about half a billion dollars. In 1998, PolyGram was bought out by Seagrams and folded into its Universal Music Group. Subsequently, A&M was made part of the Interscope Records division, which also includes Geffen Records.
From 1966 to 1999, A&M Records was located on the grounds of the historic Charlie Chaplin Studio near the corner of Sunset and La Brea Blvds. in Hollywood, California (the A&M office is now the location of Jim Henson Productions and the recording studio is now Henson Recording Studios).
Alpert and Moss sued Universal Music Group in 2000, claiming that they had violated a contractual agreement that A&M Records would not be tampered with under future ownership, an instance they claimed occurred when A&M was merged into Interscope. UMG settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount of money.
Noteworthy artists
The label was synonymous with the leading performers of light pop music in the 1960s and 1970s. Examples of these singers and instrumentalists were Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Burt Bacharach, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, and the Carpenters.
See also
External links
- On A&M Records - search every artist and release from A&M Records and its affiliates
- A&M Corner - The internet's original A&M Records collector/listener resource
Vivendi subsidiaries | American record labels | 1962 establishments | Companies based in Los Angeles County
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"A&M Records"