Interscope Records

Background

Interscope Records is a music recording label co-founded by Interscope Communications founder Ted Field and music industry executive and record producer Jimmy Iovine in late 1989. It was originally an independent label; in 1990, they were signed to a distribution deal with Warner Music Group's Atlantic Records. That same year, the label's logo debuted on time for its first album release.

In 1992, the label struck controversy after scoring a label division deal with Suge Knight's Death Row Records and solidifying the label's lust for gangster rap. This eventually resulted in Interscope losing their deal with Atlantic and its former parent company at the time, Time Warner (later WarnerMedia and now Warner Bros. Discovery) in 1995. Then, in January 1996, MCA, a division of Panasonic (formerly Matsushita), and a parent company of Universal Pictures, bought Interscope for over $200 million in its 50% stake. After MCA bought 80% of itself out of Panasonic's ownership, they changed their company name to Universal Studios, Inc. MCA's music division was restructured and renamed after it as the Universal Music Group. Interscope then became a division of the newly reincarnated UMG.

In 1999, after Seagram acquired PolyGram and absorbed it into Universal and its music division into UMG, Interscope was divested from Interscope Communications, which would then (alongside sister film labels October Films and Gramercy Pictures) be sold off by Seagram and Universal to Barry Diller's HSN-owned USA Networks and merged into USA Films (now known as the NBCUniversal-owned Focus Features).

Meanwhile, Interscope Records was merged with Geffen Records and A&M Records to become Interscope Geffen A&M Records, one of the newly formed four music groups under UMG, alongside the Universal Motown Republic Group, the Verve Label Group and the Island Def Jam Music Group. Many of IGA's sister labels, including MCA Records, DreamWorks Records, DGC Records and A&M Records, were eventually dissolved and/or folded into IGA with many of its artist rosters being drafted to either Geffen or Interscope. DGC was revived in 2007 alongside A&M as A&M/Octone Records after UMG bought rival Sony Music's stake in Octone. Seven years later, A&M/Octone was folded again into Interscope. Another seven years later, in September 2021, DGC Records was permanently merged into Geffen Records, leaving its roster pulled between Geffen and Interscope.

In 2005, Interscope/Shady/Aftermath Films was formed as a ultimately short lived film label between Interscope, Shady Records and Aftermath Entertainment to produce Get Rich or Die Tryin', but was folded soon after. In 2018, Interscope Records launched another film and television production subsidiary, Interscope Films.

As of 2014, Interscope Records remains under control of its chairman and CEO, John Janick, following Jimmy Iovine's departure, and the label itself remains a top tier of the Interscope Geffen A&M unit of Universal Music Group.

Logo (2002-)

Visuals: Over vintage film shades, the Interscope Records logo flashes and disappears from the bottom left to the front and top a few times before the screen brightens all white. Then, it motion blurs back to the Interscope logo.

Variant: On the trailer for the 2017 HBO documentary The Defiant Ones, after the label's co-founder and ex-CEO, Jimmy Iovine, explains his transition from producing music to running a label, the Interscope logo quickly zooms away from the screen in a white background, but the spiral is drawn a tad second later.

Technique: Vintage camera filming and computer animation.

Audio: None.

Audio Variants: On the trailer for the Defiant Ones, with the logo zooming out, a portion of Ennio Morricone's "The Strength of the Righteous" (a theme song from the 1987 film The Untouchables) is playing through.

Availability: Available on past home media releases.

It was seen on the bonus DVD for rapper 50 Cent's debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin', and again on the 2005 video game, 50 Cent: Bulletproof.