Parent company Interscope-Geffen-A&M Country of origin U.S. Founder David Geffen | Genre Various Official website www.dgcrecords.com Founded 1990 | |
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Distributor(s) Interscope Geffen A&M
(United States)
Polydor Records
(International) Location Santa Monica, California Parent organization Interscope Geffen A&M Records Artists Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, Sonic Youth, Courtney Love Albums Nevermind, In Utero, MTV Unplugge, Goo, Weezer | ||
DGC Records (an acronym for David Geffen Company) is an American record label that currently operates as a division of Interscope-Geffen-A&M, which is owned by Vivendi S.A..
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History
DGC Records was launched in 1990 as a subsidiary label of Geffen Records and was distributed by Warner Bros. Records until 1991, when it was acquired by MCA Music Entertainment Group. The label was created as a response to the success Geffen had with the harder rock acts on its roster. Though it initially focused on more progressive rock and heavy metal, as the decade progressed it would also embrace the emergence of (and become a seminal label of) alternative rock, with influential acts like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Hole, Weezer and Beck. The label also released early titles by hip hop band The Roots.
In 1999, during the consolidation of Geffen’s Universal Music Group parent and PolyGram, the DGC label ceased operations. The retained acts would go on to record for the main Geffen label. In the years to follow, the DGC title and logo would occasionally appear on reissues of its past catalog items. In 2007, the label was revived as a brand for Interscope Records, inheriting many alternative acts signed to Interscope-Geffen-A&M (including acts that previously recorded for DreamWorks Records). Since its reactivation, it has released albums by Weezer, Beck, Counting Crows and Rise Against. As of late, DGC Records, in partnership with MySpace Records and indie Lucky Ear Music, signed up-and-coming L.A. artist Meiko.
To date, the best-selling album in the DGC catalog is Nevermind, the 1991 album by Nirvana, reaching international sales of twenty-five million copies worldwide, with ten million copies sold in the United States, and is one of the first albums on the label to be certified Diamond.
Artists
The following artists have recorded for DGC Records: