[[quoteright:239:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Geffen_Logo_2733.jpg]]
Geffen Records is an American record label owned by Creator/UniversalMusicGroup and one of UMG's flagship labels, alongside Creator/InterscopeRecords and Creator/AAndMRecords. It was founded by David Geffen in 1980, who had previously run Creator/ElektraRecords and founded Asylum Records. Fired from his position at Creator/WarnerBros Pictures in 1978, and locked in a 5-year contract with them, he convinced Warner to let him start the label. Geffen's first signee was Music/DonnaSummer, whose album ''The Wanderer'' was Geffen's first release. Later Music/JohnLennon and Music/YokoOno's ''Double Fantasy'' sold millions after Lennon's murder, giving Geffen their first number one album and single.
From the outset, Geffen gained a reputation as both a major pop label and a home for more left-of-center acts, and further built upon this foundation throughout the '80s by signing not only rising and established stars like Music/EltonJohn, Music/KylieMinogue, and [[Music/{{Eagles}} Don Henley]], but also more esoteric names like Music/PeterGabriel, KitarÅ, Music/JoniMitchell, and Music/NeilYoung (the last two of whom ultimately returned to their original label, Creator/RepriseRecords, when it relaunched in 1987). Geffen recorded the original cast album of ''Theatre/{{Dreamgirls}}'' and also created the show's logo and poster art; the show's title was suggested by David Geffen himself. By the end of the decade the label became most famous for being a rock label by signing acts such as Music/GunsNRoses, Music/{{Whitesnake}} and Music/{{Aerosmith}} (in time for the latter's comeback era). They were also the first Western label to sign a Japanese metal band, with [[Music/MasakiYamada EZO]] joining Geffen's roster in 1987. This led to Geffen founding DGC Records (it stands for '''D'''avid '''G'''effen '''C'''ompany) to hold their more experimental rock groups, just in time for AlternativeRock to emerge; DGC's best-known acts were Music/{{Nirvana}}, Music/SonicYouth and Music/{{Weezer}}. Before that, Geffen had signed a U.S.-only deal with the beloved British cult band Music/{{XTC}}.
Geffen went through a handful of distributors over the years. While it was distributed by Creator/WarnerBrosRecords worldwide upon its founding, the label switched to [[Creator/ColumbiaRecords CBS Records]] outside of North America from 1982 to 1985, after which it reverted back to Warner. After Geffen's contract with Warner ended in 1990, the label was sold to Creator/{{MCA}} worldwide. An unusual artifact of this era was that the label kept the Warner "banner" CD label design of the pre-MCA era on its future repressings of Warner-era albums with any mention of Warner removed rather than just using a new label design. David Geffen, made a billionaire from stock and Panasonic's brief acquisition of Universal, decided to step down from his position in 1995 to focus on Creator/DreamWorksSKG. During this time, Geffen was one of the world's strongest independently-managed labels.
With Universal's 1999 acquisition of [=PolyGram=], which led to a reorganization of all the labels owned by each company (including those that were independently-operated), Geffen was merged with [[Creator/AAndMRecords A&M Records]] to form Creator/InterscopeRecords (interestingly, Interscope would later acquire Creator/DreamWorksRecords, who had been handling Geffen's distribution as a subsidiary up to that point). Geffen still operates as a separate entity, though much smaller to suit Interscope's needs. Since Geffen still had steady business, the Universal Music Group decided to fold MCA Records' artists into Geffen, diversifying their roster (Music/MaryJBlige, Music/{{Blink 182}}, Music/{{Common}}, and even the legendary Chess Records catalog). Around the same time, [=DreamWorks=] Records also folded, with the majority of its signees being moved to Geffen. Needless to say, the roster had moved from pop-rock to everything. Geffen decided to go with this, signing the likes of Ashlee Simpson and Snoop Dogg.
With all this new-found diversity, Geffen found themselves standing on the same level as Interscope. Many industry insiders thought Geffen would go back to independence within UMG. Yet by 2007 Interscope had absorbed Geffen even more.
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!!List of artists
[[index]]
* Music/AngelsAndAirwaves
* Music/BoneThugsNHarmony
* Music/{{The Cure|Band}} (in conjunction with various sublabels depending on the album and region)
* Music/{{Garbage}} (North America)
* Music/GunsNRoses
* Music/CarlyRaeJepsen (Malaysia)
* Music/LilJon
* Music/NewEdition (Geffen inherited their MCA catalogue in 2002, and the group signed with Geffen in the late-2000s)
* Music/{{Nirvana}} (DGC)
* Music/{{Poppy}}
* Music/SimonAndGarfunkel (outside North America)
* Music/TheStoneRoses
* Music/OliviaRodrigo
* Music/RufusWainwright
* Music/{{Yungblud}}
!!List of former artists:
* Music/TenThousandManiacs
* Music/{{Aerosmith}}
* Music/{{Asia}}
* Music/{{Beck|Musician}} (DGC)
* Music/ChuckBerry (Chess)
* Music/MaryJBlige (Contract and catalogue inherited from MCA; stayed with Geffen until 2011)
* Music/{{Blink 182}}
* Music/BloodhoundGang
* Music/BobbyBrown (Dropped from MCA in 1997, but Geffen holds the rights to his solo catalogue)
* Series/TheBradyBunch
* ''Film/{{Bratz}}'' (Soundtrack)
* Creator/IreneCara
* Music/EricCarmen
* Music/TheChameleons
* Music/{{Cher}}
* Music/{{Cold}}
* Music/LloydCole
* Music/{{Common}} (Contract and catalogue inherited from MCA)
* Creator/BillCosby
* Music/CountingCrows
* Music/TheCreatures
* Music/BoDiddley (Chess)
* Music/DJShadow (For ''Live! In Tune and on Time'')
* Creator/DreamworksAnimation (for ''WesternAnimation/Shrek2'', ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'', ''WesternAnimation/Madagascar1'', and ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird'')
* Music/{{Eagles}} (For ''Hell Freezes Over'')
* Music/{{Eels}}
* Music/{{Enya}}
* Music/{{Everything Everything|Band}}
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' (for ''Family Guy: Live in Vegas'')
* Music/NellyFurtado
* Music/PeterGabriel (North American distributor)
* Music/TheGameRapper
* Music/GetoBoys
* Music/GirlsAgainstBoys
* Music/{{Guy}} (Inherited their catalogue from the MCA merger)
* Music/{{Hayden}} (For ''Everything I Long For'', under the Outpost Records subsidary)
* Music/HeavyD (Inherited his catalogue from the MCA merger)
* Music/{{Hole}} (DGC)
* Music/HowlinWolf (Chess)
* Music/ImogenHeap
* Music/EltonJohn (North American distributor)
* Music/JohnLennon
* Music/{{Lifehouse}}
* Music/LimpBizkit (For ''Music/TheUnquestionableTruth, Part 1'')
* Music/{{Madness|Band}}
* Music/MasakiYamada with EZO
* Music/PatMetheny
* Music/JoniMitchell
* Music/KylieMinogue (U.S. only)
* Music/TheMisfits
* Music/MosDef
* Music/YokoOno (For ''Double Fantasy'' and ''Season of Glass'')
* Music/PapaRoach
* Music/PereUbu (DGC; US only)
* Music/{{Phantom Planet|Band}}
* Music/ThePosies
* Music/TheRoots
* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' (Soundtrack)
* Music/SigurRos (For ''Takk...'' and ''Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do'')
* Music/AshleeSimpson
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' (For ''Music/TheSimpsonsSingTheBlues'' and ''Music/TheYellowAlbum'')
* Music/SiouxsieAndTheBanshees (US only)
* Music/{{Slayer}} (Creator/DefJamRecordings)
* Music/{{Sloan}}
* Music/SnoopDogg
* Music/{{Snot}}
* Music/SonicYouth (DGC/Geffen)
* Music/DonnaSummer
* Music/TheSundays
* Music/{{Tesla}}
* Music/VerucaSalt
* Music/WangChung
* Music/TheWanted
* Music/WasNotWas
* Music/MuddyWaters (Chess)
* Music/{{Weezer}} (DGC/Geffen)
* Music/WhiteLies
* Music/{{Whitesnake}} (North America)
* Music/TheWho (North America)
* Music/{{XTC}} (U.S. only)
* Music/NeilYoung
* Music/RobZombie
[[/index]]
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